Vietnam is reported to be one of the most vulnerable countries to future climate change, particularly in relation to sea-level rise and extreme climatic events. Agricultural adaptation and mitigation will be crucial for maintaining food and fibre production. Areas in Central Vietnam are prone to flooding, particularly in the lowland rice production areas. This article presents a case study of how small-scale rice farmers in the lowland areas of Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province, have transitioned into a ratoon system, locally referred to as ‘re-generated rice’, as a means of adapting to early flooding. While ratoon rice systems have been globally implemented, farmers in Le Thuy have adopted this system recently, based on their indigenous knowledge. The ratoon system was found to result in economic, social and environmental benefits for the surveyed households (N = 80), despite typically lower yields than the conventional system (approximately 70% of conventional). Through the sustainable livelihoods framework, findings show that the ratoon system is more economically efficient than the conventional and also allows farming households to spend more time on other income-generating, social or family activities, which is particularly important for balancing the gender division of labour. However, the new system tests the ability of the region to meet provincial level rice production targets, challenging conceptualizations of food security and livelihood security.

Digital extension services (DESs) play a crucial role in transforming the agri-food sector while creating the potential to enhance production towards sustainable development via ensuring resource efficiency, environmental resilience, and economic viability for smallholder farmers. However, there is less research on the availability and quality of digital advisory information to provide the foundation for the ways forward to ensure accessible and timely benefits of science-based extension and innovation for smallholder farmers. This study used a systematic review method to explore the opportunities and barriers to develop interactive DESs in developing countries (2005–2021). Features of 141 articles were summarized resulting in the identification of 13 opportunities and 21 barriers. Opportunities indicate that interactive DESs were the best source for learning and the exchange of information/ideas/experiences, useful for enhancing agricultural productivity and profitability, creating network collaboration among farmers and stakeholders, and making extension service delivery cost-effective. Barriers of interactive DESs include a lack of a two-way interaction information, lack of a centralized information network between farmers and service providers, lack of technical know-how on ICTs, poor internet connection, and lack of effective training on ICTs. However, farmers’ awareness, motivation, and readiness to use interactive DESs has increased in several countries. It is therefore a great opportunity to invest in digital platforms as a long-term intervention to boost sustainable agricultural sustainability.

Climate change is increasingly widespread and intense. In response, formal adaptation efforts are gaining momentum and financing globally, while those affected address felt changes through a variety of everyday adaptations, the aggregate daily practices articulated in response to ongoing social-ecological change. Our research examined the interplay between formal and everyday adaptations in practice. Specifically, we sought to shed light on the tendency emerging in adaptation literature of what we term interrupted agency, where formal adaptation interventions interrupt everyday adaptation strategies—and agency—of local actors, potentially leading to maladaptation. We did so in North Central Vietnam, where climate change is disrupting lives and livelihoods, and numerous formal and everyday adaptation measures are being implemented in response. We examined three key climate-affected sectors, agriculture, water management, and coastal management, drawing on existing literature as well as interviews and document and policy review. We found that differences in formal and everyday adaptations can indeed lead to interrupted agency yet, in some instances, also support complementarities and even transformative change. Such outcomes required dialogue and pluralistic input to adaptation-related policy, practice, and decision-making, underlining the importance of attention to participation, representation, and influence in decision-making in adaptation efforts. Our exploration of the concepts of everyday adaptation and interrupted agency illustrates that these can valuably contribute to adaptation literature, particularly on the politics of adaptation.