Saline intrusion is increasingly threatening the rice farming system in The Mekong River Delta (MRD). Identifying the impact of this disaster on rice farming and providing promptly adaptable solutions is an urgent issue. This study evaluates the influence of saline intrusion on rice productivity of households in the MRD. We utilize the quasi-experimental method, the difference-in-difference (DID) method, with farm level panel data on rice farming extracted from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (VHLSS) in 2014 and 2016. The empirical results indicate that households affected by saline intrusion have lower total production and lower productivity compared to the unaffected group. The affected group has lower total revenue of approximately 4969.8 thousand VND per ha and lower net revenue, on an average of 4679.3 thousand VND per ha, compared to the comparable unaffected group. Among the subsamples of different regions, the damage magnitude of households in severely affected regions by salinity intrusion is higher than in less severely affected areas. Some policy implications that can be proposed from this research are that the management agency should continue to update information on weather and climate change scenarios for forecasting and timely information for rice farmers. The agency comprehensively evaluates the effectiveness of transformed models of sustainable agricultural production adapted to salinity intrusion and replicates high-effective production models; restructure rice cultivation following the salinity intrusion level of each locality.

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of land fragmentation in rice production on household food insecurity in Vietnam. This study provides the first evidence on the effect of land fragmentation on household food insecurity in rice production. This study uses a relatively rich panel dataset of rice farming households across different regions from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) 2012, 2014, and 2016. The research applies the ordered probit model to identify land fragmentation and other factors affecting household food insecurity at different food insecurity levels. Findings indicate that land fragmentation and rice seed types are positively correlated with household food insecurity. Importantly, the odds of an increase of 1% fragmentation land index increase the probability of household food insecurity at a very high level of 4.79% after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Other factors such as total cultivated area, access to credit, and household savings help reduce household food insecurity. These findings suggest that the government needs to foster the process of consolidating fragmented rice plots to help households produce efficiently and reduce food insecurity for their families. In addition, other approaches such as increasing farm size for each rice farmer and access to credit can increase the probability of food security for rural households in Vietnam.

This study examines two different strategies with respect to managing the order in which information about genetically modified (GM) technology would reach and impact consumers of edamame, often referred to as the “vegetable soybean”. Edamame are soybeans harvested while the beans are young and soft. We capture consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for unlabeled edamame, non-GM edamame, and GM edamame using a non-hypothetical random n^th price auction. We elicit consumers’ valuation for each edamame product before and after introducing information, and test two strategies where the order of providing positive and negative information is reversed. The results suggest that negative information affects WTP to a much greater extent than positive information. Hence a strategy to proactively deal with eventual negative press about GM technology did not lead to a different result than a strategy that would react to or attempt to thwart negative information with positive information at a later date. These findings suggest that it would be difficult to introduce new GM edamame as edible products in the market as marginally negative preconceptions about GM at the time of the experiment were easier to reinforce with negative information than to combat with positive information about GM.

This study examines the effects of natural disasters, such as typhoons, floods, droughts, and pest infestations, on the technical efficiency of rice production in Vietnam. Employing stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), the research estimates the technical efficiency in rice production of 2394 farmers from the 2018 Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) dataset. The findings indicate that the average technical efficiency of rice production among these farmers is 78.99%. Exposure to natural disasters and pest infestations leads farmers to reduce their investments in rice production, resulting in decreased technical efficiency, lower yields, and reduced profitability. Among the various disasters, droughts have the most significant adverse impact on technical efficiency in rice production. The results highlight the limited capacity of farmers to cope with the challenges posed by natural disasters in rice production. The study emphasizes the importance of providing timely support to farmers, fostering resilience within the context of rice farming, and enhancing agricultural sustainability in Vietnam. To address these challenges effectively, policymakers are advised to prioritize facilitating farmers’ access to agricultural insurance. Additionally, encouraging income diversification among farmers becomes crucial to ensuring provisions in the case of income loss from rice production due to natural disasters or pest infestations. Moreover, measures such as promoting climate-smart agricultural practices, improving water management infrastructure, establishing early warning systems, and emphasizing pest and disease control measures can be implemented to mitigate losses resulting from natural disasters and pest infestations.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a severe viral disease that has significantly impacted the pig farming industry in China. It first broke out in China in 2018 and quickly spread to multiple provinces, significantly affecting the production efficiency of the pig farming industry. This study utilized pig production data from 17 provinces in China from 2010 to 2022 and applied the Malmquist production efficiency index and panel regression methods to assess the impact of the ASF epidemic on the efficiency of the pig farming industry. The results indicated that the outbreak of ASF significantly reduced overall production efficiency, which magnified the vulnerabilities of the production system. Although there was a general decline in technological change and pure technical efficiency, the increase in scale efficiency suggested effective resource optimization by farmers under resource-constrained conditions. In light of these findings, it is recommended to strengthen biosecurity education and epidemic prevention measures in the pig farming industry and to enhance technological innovation and the application of smart technologies to improve production efficiency and disease response capabilities. Additionally, timely adjustments in farming scale and resource optimization will be key to addressing future challenges. Through these strategies, the pig farming industry can maintain stable production efficiency during future epidemics and push towards a more efficient and refined production model.