Country Profile - Vietnam

The population of Vietnam is 77 million (1997) growing annually by 3.3%. Close to 80% of the total population live in rural areas. Despite the fact that only about 21% of the country's land area is used for agriculture over 70% of Vietnam's people earn their living from it. Agriculture (including forestry and fisheries) still produces 28% of the nation's GDP.

In 1989 Vietnam began to introduce market reform to revive its stagnant economy and agriculture from the devastating effect of the war, socialist economic polices and international economic blockade. Land was distributed among households according to the number of people of "working age". Farmers, however, do not officially own the land; they are given a 50 year lease, but this includes the right to sell or hand it on to next of kin during this period.

Following the introduction of market-based economic policies the Vietnamese economy has grown rapidly since the 1990's at an annual rate of 8-9%. As a result Vietnamese GDP in 1995 was almost 50% higher in real terms than in 1990. Inflation has dropped from 67% in 1990 to below 10% in the current year. However, growth has not been even throughout the country. The south and delta area have generally grown much faster, while the central and mountainous areas have lagged behind. Approximately 15% of the population suffer food shortages at some times of the year.

Vietnam's most important crop is rice, which is cultivated using both irrigated paddy and rain-fed culture on 75% of cropped land. Two main types of rice are grown, glutinous and dry. In the last six years, production has doubled to make Vietnam the world's second largest exporter of rice with a record of 3.1 million tonnes of rice exported in 1996. The agriculture sector has grown at an average rate of 4.2% between 1991 and 1995. Food production has also increased steadily. Apart from rice other important food crops include sugar cane, maize, cassava, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Vietnam's cash crops are peanuts, soyabeans, pepper, tobacco, coffee, tea, rubber, coconuts and mulberry leaves (to feed silk worms).

Fish, which constitutes the main source of protein in the diets of many Vietnamese, is the most important staple food after rice. Fishing employs approximately 550,000 people. About 2,000 species of fish, 100 of which are of economic value, have been identified in Vietnam's extensive network of rivers, streams and lakes and in the country's coastal waters. There is increasing investment in the production of seafood for export.

Cultivable land is shrinking fast because of the government's pursuit of industrialization and modernization. According to the United Nations Population Fund, 13 people share one cultivated hectare in Vietnam. But in India, the same number of people share five hectares and in China, 11 hectares. Migration from the countryside to the cities is growing fast as land is parcelled up for industrial use. This has led, in recent months, to peasant protests.

The country's food production is hindered by floods, droughts and typhoons which have all become increasingly frequent in recent years. On average 6 to 12 tropical storms hit the northern half of the country every year, while severe flooding is common in the Mekong Delta. In order to prevent widespread damage to crops, animals and infrastructure, as well as to save lives, some 3,000 kilometres of sea dikes and 5,000 kilometres of river dikes have been constructed in threatened areas. Many of these have been destroyed by the recent typhoon, "Linda", (the worst natural disaster to hit Vietnam this century) and will have to be repaired.

The damage in Vietnam caused by flooding is particularly severe because much of the country's protective forest cover has been destroyed. In some regions, this can still be attributed to heavy bombing during the war. In provinces such as Quang Binh, sandwiched between the sea and the Truong Son mountains, lack of tree cover has meant that huge sand dunes have built up along the length of the coast. At the present time they stretch 4 km inland, but they spread further every year and encroach on to precious paddy land. Some farmers in this region have been forced to give up agriculture altogether because their land has become saline and useless. Others have diversified from rice to other crops, or into keeping pigs or poultry - but there is no great success story yet and this remains one of the poorest areas in the country.

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