Essays on agriculture and rural development in Viet Nam

Abstract

This thesis contains four essays on agriculture and rural development in Viet Nam. The first essay evaluates the impact of the land accumulation policy on the annual crop land accumulation process and crop production at the household level. The policy was introduced in 2006, revised in 2013, and imposed different ceilings on the amount of land that one farmer can own by geographical region. Employing a difference-in-differences approach and utilising the two most comprehensive household survey databases in the country, results indicate that (1) a higher ceiling applicable to the Mekong River Delta promotes land accumulation in the region, (2) the ceiling significantly improves agricultural production results, including production volume, revenue, and productivity, and (3) large farms are more inclined to respond to the policy while there are no adverse effects on small farms. Therefore, the ceiling needs to be relaxed or removed to take full advantage of productive capacity since Viet Nam is one of the countries that have the smallest average farm sizes worldwide. Meanwhile, its land inequality is low compared with other countries of similar agrarian background.

The second essay analyses rice production in Viet Nam at both aggregate and household levels. Using the Tornqvist index to measure total factor productivity (TFP) and terms of trade (TOT), my findings show no TFP improvements in the two principal rice-growing regions after the year 2012 and a consistent reduction in TOT since the mid-2000s, which suggests contracting returns from rice production. A key driver for the decline is likely high dependence on fertiliser use, calling for a radical change in this production practice towards stable and higher income for rice farmers. Results from a stochastic frontier analysis of production efficiency at the household level suggest a similar conclusion, with both rice production and revenue falling between 2004 and 2014. The analysis confirms the intensive use of fertiliser by rice farmers. It also highlights the effects of persistent small and fragmented farm sizes and the use of elderly household members in rice production, all suggesting that critical attention should be given to labour issues in combination with a conventional focus on land to improve efficiency.

The third essay investigates foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which is one of the most significant and chronic animal diseases in numerous developing countries. FMD has severely damaged the livestock sector in Viet Nam. The essay takes advantage of an actual disease database recorded in Viet Nam and applies a spatial dynamic kernel-based approach to estimate the FMD transmission parameters. Results show the existence of disease transmission over long distances, which is markedly different from estimates in developed countries due to weaknesses in biosecurity measures. The pace of disease spread differs by region as a result of differences in geographical characteristics, trade intensity, and production scale. The estimated transmission parameters are practical and beneficial for the design and evaluation of policies and programs on disease control in Viet Nam and other developing countries with similar endemic exposure to the disease.

The final essay uses the National Program on FMD containment and eradication, which appears to be the most sustained effort against animal disease in the country to date, as a case study to examine the cost-effectiveness of FMD control. Employing a cost-benefit analysis approach and using parameter estimates from the previous section, robust findings show significant benefits, demonstrating the role of government in disease containment. Given mixed evidence about the financial returns of FMD control programs, other endemic countries can draw lessons from Viet Nam's experience in disease control. Show more