Vietnam

I just returned from the Mekong Delta – Vietnam’s “rice basket” – to look at the results of development projects partly financed by the World Bank. With rice prices going through the roof, I expected to see farmers enjoying a financial boom. But, reality was more nuanced and underscored how difficult it is to grow more rice at the drop of a bamboo hat.

One of the projects I looked at improved water management in the delta by upgrading canals and building more gates (known as sluice gates). The idea is to prevent water from the sea from intruding and ruining crops in the dry season; and stop floods from washing away the harvest during the rainy season. The results have been dramatic.

Better irrigation and more security have allowed farmers like Ngo Kim Tan, 64 years old, in Can Tho province, to plan ahead and plant more crops. Keeping salt water out has translated into tastier fruit and higher rice yields. Her rice yield has gone from about 700 kilos of rice per “cong” (1,000 m²) to about a 1 ton per cong. Meanwhile the price of paddy has been multiplied by 1.5 in one year (from 3,000 VND per kilo to 4,500 VND – about 28 cents ofa US$ - this year).