Rice production plays an important role in the economy of the Mekong River Delta (MRD), but rice production is endangered by sea-level rise and the associated increased incidence of salinity intrusion. This study examines the diffusion of salt-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) in the MRD that were promoted through Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environment (CURE) activities. Evidence is found of widespread adoption in salinity-prone areas, with CURE related varieties covering 47% of rice area in at least one of two growing seasons surveyed, but that adopting areas are highly clustered. Multivariate analysis reveals that location characteristics associated with high risk of salinity inundation, rather than individual characteristics associated with household risk preferences, explain the observed pattern of adoption in the MRD. In particular, CURE-related varieties are disproportionately likely to be adopted in non-irrigated areas and in irrigated areas that are not protected by salinity barrier gates. The results imply that CURE has effectively targeted unfavorable rice growing environments and that efforts to further diffuse STRVs need to both increase the area of suitability through further varietal adaptation and promote adoption in existing suitable areas by taking advantage of strong neighborhood externalities in household adoption decisions. In terms of varietal performance, inconclusive evidence is found of higher yields of CURE-related varieties in a low-salinity year. Further, any yield gains are more than off-set by lower market prices for CURE-related varieties. / Rice is a staple crop in the Vietnamese diet and one of Vietnam's leading exports. The Mekong River Delta (MRD) accounts for more than 90 percent of rice exports. However, rice production in the MRD is endangered by saltwater intrusion due to rising sea-levels. Farmers have adopted rice varieties that are tolerant to rice to reduce their production risk that were promoted through Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environment (CURE) activities. This study examines the rates of adoption of these CURE-related varieties, the reasons farmers choose CURE-related varieties, and variety performance on farmers' fields. Results from a household-level survey show at 47% of fields in salinity-prone areas of the MRD grow a CURE-related variety in at least one of the areas two main rice-growing seasons. Farmers are particularly likely to adopt CURE-related varieties on fields that are not protected against salinity intrusion by gates. Adoption decisions are also highly correlated with neighbors’ decisions within villages. Finally, CURE- and non-CURE-related varieties yields are similar in a year with low levels of salinity intrusion. But revenues from CURE-related varieties are slightly lower due to their lower market price, suggesting CURE-related varieties are a relatively low-cost insurance policy for MRD rice farmers in salinity-prone areas against future salinity intrusion.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/94147 |
| Date | 30 September 2019 |
| Creators | Paik, SongYi |
| Contributors | Agricultural and Applied Economics |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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