Vietnam agriculture modernisation faces headwinds

Subject

Vietnamese agricultural modernisation.

Significance

Authorities on February 2 urged financial support for farmers hit by unseasonably chilly weather that has killed tens of thousands of poultry and fish. While no longer the dominant sector of an increasingly industrialised economy, agriculture remains Vietnam's backbone with most of the country's poor and near-poor living in the countryside. The government's bid to eradicate poverty and ensure that income disparities do not widen will depend in large part on developing the sector.

Impacts

• Urbanisation and changing food buying practices will push agricultural modernisation, eventually.
• Modernising agriculture could run into land rights and ecological sustainability-related controversies.
• Equally, modernisation may also bring opportunities for investment in connected industries.