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Socio-Economic Development in the Mekong Delta: Between the Prospects for Progress and the Realms of Reality

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The Mekong Delta System

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Abstract

Socio-economic development in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta is shaped by a complex web of interacting and dynamic trends. Based on the analysis of statistical data, special reports, planning documents and scientific literature, the chapter examines the key dimensions of such trends, paying particular attention to agricultural transformation, industrialization, migration and urbanization. It is argued that changes in these fields have been producing ambiguous economic net-effects and socially stratified development outcomes over the last decades. On the one hand, the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta has been experiencing profound production gains due to de-collectivization, expansion, intensification and diversification. This has contributed to overall poverty reduction in the Delta and to the economic progress of the entire country. On the other hand, the Mekong Delta lags behind the national average in terms of many development indicators in the socio-economic sphere (e.g. education levels or housing conditions). Under stress from multiple economic and environmental pressures and risks, small-scale farmers increasingly have difficulties securing a minimum level of profitability and a stable livelihood base. Rising inequalities, high incidences of landlessness, and labour migration, notably into urban areas, are among the most significant consequences. At the same time, industrial development falls short of earlier expectations. The Delta’s secondary and tertiary sectors are presently unable to sufficiently absorb the former agricultural labour force. As a result, strong outmigration occurs, most importantly to Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring provinces. Guided by development theory we argue that next to the neoclassical expansion of conventional capital stocks for fostering endogenous growth potentials, development in the Mekong Delta heavily depends on institutional factors, enabling social and economic development. Aspects such as the need for improved access to land or for extended education and professional training, more integrated planning, and intensified promotion of economic innovations are discussed in detail.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this context, it is worthwile pointing to the different interpretations or dimension of food security. The Vietnamese policy thinking predominantly revolves around national self-sufficiency in terms of rice and other food staples. However, understanding food security more in terms of individual or socially stratified entitlements and access to sufficient levels of nutrition, it needs to be noted that Vietnam has been experiencing food poverty and nutrition challenges, notably amongst children and marginal population groups, even after having turned into one of the world’s leading rice exporters. Hence, food security can be framed in many different ways and may in fact be understood as a highly contested concept in the context of Vietnam and the Mekong Delta in particular.

  2. 2.

    In 2010, Vietnam for instance exported rice worth of 947 million USD to the Philippines, 346 million USD to Indonesia, 228 million USD to Singapore and 178 million USD Malaysia with the majority of which being produced in the Mekong Delta. On a similar note, fruits worth of 75 million USD have been exported to China in that year, cereal-related products worth 47 million USD to Cambodia, and seafood products worth 894 million USD to Japan, for example (GSO 2011).

  3. 3.

    The general poverty rate is based on the assessment of average monthly per capita expenditure. The relevant threshold is set by the General Statistics Office (GSO) and the World Bank and is adjusted annually. The following thresholds were set for the last years: 160,000 VND for 2002; 173,000 VND for 2004; 213,000 VND for 2006; and 280,000 VND for 2008 (GSO 2009: 9.2).

  4. 4.

    The national programme 135 was initiated in 1998 and focuses on poverty reduction amongst ethnic minorities and in remote rural areas.

  5. 5.

    In the 2009 Labor Force Survey, underemployment refers to “persons aged 15 years and over who are working less than 35 h per week and are willing or available to engage in additional work.” (GSO 2010b: II, 58).

  6. 6.

    Compare footnote 1 for the statistical definition of poverty.

  7. 7.

    The Second Indochina War is in the West better known as the Vietnam War and in Vietnam as the American War.

  8. 8.

    This has, for example, been done in an organized manner within the framework of the WISDOM project, by conducting semi-structured as well as standardized household interviews with roughly 1,000 farming households in Can Tho City, Dong Thap and Tra Vinh (Birkmann et al. 2010b).

  9. 9.

    The income was in the Viet Nam Living Standard Survey 1997–1998 calculated as the combination of agricultural income; non-agricultural income; formal wage and salary; income from pension, subsidies and scholarships; rents, loan interests and other income sources (GSO 2000b:297). Income has been adjusted with rural and urban price levels to derive real income levels. The authors of the survey argue that urban incomes may even be an underestimate due to the avoidant responses with respect to other sensitive income sources prominent in urban areas (GSO 2000b: 299).

  10. 10.

    The general poverty lines for those years were 1,160,410 VND for 1992/93 and 1,789,871 VND for 1997/98. The food poverty line was 749,722 VND for 1992/93 and 1,286,833 VND for 1997/98 (GSO 2000b: 260).

  11. 11.

    The demarcation of rural vs. urban areas is in Vietnam regulated by legislation on classifying administrative units (Decree 15/2007/ND-CP, issued in January 2007). According to this legislative framework, provinces and districts are graded into different levels, depending on their population size, land use profile, and particularities such as special service functions or population density.

  12. 12.

    The Government of Vietnam has recently launched a pilot project to reduce livelihood insecurity amongst agricultural producers. This policy project sets out to provide, test and adjust agricultural insurance against losses due to natural hazards, epidemics and pest outbreaks in seven pilot provinces in the country, including An Giang and Dong Thap in the Mekong Delta. (Decision 315/2011/QD-TTg, see SRV 2011). While such initiatives are in general heading into the right direction, the new policy has already been criticized for linking the access to insurance to too rigid production guidelines for cultivation and breeding, which necessitate very capital intensive production, thus discouraging many farmers from subscribing (Vietnam News 2011; Vietnam Business News 2011). The long term success of such policy and insurance models has therefore to be seen.

  13. 13.

    Such plans are locally often referred to as quy hoach treo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), UN Campus, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, Bonn, 53113, Germany

    Matthias Garschagen

  2. Institut für Wirtschafts- und Kulturgeographie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Schneiderberg 50, 30167, Hannover, Germany

    Javier Revilla Diez

  3. Mekong Delta Development Research Institute (MDI), Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam

    Dang Kieu Nhan

  4. Geographisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923, Köln, Germany

    Frauke Kraas

Authors
  1. Matthias Garschagen
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  2. Javier Revilla Diez
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  3. Dang Kieu Nhan
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  4. Frauke Kraas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthias Garschagen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Institute for Environment and Human, United Nations University, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, Bonn, 53113, Germany

    Fabrice G. Renaud

  2. , Earth Observation Center, EOC, German Aerospace Center, DLR, ---, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, 82234, Germany

    Claudia Kuenzer

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Garschagen, M., Diez, J.R., Nhan, D.K., Kraas, F. (2012). Socio-Economic Development in the Mekong Delta: Between the Prospects for Progress and the Realms of Reality. In: Renaud, F., Kuenzer, C. (eds) The Mekong Delta System. Springer Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3962-8_4

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