RESILIENT FLOOD-BASED FARMING SYSTEMS IN THE MEKONG DELTA
Nguyen Van Kien
Director of Research Centre for Rural Development of An Giang University, Vietnam
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ABSTRACT
This paper investigate resiliency of the floating rice-based farming system overtime. Resilience is defined as “the capacity of a system” to cope with disturbance, learn from changes and creativity. This paper will explore the link between social-ecological resilience in the context of preservation and development of the floating rice based farming systems in the Mekong Delta. In particular, this floating rice farming system can adapt well to seasonal flood event, recover inland fish, maintain the nutritional sources for small farm holders, and does not require modification of natural resources such as infrastructure (dikes), and recycling of natural resources, and make use of full ecosystem services from the seasonal flood events in the Mekong Delta. Early pioneers during the Nguyen Dynasty (1705), traditional people harvested floating rice in the lowland back swamps, caught fish in the floodplains and hunt wild animals for home consumption. During the colonial period (1858-1954) the floating rice was expanded in the flooded areas of Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Since short-term high yield rice varieties were introduced into the Mekong Delta in the late 1960s, it quickly replaced floating rice-based agro-ecological systems by using massive irrigation and systems of protective polders. In 1974, there were 0.5 million hectares of the floating rice in the VMD, but by 2012, this dropped to 50 hectares (ha), found in Vinh Phuoc and Luong An Tra communes of Tri Ton district in An Giang province. Research Center for Rural Development of An Giang University has carried out a series of research and development projects to co-design with community and rural leaders to recover this farming system since 2013. The research shows higher economic return, protects biodiversity, and recovers inland fishery for food security. In contrast, intensive rice farming systems show fewer resiliencies because they create environmental costs.
Key words: Floating rice, flood, Mekong delta, social-ecological resilience