Role of Infrastructure in Land-Use Dynamics and Rice Production in Viet Nam's Mekong River Delta

Download or read book Role of Infrastructure in Land-Use Dynamics and Rice Production in Viet Nam's Mekong River Delta written by Christopher Edmonds and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the role of infrastructure development and technical change in explaining increases in agricultural production and changes in land use in the Mekong Delta Region of Viet Nam during the mid-1990s. The transportation costs involved in moving agricultural input and output between farms and markets significantly effect farm land use and production decisions. Greater transport costs reduce the likelihood that farms adopt intensive cropping patterns or cultivate non-rice crops. Results suggest that the quality of local water management infrastructure is much more important than transport costs in explaining the increased intensity of land use and level of production observed in the Mekong Delta during the 1990s. Illustrations.