Conservation and Development of the Floating Rice Based Agro-Ecological Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta
This book examines the conservation and development of floating rice-based agroecological farming systems in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. It brings together multidisciplinary research on farming practices, agrobiodiversity, household livelihoods, value chains, soils, crops, and climate adaptation, highlighting the greater diversity, flexibility, and sustainability of floating rice systems compared with intensive rice monoculture.
This book is a systematic presentation of a collaborative multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional study and informs the development of future policies in agriculture conservation and development. The book discusses different aspects of the floating rice agroecological farming systemsby investigating: the biophysical condition of each farm (soils, minerals, and waters), socio-economic conditions of farm households and the value chain for farm products. Areas of research included: several crops (floating rice, cassava, leeks), common pests, adaptation to climate change (floating rice varieties), and assessment of agrobiodiversity.
An important finding was that the economic, social, ecological and biodiversity richness of floating rice-based farming systems provided far greater benefits than the economic returns of mono rice cropping systems. In fact, floating rice systems exhibited greater flexibility, diversity, and adaptive capacity and resulted in more sustainable outcomes than conventional intensive rice cropping systems.
The intention is to provide readers, especially our international colleagues in agriculture research, scientific data on agroecological farming systems in the upper floodplain of the Mekong Delta. This book is also a reference resource for university students from the fields of agricultural sciences, agroecology, food systems, human ecology, sociology, environmental management and climate change. Hopefully, this book will initiate more sustainable agroecological farming system research and further uptake in Vietnam and Mekong countries.
Citation: Nguyen, V. K., & Howie, C. (Eds.). (2018). Conservation and Development of the Floating Rice Based Agro-Ecological Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta. Hanoi: Agricultural Publishing House.
This book is a systematic presentation of a collaborative multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional study and informs the development of future policies in agriculture conservation and development. The book discusses different aspects of the floating rice agroecological farming systemsby investigating: the biophysical condition of each farm (soils, minerals, and waters), socio-economic conditions of farm households and the value chain for farm products. Areas of research included: several crops (floating rice, cassava, leeks), common pests, adaptation to climate change (floating rice varieties), and assessment of agrobiodiversity.
An important finding was that the economic, social, ecological and biodiversity richness of floating rice-based farming systems provided far greater benefits than the economic returns of mono rice cropping systems. In fact, floating rice systems exhibited greater flexibility, diversity, and adaptive capacity and resulted in more sustainable outcomes than conventional intensive rice cropping systems.
The intention is to provide readers, especially our international colleagues in agriculture research, scientific data on agroecological farming systems in the upper floodplain of the Mekong Delta. This book is also a reference resource for university students from the fields of agricultural sciences, agroecology, food systems, human ecology, sociology, environmental management and climate change. Hopefully, this book will initiate more sustainable agroecological farming system research and further uptake in Vietnam and Mekong countries.
Citation: Nguyen, V. K., & Howie, C. (Eds.). (2018). Conservation and Development of the Floating Rice Based Agro-Ecological Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta. Hanoi: Agricultural Publishing House.
