Viet Nam is one of the top producers and exporters of farmed shrimp. More than 80 percent of the total production comes from small intensive farms, which occupy less than 10 percent of the land area devoted to shrimp farming. It is the main source of income for many rural households in the Mekong Delta provinces. This study examines the characteristics of small intensive shrimp farms and socio-economic status of the farm households, and farming practices and performance that are associated with the strategies and preferences for managing production risks. The analysis was based on primary data from a survey of farms raising the whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) conducted in Bac Lieu, Ben Tre and Ca Mau provinces from September 2017 to February 2018.

This open access book is about understanding the processes involved in the transformation of smallholder rice farming in the Lower Mekong Basin from a low-yielding subsistence activity to one producing the surpluses needed for national self-sufficiency and a high-value export industry. For centuries, farmers in the Basin have regarded rice as “white gold”, reflecting its centrality to their food security and well-being. In the past four decades, rice has also become a commercial crop of great importance to Mekong farmers, augmenting but not replacing its role in securing their subsistence. This book is based on collaborative research to (a) compare the current situation and trajectories of rice farmers within and between different regions of the Lower Mekong, (b) explore the value chains linking rice farmers with new technologies and input and output markets within and across national borders, and (c) understand the changing role of government policies in facilitating the on-going evolution of commercial rice farming. An introductory section places the research in geographical and historical context. Four major sections deal in turn with studies of rice farming, value chains, and policies in Northeast Thailand, Central Laos, Southeastern Cambodia, and the Mekong Delta. The final section examines the implications for rice policy in the region as a whole.

The Mekong Delta of Vietnam is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. The Mekong River fans out over an area of about 40,000 sq kilometers and over the course of many millennia has produced a region of fertile alluvial soils and constant flows of energy. Today about a fourth of the Delta is under rice cultivation, making this area one of the premier rice granaries in the world. The Delta has always proven a difficult environment to manipulate, however, and because of population pressures, increasing acidification of soils, and changes in the Mekong’s flow, environmental problems have intensified. The changing way in which the region has been linked to larger flows of commodities and capital over time has also had an impact on the region: For example, its re-emergence in recent decades as a major rice-exporting area has linked it inextricably to global markets and their vicissitudes. And most recently, the potential for sea level increases because of global warming has added a new threat. Because most of the region is on average only a few meters above sea level and because any increase of sea level will change the complex relationship between tides and down-river water flow, the Mekong Delta is one of the areas in the world most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. How governmental policy and resident populations have in the past and will in coming decades adapt to climate change as well as several other emerging or ongoing environmental and economic problems is the focus of this collection.

The 2020 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture has a particular focus on sustainability. This reflects a number of specific considerations. First, 2020 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code). Second, several Sustainable Development Goal indicators mature in 2020. Third, FAO hosted the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability in late 2019, and fourth, 2020 sees the finalization of specific FAO guidelines on sustainable aquaculture growth, and on social sustainability along value chains. While Part 1 retains the format of previous editions, the structure of the rest of the publication has been revised. Part 2 opens with a special section marking the twenty fifth anniversary of the Code. It also focuses on issues coming to the fore, in particular, those related to Sustainable Development Goal 14 and its indicators for which FAO is the “custodian” agency. In addition, Part 2 covers various aspects of fisheries and aquaculture sustainability. The topics discussed range widely, from data and information systems to ocean pollution, product legality, user rights and climate change adaptation. Part 3 now forms the final part of the publication, covering projections and emerging issues such as new technologies and aquaculture biosecurity. It concludes by outlining steps towards a new vision for capture fisheries. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture aims to provide objective, reliable and up-to-date information to a wide audience – policymakers, managers, scientists, stakeholders and indeed everyone interested in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

This book focuses on the challenges people face in managing agricultural crops, aquaculture, fisheries and related ecosystems in inland areas of coastal zones in the tropics of Asia, Africa, Australia and South America. These challenges can create conflicts in the use of natural resources between different stakeholders. Through many case studies, the book discusses the nature of the conflicts and identifies what is known and not known about how to manage them. For example, some case studies relate to the trade-offs between enhancing agricultural production by constructing embankments to keep out saline water and maintaining not only the variety of rural livelihoods but also brackish aquatic biodiversity. Other case studies provide the lessons learnt from the conversion of mangrove forests to shrimp farms.

This edited volume presents and reflects upon empirical evidence of ‘sustainability’-induced and -related transition in food practices. The material collected in the various chapters contributes to our understanding of the ways in which ideas and preferences, sociotechnological developments and changes in the governance of food interact and become visible in practices of consumption, retail and production.