Climate change and livelihood vulnerability of the rice farmers in the North Central Region of Vietnam: A case study in Nghe An province, Vietnam

Abstract

This study aimed at assessing the livelihoods of rice households in Nghe An province of Vietnam. The study was undertaken through household surveys of 396 households in three districts of this province. In this study, the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) was used for investigating the level of vulnerability to climate change of rice households in Nghe An province, pairwise correlation matrix and beta regression were used for examining the factors affecting the level of vulnerability climate stresses. Overall, the computed LVI showed that respondents were slightly vulnerable to climate change, indicating that households in the study area still had capacities to cope with the change. The beta regression analysis showed that floods, droughts, cold spells, irrigation, institutional factors, and socio-demographic factors were the major factors significantly affecting rice households’ vulnerability in Nghe An province. The findings suggest the need to strengthen the social network between farmers, agricultural cooperatives, and local governments to enhance farmers’ capacity to cope with climate-induced issues, especially floods and droughts in the coastal area. Findings also imply the need to provide farmers with input subsidies, effective irrigation systems, training, and consultant services to reduce households’ vulnerability. Furthermore, this study also highlights the need to promote official financial services with low interest rates in adopting adaptation strategies for sustainable development of the whole region.