Relation between Land‐Use Change and Rural Income Determinants: A Case Study of Policy Implication in Tri Ton, Vietnam

Abstract

AbstractThe study carried out in Tri Ton district, a southern part of Vietnam, was to detect land‐use change during the period of almost four years using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing; and to examine socioeconomic factors which were significantly associated with farmer's income and triggering land‐use change. The fundamental materials and data types used for the assessment consisted of temporal Landsat ETM Plus imageries, primary socioeconomic and other published and unpublished agricultural reports. The results indicated that the area under irrigated rice had quickly increased from 25 percent in 2000 to 57.5 percent in 2005 due to conservation of idle land into cropland. Upland crops and Melaleuca cajuputi had been lessened in its areas due to due to unstable marketing channels of low input – low output production systems. Besides, the major factors underlying changes in land use were associated with farmer's pressing basic needs, in which significant income determinants were noticed driving forces. The results of this study may contribute to an improved knowledge of land‐use change and its determinants for land‐use planers when formulating strategic interventions towards long‐term suitability of land resources.