Production In Vietnam Research Articles

Perceptions, Problems and Prospects of Contract Farming: Insights from Rice Production in Vietnam

Contract farming (CF) is considered a relevant measure to tackle the challenges to sustainable development from the serious effects of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the positive effects of CF, low participation and frequent breaching of contracts remain challenges. Several studies have mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of CF but little is known about their rankings and perceptions of CF from the involved stakeholders. To address these evidence gaps, this study surveys stakeholders, ranks the perceived advantages and disadvantages of CF, and investigates the problems and prospects of CF. The study utilizes data triangulation from three stakeholders: farmers, contractors, and government policymakers. Data include twenty-seven key informant interviews (KIIs), seven focus group discussions (FGDs), and two participant observations (POs). Data are analyzed by a mixed method approach with methods of constant comparison, content analysis, and Rank Based Quotient (RBQ). The results indicate that while the main perceived advantage of CF relates to the outputs, the top three disadvantages of CF relate to issues likely to cause a breach of contract. The results also reveal that there seems to be a difference in the perception of CF’s advantages and disadvantages among the stakeholders. Despite the problems such as breaching several contract terms, mistrust, or market manipulation from the local collectors, CF in Vietnam is overall promising.

Spatial effects of institutional quality on firm performance: evidence from Vietnam

The impact of national institutions on the economy has attracted research attention for decades. However, research on the influence of subnational institutions at the firm level is modest. This paper examines the spatial effects of institutional quality on firm performance using evidence from Vietnam. The model employed in the research is the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM), which is used to test hypotheses on data collected from enterprise surveys in the provinces of Vietnam over the period 2011–18. The research results show that the institutional quality of a locality has a direct impact on firm performance in that locality and indirectly affects firms in adjacent localities. At the same time, enterprises in different localities not only interact spatially with each but also tend to cooperate and compete. The results also show that the control of corruption positively affects the profits of enterprises; and informal charges negatively influence firms' total factor productivity in Vietnam. These findings imply that improving the quality of subnational institutions in emerging countries such as Vietnam promotes the growth of enterprises.

Evolution of Interdisciplinary Approaches Among Research-Oriented Universities in Vietnam Toward a Modern Industrial Economy: Exploratory Study.

Vietnam's 2045 development plan requires thorough reforms in science and technology, which underlines the role of research-oriented universities in generating and transforming knowledge. Understanding the current research performance and productivity in Vietnam is important for exploiting future agendas. This study aims to explore the growth patterns and collaborations in the scientific publications of Vietnam. Data on documents in the Web of Science Core Collection database were searched and extracted to examine the research performance in Vietnam. Publication growth patterns in both quantity and quality were examined. The evolution of research disciplines and collaboration networks were also analyzed. Trends in the growth in the number of publications, citations, and average citations per publication between 1966 and 2020 were presented. Temporal tendencies of the 10 most productive research areas in each period were illustrated. VOSviewer software was used to analyze the discipline network, country network, and institution networks. The trends and the geographical distribution of the number of publications and citations were analyzed. A total of 62,752 documents in 8354 different sources from 1966 to 2020 were retrieved. A substantial growth was observed in the Vietnamese scientific output during this period, which was mainly research with international collaboration. Natural sciences such as mathematics, materials science, and physics were the top 3 most productive research fields during 1966-2020 in Vietnam, followed by experimental research fields such as multidisciplinary sciences, plant sciences, public, environmental, and occupational health. In 1966-2020, there was the emergence of multidisciplinary research-oriented universities in both public and private sectors along with a significant increase in the number of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary publications. Although the scientific quality has improved, these publications are still of mostly medium quality as they are concentrated in middle-ranking journals. Our study highlights the notable growth in research performance in terms of both quality and quantity in Vietnam from 1966 to 2020. Building multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research agenda, developing networks of local and international researchers for addressing specific local issues, improving the participation of private sectors, and developing science and technology mechanisms are critical for boosting the research productivity in Vietnam.

Small-scale biogas plants in Vietnam: How are affected by policy issues?

Both developed and developing countries are working towards creating an emission free planet. Vietnam, as one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, has implemented several policies to curtail this phenomenon. Most of these policies are geared towards the development of renewable energy technologies such as biogas. The country’s policy on environmental protection, clean energy, climate change, and rural development has been based on small-scale biogas programs and projects. However, how are these small-scale biogas plants affected by arising policy issues? To answer this question, an intensive literature review was conducted and accompanied by a consultation with biogas experts with a focus on Vietnam. The data collected were analysed using the policy cycle analytical approach. The results showed that several policy instruments, such as the price of other conventional fuels and feed-in-tariffs, affect small-scale biogas plants. Furthermore, thousands of small-scale biogas plants have been installed due to good policies such as the Vietnam National Biogas Program. Finally, funding remains the biggest barrier to biogas policy amendments and implementation; the several biogas programs implemented over the decade could have yielded more positive impact if financial barriers like co-financing by the beneficiaries were set up more appropriately. In addition, new policies in the future will favour mid- to large-scale biogas plants rather than small-scale biogas plants. This policy implication threatens the sustainability of small-scale biogas plants; therefore, policy makers must be adroit in addressing policy issues that affect biogas production in Vietnam.

Analyzing Factors That Affect Rice Production Efficiency and Organic Fertilizer Choices in Vietnam

Rice farmers in Vietnam face many difficulties achieving technical efficiency (TE), which can be measured by the distance to the production frontier, in rice production due to non-optimal combinations of inputs and the influence of household socioeconomic characteristics. This study investigates the TE of rice production by applying stochastic frontier analysis to raw data obtained from the Vietnamese Households Living Standards Survey 2016 (VHLSS 2016) database. In addition, organic fertilizers now demand much attention worldwide because of their environmentally friendly characteristics. Therefore, this study identifies the effects of organic fertilizer choices on the TE of rice production. The results show that farmers in Vietnam achieved 87.6 percent TE and that most factors tested had significant effects on rice production. Instead of rice monoculture, the four main factors with strong and positive effects on TE levels were intensive labor, irrigation, mixing crops instead of rice monoculture, and education. Moreover, this study also revealed that organic fertilizer plays a vital role in growing rice by applying propensity score matching (PSM) between farmers who use or do not use irrigation facilities in rice production. While in the process of building a system, the government should focus on rice producers to strive for maximum efficiency with regard to labor productivity and mixed-crop farming, and to take proper measures to improve rice productivity and quality through the use of organic fertilizers. As a result, this study revealed that the use of organic fertilizers for rice production in Vietnam does not always benefit households’ TE.

Greenwash and green brand equity: The mediating role of green brand image, green satisfaction and green trust and the moderating role of information and knowledge

AbstractThis work examines the impact of greenwash on green brand equity and analyses the mediation effects of green brand image, green satisfaction and green trust as well as the moderating effect of information and knowledge based on the legitimacy theory and signalling theory. This study adopts a questionnaire‐based survey design to gather data from 445 respondents using a cluster random sampling technique. Data collection focuses on Vietnamese consumers who had purchased electronic products in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The findings show that although greenwash is not significantly related to green brand equity possibly due to the halo effect, greenwash is adversely related to green brand image, green satisfaction and green trust, which would positively influence green brand equity. In other words, green brand image, green satisfaction and green trust play a full mediation role in the relationship between greenwash and green brand equity. In addition, information and knowledge actually moderate the relationship between greenwash and green brand equity, and it strengthens the adverse relationship between greenwash and green brand equity. This research is the first to combine green brand image, green satisfaction and green trust as mediators to shed light on the understanding of different impact mechanisms in the greenwash–green brand equity relationship. Furthermore, this research is also the first to study information and knowledge as a moderator in the greenwash–green brand equity relationship. This provides a better insight into the process and context by which greenwash affects green brand equity. Taken together, the findings of this study extend and advance the understanding regarding the different mechanisms and the dynamics in which green brand image, green satisfaction, green trust as mediators and information and knowledge as a moderator can play in the emerging market context of consumers of electronic products in Vietnam. The findings enrich the growing body of green marketing literature and contribute significantly towards a unified theory of brand equity.

The biomass characteristics of \(\textit{Hydropuntia eucheumatoides}\) (Harvey) in the tidal beach of Hon Rua Island, Nha Trang Bay: potential source for exploitation, culture, and food processing

The study of biomass characteristics of Hydropuntia eucheumatoides (Harvey) (local name in Vietnam, Rong Cau chan vit) in Hon Rua - Nha Trang bay is a comprehensive study of its resources. The results of the study have described in detail the morphological characteristics, reproductive organs, weight and coverage of its in quadrat and habitats. As a result, other has successfully stored seaweed algae under laboratory condition for 30 days. The results can be shown that determined the appropriate harvesting time and direction to exploit and conserve resources and propagate this seaweed. In addition, the main chemical and carbohydrate components of this seaweed have also been identified which has shown great potential for their application in the processing of high value food and medicine products in Vietnam in the future.

Economic and tourism growth impact on the renewable energy production in Vietnam.

High economic and tourism growth demand extensive energy production that needs the energy creation industry's attention and demands the researchers' and policymakers' emphasis. Hence, the present study examines the impact of economic and tourism growth on renewable energy production (REP) in Vietnam. The present research has taken the gross domestic product (GDP), exports, human capital, and employment rate to measure the economic growth, while international tourism receipts and expenditures have been used to measure the tourism growth. The secondary data have been extracted from 1983 to 2020 using World Development Indicators (WDI) database. The Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (NARDL) model has been applied to investigate the linkage between the constructs. The findings indicated that GDP, exports, human capital, employment rate, international tourism receipts, and expenditures have a significant and positive relationship with REP in Vietnam. These results guide the regulators while making regulations related to the extensive energy production in return for high economic and tourism growth.

Molecular identification of Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus causing mosaic disease of cassava in Nghe An province, Vietnam

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD), caused by Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV), was first detected in Tay Ninh province in the southeast region of Vietnam in 2017 and is an emerging threat for cassava production in Vietnam. This study was conducted to characterize the causal agent of CMD in Nghe An province in the north-central region of Vietnam, which is more than 1,200 km away from Tay Ninh province. Genetic relationships between SLCMV isolates indicated that both DNA-A and DNA-B sequences from Nghe An province were identical with the isolates from Tay Ninh province and were highly homologous (>99.7%) with isolates from Cambodia, Thailand and China. This study confirms the gradual spread of SLCMV in Vietnam as an emerging threat to cassava production. In addition, the outcome of this study could help in the timely enforcement of effective management strategies for the cassava mosaic disease in Vietnam.

Comparative Examination of Phytonutrients and Antioxidant Activity of Commonly Consumed Nuts and Seeds Grown in Vietnam

The aim of the present study was to determine the phenolics, carotenoids, B-vitamins, and antioxidant activity of nuts and seeds grown in Vietnam. The concentrations of carotenoids and B-vitamins may vary among the nuts and seeds. Watermelon seed contained the highest level of lutein while pumpkin seed was the β-carotene richest sample. Sachi inchi and sunflower seed comprised considerable levels of vitamin B1, B6, and B9. The phenolic analysis revealed that cashew contained the highest total amount of flavonoids (466.04 μg/g), with catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2 predominating over the other flavonoids. Likewise, chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids made up the highest total amount of phenolic acids in sunflower seed (1870.41 μg/g). Walnut appeared to possess the highest antioxidant activity evaluated by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and reducing power assays. The correlation analysis indicated strong positive correlations between total phenolic content with DPPH and FRAP values. Principal component analysis graphically showed the distant positioning of cashew and sunflower seed, highlighting their significantly higher levels of phenolics. The findings of the study would be useful to improve nutrient database contents for flavonoids and phenolic acids as well as to promote the consumption of nut and seed products in Vietnam.

Growing more Rice with less water: the System of Rice Intensification and water productivity in Vietnam*

We study the effects of a large‐scale System of Rice Intensification (SRI) program on the water productivity of rice in Vietnam by exploiting provincial and time variations in SRI uptake and irrigation water supply over the period 2000–2012. Our findings document that the world's second‐largest rice exporter could produce 4 million tonnes more rice with the same water supply in the reasonably achievable case of 20 per cent SRI uptake across its provinces. In addition, we find that SRI also increases the output of other crops, due at least partly to its possible water savings and soil nutrition preservation in rice production. Moreover, we show that SRI is more likely to be adopted in provinces with a stronger quality of provincial institutions and a weaker agricultural capital base. Numerous selectivity and randomisation tests affirm that the water productivity effect of SRI is robust to selection in SRI uptake at the province and district levels and addressing potential unobservable and omitted variable problems.

Attribution of Changes in Vietnam’s Labor Productivity

This study examines the change in labor productivity in Vietnam by means of a Fisher index decomposition and attribution analysis. The results can be summarized as follows. First, the aggregate labor productivity is decomposed into pure labor productivity and structural change from 2007 to 2019. All of the aggregate labor productivity, pure labor productivity, structural change, and interaction terms have increased by 69.83%, 36.74%, 24.20%, and 8.89%, respectively. Second, the percentage change in labor productivity is attributed to 20 sub-industries by pure labor productivity and structural change. The sum of the multi-period attribution of pure labor productivity and structural change shows that the manufacturing industry positively dominates (15.84%) and plays a key role in economic development. The positive pure labor productivity and structural change in the manufacturing industry imply that the structural bonus hypothesis does hold in the industry. The findings also indicate that pure labor productivity, especially in the service industry, should be improved to sustain economic growth.

Labor productivity in Vietnam - situation and solutions

Labor productivity in Vietnam - situation and solutions

The influence of climate change knowledge on consumer valuation of sustainably produced rice in Vietnam

Rice production in Vietnam is characterized by environmental degradation, high greenhouse gas emissions, and low wage rates. The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard is the first globally recognized certified sustainable production standard for rice. There are efforts to increase sustainability in rice production, but little is known about consumer perception of sustainability labels. This study investigates the relationship between climate change knowledge and consumer willingness to pay for SRP-certified rice in Vietnamese supermarkets. The results show that consumers are willing to pay on average a 29% price premium for SRP-labelled rice. Increased knowledge about climate change and higher income positively influence the amount consumers are willing to pay. The results have policy and market implications for scaling production and consumption of rice complying with certified sustainable production standards in Vietnam.

Rice variety and sustainable farming: A case study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The Mekong Delta (MKD) produces more than half of the total rice production in Vietnam. In the context of climate change, the Vietnamese government has implemented a development strategy for rice production in the MKD region to improve quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proportion of aromatic and high-quality rice production is gradually increasing to satisfy the export market. However, there is still an over-reliance on agrochemicals and the impact of overall efficiency of major rice groups is not well understood. This study measures the overall efficiency (OE) and input slacks of rice production in the MKD and considered low-emission rice farming. Using primary survey data from 380 households, the super-slack based measure (super-SBM) in data envelopment analysis (DEA) was employed to calculate the efficiency scores and non-radial slacks of each farm. The results indicated that both aromatic rice (AR) and high-quality rice (HR) groups achieved higher OE in the autumn-winter (AW) season than in the summer-autumn (SA) season. In addition, OE also increased in paddy farms greater than two hectares and in households that have cooperative membership and practice climate smart agriculture (CSA). For the input reduction strategies based on slacks, it was found that each rice group should have the seed density reduced by amounts ranging from 29 to 45 kg/ha. N fertilizer should also be reduced by 33 kg/ha and 35 kg/ha in the SA and AW seasons, respectively. It was estimated that rice farming can correspondingly mitigate N2O emissions by 62−74.2 kg/km2 in the SA season and 64.7−73 kg/km2 in the AW season. Overall, the super-SBM model was effective in simultaneously estimating the overall efficiency and input overuse among paddy fields. In addition, the ranking of “super-efficient” rice farms also supports the restructuring policy of the government in establishing AR and HR production areas for export. Among the adaptation strategies, households that practice CSA techniques have smaller slacks of N fertilizer and irrigation. Low-emission paddy sector development in the MKD favors AR and HR if the CSA techniques are continuously promoted and strictly monitored by the Vietnamese government.

Sustainable value added material use of occurring by-products from sugar and rice production in Vietnam

Due to the worldwide growing population, the demand on food increases, which results in the need for a higher productivity in agriculture. Generally, this leads to larger amounts of agricultural residues and by-products, which may cause severe environmental risks due to emissions from simple burning or storing, especially in emerging and developing countries. In Vietnam agricultural by-products arise in total of 118 Mt per year, whereas 80% are coming from rice and sugar cane processing. By the selection of favorable plant varieties, seed, and/or seedlings, it is possible to improve the rice and sugar yield. Besides, the by-products offer a great potential for a value-added material use. We developed a flexible portable, integrated process scheme aside from high-tech biotechnology applications. Erosion control blankets, soil improvers/composts for an improved crop yield and soil management, and adsorbents with the focus on environmental issues for cleaning of fluid streams were produced from different fractions of the residue fractions via thermo-mechanical processes. As a consequence, fossil raw material input streams, e.g. polymer based textiles, inorganic fertilizing agents, and peat/coal can be avoided.In laboratory and field tests we demonstrate the producibility and the applicability and summarize the positive impact of the aforementioned products made from rice straw and bagasse: The improved varieties as well as the addition of selected soil improvers/composts made from the by-products improve the test plants' yield and quality. The application of erosion control blankets prevents soil loss and dehydration by covering soil surface for a period of transition. The produced shaped activated carbons show mechanical and adsorption specific properties, which are comparable to commercial products.

Digital transformation characteristics and trends in petroleum exploration and production

Digital transformation is an urgent solution for the oil and gas industry in the energy transition trend, helping oil and gas enterprises optimise oil and gas exploration, development and production costs, and improving the competitiveness of oil and gas in comparison with other energy sources, especially new and renewable energy sources.
 The article provides an overview of the digital transformation trends in petroleum exploration and production, the current status of digital technology application, difficulties and barriers, thereby making some recommendations on the objectives and orientations for the implementation of digital transformation in petroleum exploration and production in Vietnam.

Purchasing Power Parity Between Vietnam and United States

This study uses the annual data of consumer price index, exchange rate and inflation rates spanned from 1986 to 2014 in order to observe whether the PPP hypothesis holds between Vietnam and United States. First, the findings come out based on the graph aproach which is used in order to examine both short-run and long-run PPP. Second, the Engle-Granger approach is applied in order to test for the long – run PPP again. In the short-run, the result from the graph approach indicates that PPP holds during hyperinflation years. After hyperinflation period, the exchange rate and relative price tend to be close together in several years. This finding in the short-run seems to reveal a good guide in the long-run PPP. Both graph and the Engle-Granger approach show the same result in the long –run. Upon the stationary testing, the finding of the Engle-Granger approach demonstrates that residuals from the estimation are stationary, therefore, there is an existence of a long-run relationship between nominal and real exchange rate. In other way, PPP seems to hold between Vietnam and United States. The result leads to the implication that multinational companies should set the same prices for products in Vietnam and United States market based on PPP. Otherwise, investors can gain profit through arbitrage strategies.

Stakeholders’ Preferences towards Contract Attributes: Evidence from Rice Production in Vietnam

Contract farming is typically considered an appropriate measure for small-scale farmers to solve their constraints and problems. However, despite positive effects, low participation in and high dropout rates from contract farming schemes remain challenges. Therefore, this study objects to evaluate preferences for contract attributes and attribute levels among contracting buyers, farmers, and government officials through data triangulation from key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observations. Based on Henry Garrett Ranking, Rank Based Quotient, and Rank Based Sum methods, results indicate that the most important attributes were price options, payment, delivery arrangement, input provision, input-use requirements, and product quality standards. Despite a consensus on the ranking of the contract attributes, the preferences for the attribute levels among the stakeholders were heterogeneous. It is recommended that attributes and their levels should be pertinent in contract agreements. Thus, contract design with an adjusted or premium price, 50% of estimated payment before harvesting and the rest after delivery three to five days or lump-sum immediate payment, delivery after harvesting, inputs provision by the contractors through the representative branches or stores located at the local areas or cooperatives, banning active-ingredients or flexible use of inputs from the contractors to produce Good Agricultural Practices or organic products are considerable options.

Precipitation and Soil Moisture Spatio-Temporal Variability and Extremes over Vietnam (1981-2019): Understanding Their Links to Rice Yield.

Vietnam, one of the three leading rice producers globally, has recently seen an increased threat to its rice production emanating from climate extremes (floods and droughts). Understanding spatio-temporal variability in precipitation and soil moisture is essential for policy formulations to adapt and cope with the impacts of climate extremes on rice production in Vietnam. Adopting a higher-order statistical method of independent component analysis (ICA), this study explores the spatio-temporal variability in the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation Station’s (CHIRPS) precipitation and the Global Land Data Assimilation System’s (GLDAS) soil moisture products. The results indicate an agreement between monthly CHIRPS precipitation and monthly GLDAS soil moisture with the wetter period over the southern and South Central Coast areas that is latter than that over the northern and North Central Coast areas. However, the spatial patterns of annual mean precipitation and soil moisture disagree, likely due to factors other than precipitation affecting the amount of moisture in the soil layers, e.g., temperature, irrigation, and drainage systems, which are inconsistent between areas. The CHIRPS Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is useful in capturing climate extremes, and the GLDAS Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSI) is useful in identifying the influences of climate extremes on rice production in Vietnam. During the 2016–2018 period, there existed a reduction in the residual rice yield that was consistent with a decrease in soil moisture during the same time period.