Data/hora: 12/06/2024 10:19:15

Provedor de dados: 	31	
País: 	United States	
Título: 	Maize boom in the uplands of Northern Vietnam : economic importance and environmental implications	
Autores: 	Keil,   Alwin; Saint-Macary,   Camille; Zeller,   Manfred.	
Data: 	2010-08-04	
Ano: 	2008	
Palavras-chave: 	Maize area expansion; Environmental sustainability; Tobit regression; Vietnam; Environmental Economics and Policy; Land Economics/Use; Production Economics.	
Resumo: 	In Vietnam, the demand for meat products has grown dramatically due to rapid economic growth and urbanisation and is expected to further increase in the future. Being the primary source of feed for the country’s livestock and poultry industry, maize has become the second most important crop after rice. While this maize boom has the potential to reduce rural poverty, it promotes the expansion of agricultural cultivation into fragile agro-ecological zones, often leading to deforestation and soil degradation, especially in the uplands. Using empirical evidence from mountainous Yen Chau district in north-western Vietnam, the objective of this paper is to investigate the current economic importance and environmental implications of maize cultivation. Furthermore, particular emphasis is placed on the identification of factors influencing farmers’ decision how much area to allocate to maize in order to derive research and policy recommendations. Maize is the dominant crop in Yen Chau, covering most of the uplands and generating the lion’s share of households’ cash income. Although farmers are well aware of soil erosion on their maize plots, effective soil conservation measures are rarely practiced. Maize is attractive to farmers from all social strata, notably the poor, and through marketing arrangements with traders its cultivation is also not constrained by poor infrastructural conditions. Access to low-interest credit should be enhanced to mitigate farmers’ risk of being caught in a poverty trap when maize revenues plummet due to pests, diseases, price fluctuations, or adverse weather conditions. To address the problem of soil degradation in the maize-dominated uplands, research is needed on soil conservation options that are economically more attractive than those promoted thus far.	
Tipo: 	Working or Discussion Paper	
Idioma: 	Inglês	
Identificador: 	1439-4952

http://purl.umn.edu/92829	
Relação: 	Universitaet Hohenheim, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences in the Tropics and Subtropics&gt;Research in Development Economics and Policy (Discussion Paper Series)

Discussion Paper

04/2008	
Formato: 	23