Cultivation and Utilization of Houttuynia cordata in the Mekong Delta, South Vietnam

Abstract

Rice acreage has decreased in the Mekong Delta, South Vietnam, a major rice-producing region. The area planted to herbs such as Houttuynia cordata has increased more than 1.5-fold in four years in Binh Minh, Vinh Long, Mekong Delta. This study focused on H. cordata, which is widely used and cultivated in the Mekong Delta, to identify specific changes in agriculture and livelihoods in the Mekong Delta by analyzing the results of interviews and questionnaire surveys that I conducted in the region in 2017–2019.

In the Mekong Delta, H. cordata is cultivated on a small scale for household consumption and on a large scale for sale. Commercial cultivation of the plant began before the 1990s and expanded in the region after the 2000s. Commercial cultivation of H. cordata is performed using chemical fertilizer. Some people use the plant four days a week, for example, consuming the leaves as a herb with pork and shrimp.

Results on the cultivation and utilization of H. cordata revealed that agriculture in the Mekong Delta has shifted on a large scale from paddy rice cultivation to commodity crop cultivation, and a distribution system for commodity crops has been established. Furthermore, changes were found in dietary habits in line with recent economic development in local communities in the Mekong Delta.