Why the Land Consolidation of Vietnam is Incomplete: A Case Study of Binh Dao Commune, Central Vietnam

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the results of Vietnam’s land consolidation program of 2006 and to explore why it remains incomplete through a case study of Binh Dao Commune, a typical coastal plain commune in the country’s central region. Using a geographic information system, combined with secondary data and in-depth interviews with stakeholders, we created digital maps of the spatial structure of farmland parcels and rural infrastructure before and after the land consolidation program to determine the changes therein. In parallel, a clearer picture of the land consolidation program’s implementation mechanism is presented. The findings show that the land consolidation program in Binh Dao Commune contributed to a decrease in the average number of plots per household from 7.9 to 4.2; however, the change in the average farm size was not significant, with a mean increase of only 16.4 m² per household, from 2,071.2 m² to 2,087.6 m². The agricultural road and irrigation systems in Binh Dao Commune were also significantly improved as a by-product of land consolidation. However, the fragmented classification system of agricultural land stemming from the principle of equality redistribution by the socialist agricultural revolution led to the program’s incomplete results.