Abstract
Vietnam became the third largest rice-exporting country in the world in 1989, after having been a net importer of rice for decades. This change can be greatly attributed to the economic reform called Doi Moi, which was formulated in 1986 but became effective in 1989.
In Vietnam, the main agricultural activities are centered in the Red and Mekong Deltas, located in the north and south of the country respectively. Recent increases in rice production come mainly from the Mekong Delta where farmers have started cultivating rice two or three times in a year. It seems reasonable to suppose that farmers in the Mekong Delta adapted to the economic reform and stepped up agricultural production more easily as compared with other parts of the country. However, it is reported that the income gap among rural households has been widened in the Mekong Delta since the economic reform.
In this paper, an attempt would be made to investigate the changes in the village economy in the Mekong Delta after the economic reform.
