Supporting rural development in the provinces of Binh Dinh and Hung Yen

Despite a rapid industrial development over the past two decades, Vietnam remains a country with a strong rural and agricultural base. In 2013, agricultural production, which is concentrated on 6 million hectares of farmland, accounted for over a fifth of Gross Domestic Product, a third of exports and half of employment. The liberalization of the economy and trade in agricultural products, which was undertaken starting in the 1990s, triggered a rapid and strong response from Vietnamese agriculture. Vietnam consequently achieved the position of the second largest rice and coffee exporting country in less than 15 years. These results were largely due to crop intensification, which in itself is often the result of better water management, particularly in the deltas. Indeed, the production structure continues to be dominated by family farming.

The An Thi area is located in Hung Yen Province in the Red River Delta, one of the key centers of the country’s economy (particularly for rice production). The delta faces a number of economic challenges. In view of the high population density (some 1,250 people per km2) and the limited size of farms (the majority are under 0.2 ha), the population increasingly has several activities (industry, services).

The dual development of urbanization and industrialization is gradually leading to a reduction in farmland, a diversification of economic activities and an increase in water demand. The Thuong Son area is located in Binh Dinh Province, a coastal province in the center of the country which is exposed to climate hazards (droughts, floods and risk of typhoons). The provincial economy is still largely based on the primary sector (agriculture, aquaculture, forest exploitation, mines and quarries).

The project comprises three main components:

• The rehabilitation of the water system in An Thi District to restore the drainage and irrigation capacity of the network supplying an agricultural production area of 1,200 ha. 
• The development of the new irrigation area in Thuong Son to more effectively exploit the agricultural production potential of 3,500 ha.
• The implementation of technical assistance to build the water resources management capacity of local actors (local authorities, Irrigation Management Company, farmers) and optimize the operation and sustainability of water structures.

AFD is contributing to socioeconomic development in the provinces of Binh Dinh and Hung Yen by maintaining or increasing the agricultural production potential.

• Improvement in living conditions for residents (by developing water networks, building management capacities for water structures). 
• Agricultural production maintained in these provinces faced with the consequences of climate change.