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Vietnam reemerged in 1989 as a rice exporter after 2 decades of being a net importer of rice. This change to an exporter status can be attributed in part to the decollectivization policies that were pursued since 1981. Prior to the policy reforms, Vietnam was importing rice despite rapid and widespread adoption of modern rice varieties and technology.' In 1981, Vietnam departed from a collectivized agricultural production system to an individual-oriented contract system of production. The contract system was similar to the household responsibility system introduced in China in 1979.2 This allowed individual households to cultivate land independently, rather than as members of collective work groups, and to be responsible for providing a contracted amount of output to the state. The switch to the contract system of production had a significant effect on rice productivity. Annual growth in rice yield per hectare was the highest during the period 1982-87, relative to the period 195081 (table 1). By 1984, average rice yields relative to 1980 yields for the northern and southern provinces were 32% and 24% higher, respectively. Likewise, during the same period, annual rice output per capita increased by approximately 40 kilograms for both the northern and the southern provinces (table 2). Beginning in 1988, policy reforms were initiated to further liberalize the agricultural sector of Vietnam. The latest reforms are aimed at: (a) increased security of tenure on land allocated to individual households; (b) privatization of output markets; (c) decentralization of input supplies; and (d) individual decision making for household re |
