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A computational method for detecting pineapple ripening could lead to increased agricultural productivity. It is possible to predict fruit maturity before harvesting to increase agricultural productivity. A ripe fruit's quality, its standard content of physical and chemical properties will increase the value of a good when traded outside the market. This paper studies and improves the Tiny YOLO-v4 model for identifying the pineapple ripening period. Researchers studied pineapples in a pineapple garden in Vietnam's central region. They wanted to determine when pineapples were ripe. The API and the website are based on the YOLO innovation model. Apps and website APIs will be available for mobile devices so that people can monitor fruits. Technology transfer and academic research are combined in this study. We prepared the pineapple data set by using 5,000,000 pineapples harvested from the pineapple farm at different stages of growth. To make the measurements, we improved the YOLO-v4 algorithm. This results in a more accurate training model and reduced train-ing time. A 98.26% recognition accuracy is quite impressive. Research takes place at large-scale plantations, so the models are created from the data collected at the plantations and are used as labels; training takes a long time for the tiniest details about pineapples, and finding pineapple-growing regions takes a long time. The deep learning classifier was able to process pineapple plantation photos by using the camera on the mobile phone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Vietnam, esp. In the northwest region, tea and coffee crops have been increasing in both quality and quantity and scientists are trying to find ways to increase productivity, as well as eliminate damaging insects and coffee berry borer, etc in order to reduce damages for farmers. The fact in agriculture is that when farmers are in good crops, the coffee price is going down and vice versa. In our last paper, we have mentioned coffee berry borer, and until this paper, we will explore new issues of increasing productivity, quality and quantity for both tea and coffee crops in Vietnam, esp. in the northwest area. Among results is relating to coffee seeds and technique planting of farmers with suitable land area and the solutions and ways for farmers to earn profits after they invest into coffee and tea crops. Our paper can be foundations for suggesting and setting agriculture development policies as well. For instance, we recommend that Completing the equivalent system of food hygiene and safety regulations/standards market in developed countries. Additional regulations on safety inspection and supervision food straight from the field. Last but not least, we proposed marketing solutions for farmers to expand exporting markets to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a great consensus about the crucial role of perennial crops in an agricultural economy of a country. The paper aims (1) to identify the differences in the costs and profits of perennial crops produced by two study groups, a group producing coffee (GpC) and a group producing pepper (GpP) over two crop years 2016/2017-2017/2018; (2) evaluate the evolution of the economic performance of each group during two years; and (3) examine factors influencing the farm profitability. By using the mixed data from a household survey conducted in three sub-regions of Dak Lak province, Vietnam, a financial verification is used to explore the economic incentives between two groups and a discriminant analysis is undertaken to classify the determinants of the farm profitability. The results perform that the GpC is generally lower input costs and economic benefits than the GpP. The decrease of economic indicators of the GpP during two years, meanwhile, is more significant than that of the GpC in the same period. In addition, the GpP is likely to invest more inputs, heavily use chemical cost, be more susceptible to pests and diseases, and the volatile market conditions in comparison to the GpC. Categorically, the variable cost and reduction rate in terms of valueadded, net farm income (NFI), profit, labor productivity, and the ratio of NFI to family labor of the GpC have lower than those of the GpP, respectively, during two years. Furthermore, in similarly conditional practices, the perennial crop farms generate different returns depending on experience, training, other income, and gross outputs. The findings provide information for farmers to make accurate decision about coffee and pepper farms production as recommended by reducing the quantity of fertilizers, allocating resources and diversifying crop systems. Additionally, the empirical results also offer policymakers the farms sustainable development at local and national levels. Going forward, authors suggest these factors be considered in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study unravels the implications of outmigration for farm labour availability, managerial feminization, women's agency, and farm production. Findings suggest that migration contributes to increased off-farm income, with higher income from international migration. While men's labour contribution declines in migrant households, women's labour increases in the majority of production stages. Women's salaried work declines while their unpaid work increases. Both farm labour and management are feminized. Through two-stage least squares, results indicate a negative association between increased women's work burden and rice yield. Farm inputs and hiring labour contribute to higher yield, but remittances are not generally used for this purpose. This paper provides insights on agricultural feminization as a result of migration and underscores its nexus to farm production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Systemic changes in environmental conditions, such as climate, can have a significant impact on both natural and human systems. This paper provides an improved understanding of the spatio-temporal variations in underlying climate processes, and the potential effects climate change may have on Vietnam's agricultural sector. Statistical methods were combined with geostatistical techniques to test the statistical significance of long-term trends in the climatic variables, graphically representing the distribution of climate patterns, identifying variations and trends of changes over time and their likely effects on agricultural production. By using records of monthly precipitation and temperature for a relatively long-term period (1975–2014) over a high density of 112 meteorological stations across the country, robust statistical and visual evidence of climatic change throughout Vietnam are provided. The Mann-Kendall trend test confirms the statistically significant long-term trends of rainfall and temperature in many regions across the country. The visual analysis shows remarkable changes in the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of those variables and most of the 'hotspot' areas identified by geostatistical mapping are in areas with confirmed long-term trends. The long-term significant trends are also concentrated in areas with very high proportion of agricultural land, particularly land used for rice production in the Red River and Mekong River deltas. The findings deliver a better understanding of underlying climate processes and impacts across regions of Vietnam and provide a basis to develop effective climate-related policies for agricultural production in response to changing climatic conditions. Highlights • We use data from weather stations at high spatial density recorded over a long period. • Robust visual and statistical evidence of climate change across Vietnam is provided. • We identify key rice-growing areas that are affected with pronounced climatic change. • We evaluate the likely effects of the ongoing climatic change on rice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Vietnamese Household Living Standards Surveys of 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, this paper investigates the role of rice in poverty dynamics in the recent context of Vietnam. We find that sizeable changes in rice prices in the 2000s, which were driven largely by the country's integration into the world markets, have not helped rural households escape poverty, even for households with large-scale rice production. Our results also document that changes in rice output and productivity did not help mitigate poverty either. The paper provides evidence to explain why a substantial exogenous increase in the rice prices between 2006 and 2008 did not help rural households to move out of poverty, while similar changes did help in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at evaluating the technical efficiency and resource use efficiency in rice production in the Mekong Delta. This study used a parametric estimation method through the stochastic frontier production function under the translog form, and was performed using software Frontier 4.1. The research data is the Winter-Spring season - one of the main crops in rice production in this region and in the 2017 - 2018 crop year. The results show that the technical efficiency is 91.5%; and a fraction of one quarter of households has still technical efficiency below 90%. Besides, the efficiency of using input resources is not optimal. Many types of materials such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides have been used in an excess of the necessary and recommended levels of the agricultural agency. The farm-size is not too large, but it is possible that because there are many farm plots, which also adversely affect the technical efficiency and the resource use efficiency. Positive factors that increase technical efficiency need to be focused on for replication such as educational level, production experience, participation in technical training classes, contract farming. This study is expected to have policy implications for rice production in the Mekong Delta in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper focuses on both the environmental impact of intensive shrimp farming in the coastal region of Vietnam and the identification of options for cleaner production. We investigated water pollution, sediment contamination and the spread of diseases related to shrimp farming in the Can Gio district of Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), an area representative for the impacts of intensive shrimp production in the country. Data on the production process was compiled from site observations, interviews with local farmers and experts, as well as from secondary sources. The results indicate that, while a large number of individual farms may exceed environmental standards, intensive shrimp farming is not always associated with waste streams exceeding water quality standards. This is interesting because it shows currently available technologies can reduce pollution from intensive shrimp farms. The paper concludes by identifying technologically and economically feasible options for reducing water pollution, problems associated with contaminated sediment, and the spread of diseases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyses the relationship between temperature shocks and migration in rural households in Viet Nam. To control for the potential endogeneity between crop production and migration we use monthly minimum temperatures in the growing season as an instrument of rice production. In this way, we exploit a relationship uncovered in the natural science. Results show that the rise in minimum temperature during the core month of the growing season (i.e. June) does cause a reduction in rice production which, in turn, has a positive impact on people's propensity to migrate. This finding, which is robust to the use of different estimators and plausible violations of the exogeneity of the instrument, supports the 'agricultural channel' between climate shocks and migration by highlighting a specific feature at work in a rice-producing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• It is well established that land fragmentation reduces the productivity of on-farm labor. • The literature is confused about how it affects the amount of labor used on-farm and off-farm. • This paper shows the conceptual benefit of viewing land consolidation as a form of technical change. • Empirical results for Vietnam confirm that land consolidation reduces use of on-farm labor and increases off-farm use. • Land consolidation also promotes the adoption of mechanization. This paper deepens the economic analysis of the effects of land consolidation – reduction of land fragmentation. It does this in the context of rural Vietnam, studying whether land consolidation promotes or hinders the Vietnamese government's policy objectives of encouraging agricultural mechanization and stimulating the off-farm rural economy. The analysis views land consolidation as a form of technical change, making it possible to apply the rich insights developed in the economic literature on that subject. This treatment reveals that the economic impacts of land consolidation depend partly on its factor bias and partly on the degree to which labor is substitutable in production for other factors. At a theoretical level, if a technical change is factor neutral, it will reduce off-farm labor supply and slow rural structural transformation away from agriculture; if it is labor-augmenting and the elasticity of substitution between factors is low enough, the opposite effects are predicted. The paper studies these issues empirically for rice production in Vietnam, focusing on the impact that consolidation of rice land has on rice production, machinery use, and labor allocation. The findings confirm that land consolidation raises both farm productivity and farm income and stimulates increased machinery use. It also reduces farm labor supply, lowers labor intensity in farming, and thereby releases more farm labor to off-farm development, consistent with government policy objectives. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that land consolidation should be encouraged through development of land ownership rights and the promotion of land rental markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing country production environment, farm production efficiency is often measured in terms of on-farm resources and producer characteristics. In this paper we postulate that input and output market related factors also influence farm production decisions hence its efficiency. Stochastic frontier production function was used to assess technical efficiency and its determinants including input and output market variables for a sample of 1962 pig farms in Vietnam with data collected in 1999. There are significant differences in production behavior and efficiency level between the North and the South, among farms producing different breeds, between mixed and specialized farms, between household and commercial farms, and among producers located in different agro-ecological regions. Access to better output market, land size, herd size, and education of household head significantly reduced inefficiency, while access to government supplied inputs, age of household head, female headed households and family supplied crude feeds significantly increased inefficiency in both the regions. The direction of influence on efficiency differs between the two regions for access to credit, proportion of output sold at market rather than at farm gate and family labor supply. Generally, market related factors had more consistent influence on production efficiency in the South of Vietnam where the experience of market economics is longer compared to the North. Policy actions on providing better extension, more timely access to better quality inputs through the private sector, making credit more easily accessible to smallholders and opportunity to sell output at better priced secondary markets are expected to increase productivity and reduce inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional farming and climate change are placing considerable stress on agricultural systems around the world, leading to increased hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity, particularly in developing countries. Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAPs) can help raise productivity and agricultural incomes while minimising negative environmental impacts. While recognising that sustainability is a contested term, we identify agricultural practices that are generally viewed as sustainable as they minimise impacts on the environment. Despite the benefits of SAPs, adoption rates are still low in developing countries. While previous studies have examined the factors affecting SAP adoption, most have not accounted for issues of heterogeneity and endogeneity inherent in such analysis. In this paper, we address this by employing a random-effects probit model with the Mundlak approach and fixed-effects linear probability models to control for farmer- and plot-level heterogeneities and to avoid the incidental parameters problem. We analyse panel data from Vietnam for approximately 14,000 plots over the period 2008–2016 to identify the factors behind SAP adoption. Overall, we find that improved knowledge transferred by extension agents and learning from peers significantly influence adoption. Farmers' knowledge of their land and soil quality are also important factors. We recommend enhancing cooperation between extension agents, farmer groups and peers in order to encourage SAP adoption. • Adoption rates of Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Vietnam are relatively low. • Improved knowledge and learning from agents and peers influence adoption. • Farmers' knowledge of their land and soil quality are also important factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We study the relationship between agricultural land title, land use, and forest loss in Vietnam. • The household's share of agricultural land in title is associated with intensification and increased output. • The share of households with land in title and the share of land in title are associated with forest loss. • Weak evidence that increasing the average share of household titled ag land decreases forest loss. This paper studies the relationship between land tenure for smallholder agriculture and deforestation. We combine high resolution satellite data on deforestation with rich household and commune-level, biannual panel data from Vietnam. We study two margins of tenure security, whether a household has any land title (extensive) and the share of a household's land held in title (intensive). Using a household-fixed effects model, we find the increases in crop production and land investment associated with holding land title are driven by the intensive margin. We then aggregate the survey data to the commune-level and find evidence that marginal increases in extensive tenure (share of households with any land title) increase deforestation holding constant the average intensive tenure (average share of land held in tenure among those with land title). We find some evidence that increasing the intensive margin of tenure (holding constant the extensive tenure) decreases deforestation. These results present a more nuanced view of the tenure-deforestation relationship than is prevalent in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding household's decision making in agricultural production to natural hazards is significant for policymakers and extension organizations in supporting farmers to optimize adaptive strategies, there are, however, still limited empirical researches that emphasize the determinants affecting the choice of measures in the process of adaptation. This paper explores the decision-making process of rural households in adapting to flash floods and landslides (FF&LS) by conducting a household survey on 405 purposively selected households in Yen Bai province, one of the poorest mountainous regions in Vietnam. Based on the multi-portfolio framework, the study assumes that farmers have multiple choice of adaptation strategies simultaneously and these adaptation measures are correlative. Multivariate Probit models were used to figure out the household decision making process in adapting to FF&LS. Survey results showed that changing cropping patterns, crop variegation, diversifying types of crop varieties, as well as managing and implementing crop protection (soil and plant) are the primary adaptation measures applied by local farmers. Furthermore, lack of money, inadequate support from local government, shortage of machinery and technical equipment, as well as insufficient knowledge about FF&LS were listed as major constraints in the study area. The MVP analysis indicated that all farmers' perception, socio-economic, farming features, and institutional conditions strongly influence the farmers' adaptation decisions regarding FF&LS. Future policies may therefore need to consider these major contributing factors with appropriate interventions to facilitate suitable adaptations for local farmers. • Frequent natural disasters in one of the poorest regions in Vietnam are considered. • Factors affecting farmers' decisions to flash floods and landslides are examined. • Local farmers apply several crop-related methods for adaptation. • Farmers' perception and farm income are keys factors affecting their decisions. • Different ethnic groups apply different adaptation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]