“One must do, five reductions” qualitative analysis of the diffusion and adoption constraints in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Over the last decades, Vietnam has increased its rice production substantially, which has resulted in environmental degradation and adverse health effects. The present study aimed to document the introduction and diffusion of the sustainable technology package “One Must Do, Five Reductions” (1M5R). Barriers to adoption were investigated with 155 farmers in 17 focus group discussions. Results show that external factors such as the geographical location of farms and access to water seem to be the main barriers. Knowledge provision, demonstration fields, and access to extension services are important to increase the adoption of sustainable rice farming practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Adoption-diffusion process
• Vietnam
• One Must Do
• Five Reductions
• sustainable rice farming

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), grant number 81016734, and received financing under the consultancy contract between IRRI and APMB (MARD) under the Vietnam – Sustainable Agricultural Transformation (VNSAT) project ID no. Cr. 5704-VN, Contract No. SSS-02.

Notes on contributors

Le Anh Tuan

Mr Le Anh Tuan is a sociologist and independent consultant for the International Rice Research Institute. His work primarily focusses on agricultural development in South East Asia providing capacity building support.

Helena Wehmeyer

Mrs Helena Wehmeyer is a doctoral student of the University of Basel and the International Rice Research Institute investigating sustainable rice production and environmental, social, and economic impacts in smallholder farmers.

Melanie Connor

Dr Melanie Connor is a Social Scientist currently working at the International Rice Research Institute. Dr Connor’s research primarily focusses on decision making in agriculture, social and cultural aspects of research for development, food security, health and nutrition of farmers.