Adapting crop production to increasing salinity in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta : Thoughts on stakeholders and roles in a potential transition process

Samenvatting

Increasing saltwater intrusion devastates the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). Salinisation events are further exacerbated by climate change resulting in crop yield reduction and thereby, high socio-economic losses annually. The Vietnamese government has developed a master plan that supports saline agriculture in the VMD thereby facilitating improved crop production under salinized conditions. Cultivation of salt tolerant cultivars, water management and application of soil amendments are some saline agriculture strategies already used in the VMD. These strategies altogether focus on improving the soil-water-crop continuum to boost crop productivity under salty environments in the VMD. Stakeholders play diverse, important roles in implementation and mass adoption of saline agriculture strategies. The national, regional and local government promote policies that serve as the bedrock for sustainable productivity in saline-prone areas. Academic institutions and development partners cooperate to advance knowledge and create toolbox (models, frameworks, methodologies etc) that support implementation of saline agriculture. The private sector (consisting of buyers, sellers and non-governmental organisations) as well as, farmers complete the cycle of stakeholder cooperation that is needed to facilitate upscaling of saline agriculture from just a few farms to a whole community or province. In the context of transitioning to saline agriculture in the VMD, care should be taken to circumvent several arising challenges that may occur. The socio-economic costs and potential environmental risks associated with implementation of saline adaptation strategies should be thoroughly considered. National policies supporting saline agriculture remain somewhat unclear thus, mass sensitisation is needed for stakeholders working at different scales to fully understand and embrace these strategies. Furthermore, research on salinisation should lead to development of user-friendly, practical tools and should be complemented with capacity building of farmers. Market development and linkage should be made so that products from saline agriculture can be easily sold and purchased at the local, regional or national level, and exported to international global markets. Lastly, stakeholder coordination should be prioritised to support a systems approach where connections between the whole production value chain is made. Overall supporting upscaling saline agriculture in the VMD.