ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN RICE FARMING: THE CASE OF “ONE MUST DO, FIVE REDUCTIONS” IN VIETNAM

Abstract

Technology adoption helps farmers gain more benefits in comparison to conventional practices. “One Must Do, Five Reductions” (1M5R) has been introduced in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta Region for nearly a decade, integrated into agricultural extension programs, and recent concerns have arisen, including farmers’ low benefits and socio-economic barriers to adoption. Using survey data from 455 smallholder rice farmers, including both adopters and non-adopters, in Hau Giang province in the Winter-Spring crop 2020-2021 and Summer-Autumn crop 2021, the study confirmed the economic advantage of the adoption of 1M5R through the lower costs of production inputs and higher revenues. 1M5R adoption helped the farmers reduce 31.1-39.2% seed quantity, 10.6-16.4% nitrogen, 9.8-20.9% phosphate, 16.4-23.1% potassium in purities, and 1.67-1.84 times of pesticide spraying and significantly contributed to successfully applying AWD on rice farms, leading to an increasing net benefit of 3-5 million VND per ha. The benefit-cost ratios were estimated to increase by 35.4% and 41.4% in the Winter-Spring and Summer-Autumn rice crops, respectively. The findings of the study suggest 1M5R is a good practice in rice farming for the agricultural sector to disseminate across the Mekong Delta Region as well as to test this model in different agroecological regions through the national agricultural extension programs.