From farming systems research to a CBNRM research agenda : its usefulness in Vietnam

As market oriented economic development proceeds, Vietnamese farmers in rural areas continue to experience great disparity in income compared with other sectors. They revert to natural resources as the most accessible sources of livelihood. Several farming systems are practised by rural households at various agroecoregions. While each system might bring benefit to an individual household, the conflicts in resource utilization often nullify the effort of the whole community. Therefore, a better approach to sustainable natural resource management must be designed to help poor farmers in less privileged, fragile areas. The Vietnam Farming Systems Network -- a consortium of nine agricultural universities and research institutes located at all the agroecosystems of the country, with major assistance from IDRC -- carries out a nation-wide research program to address these problems. This paper reports the preparation stage and the approaches that the Network is using to involve farming communities in the management of their own natural resources