A benchmark report characterizing the three project areas and rice farming systems in the three provinces

The three year multidisciplinary ClimaViet project (July 2013 to June 2016) implemented jointly by the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) and the Norwegian Institute for Agriculture and Environmental Research (Bioforsk) is focusing mainly on the future climate change impacts on rice production in Vietnam with financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. As a first step, the project has reviewed the current studies and programs related to climate change and agriculture taken by other agencies in Vietnam. The existing climate scenarios were downscaled and the climate impacts on seasonality in rainfall leading to droughts and salinity in coastal areas on rice production were assessed. Potential measures leading to improved rice cropping systems and improved nutrient use efficiency are being pilottested in the three study areas located in Nam Dinh, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces. The results are expected to contribute to sustained productivity and climate change mitigation. Towards the end, the project will develop the institutional and policy guidelines required to adopt the potential measures identified and tested in the project. The project involves stakeholders at the provincial and national level (VAAS, MARD, MONRE and other relevant stakeholders) for better uptake of results. [...