ABSTRACT
It is estimated that barren, underused hills occupy about 5 million hectares in Vietnam, or about 15% of the country’s total land area. They stretch from the mountainous north, through the central region, and down into the eastern part of southern Vietnam (Institute of Ecological Economy 1993). There has consequently been a determined research effort in Vietnam to find agricultural systems capable of providing a sustainable use of sloping land. Sloping agricultural land technology has been extended, and various other models have been developed (Vien and Thanh 1996). As a result, there has been a transition from traditional nomadic and extensive farming systems to more settled and intensive agriculture (Long, T. 1997).
