ABSTRACT
Vietnamese agriculture continues to employ the great mass of the Vietnamese population. However, the position it can and should take in economic development remains subject to debate. This chapter examines current developments in the economy and the countryside in the light of both their effects upon what remains a large and rather poor group of people, as well as implications for future research. In the inter-Congress party conference of January 1994, industrialization and modernization were presented as the main goals of development policy for the remainder of the decade. The project priorities of the November 1993 Donor's Conference confirmed this thrust to accelerate growth through an urban and industrial focus. The creation of a national rice market in 1987-89 has provided an important opportunity for farmers in the areas where the comparative advantage is not in wet-rice production.
