VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THAO LY STRENGTHENING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN COFFEE PRODUCTION IN CHIENG CHUNG COMMUNE, MAI SON DISTRICT, SON LA PROVINCE MASTER’S THESIS VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THAO LY STRENGTHENING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN COFFEE PRODUCTION IN CHIENG CHUNG COMMUNE, MAI SON DISTRICT, SON LA PROVINCE MAJOR: CLIMATE CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT CODE: 8900201.02QTD RESEARCH SUPERVISORS: DR. NGUYEN VAN QUANG ASSOC. NGUYEN THI HOANG HA Hanoi, 2023 PLEDGE I assure that this thesis is the result of my own research and has not been published. The use of other research results and other documents must comply with regulations.
The citations and references to documents, books, research papers, and websites must be in the list of references of the thesis. Author of the thesis Nguyen Thao Ly ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Nguyen Van Quang and Assoc. Nguyen Thi Hoang Ha for their exceptional support and guidance throughout the completion of my thesis.
Their expertise, encouragement, and constant motivation were instrumental in helping me navigate the challenges of the research process. Their dedication to excellence and passion for their work have been truly inspiring and motivating. The countless hours that they spent providing me with valuable feedback, insightful critiques, and constructive criticism have helped me to refine my research and produce a high-quality thesis that I am proud of. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with such knowledgeable and passionate supervisors who were always available to answer my questions, provide guidance, and offer support.
Thank you, Dr. Nguyen Van Quang and Assoc. Nguyen Thi Hoang Ha, for your unwavering support, patience, and understanding. Your mentorship has been invaluable to my academic journey, and I am confident that the skills and knowledge I gained under your supervision will serve me well in the future.
TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES. i LIST OF FIGURES. The necessity of the research. The research questions and hypothesis.
The questions of research. The hypothesis of the research. Scope of the research. Coffee production methods.
Introduction of the study area. The framework of the Master‘s thesis. Secondary data collection. Indicator based method for climate resilience assessment.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Current coffee production in Chieng Chung commune. Assessment of climate resilience in coffee production in Chieng Chung commune 39 3. Physical and Institutional dimensions.
Assessment of climate resilience on coffee production in Chieng Chung commune. Solutions for strengthening climate resilience in coffee production in Chieng Chung commune. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 98 LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1:The definition of five capitals by different authors.
7 Table 1-2: Village typology classification in Chieng Chung commune. 17 Table 2-1: Summarize the number of survey samples. 25 Table 2-2: Indicators for climate resilience measurements represented by Chieng Chung commune. 27 Table 2-3: The occurrence condition of extreme weather event.
31 Table 2-4: Climate resilience assessment scale. 33 Table 3-1: Income comparison among three farming models. 41 Table 3-2: Comparison between expenses from three coffee farming models. 43 Table 3-3: Comparison between profit from three coffee farming models.
44 Table 3-4: Quantitative assessment of climate resilience of three coffee production models in Chieng Chung commune. 72 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1:Climate Resilience and capacities framework. 10 Figure 1-2: The framework of three capacities. 10 Figure 1-3: Topographic image of Chieng Chung commune, Mai Son district, Son La province.
16 Figure 1-4: Total coffee area in Mai Son district, Son La province in 2021. 18 Figure 1-5: Coffee production in Mai Son district, Son La province (tonnes). 19 Figure 1-6: Logical framework of the research. 20 Figure 3-1: Coffee yield in Chieng Chung commune from 2019 to 2023.
34 Figure 3-2: Annual average temperature in Son La province (2010 – 2022). 35 Figure 3-3: The number of damaged cold days, cold days and hot days from 2010 to 2022 in Son La. 36 Figure 3-4: Annual rainfall in Son La province from 2010 to 2022. 37 Figure 3-5: Change in annual monthly rainfall from 2010 to 2020 and corresponding coffee growth and development stage.
38 Figure 3-6: Type of intercropped fruit tree in the intercropping with fruit trees model. 39 Figure 3-7: Type of intercropped fruit and forest tree in the intercropping with both fruit and forest trees model. 40 Figure 3-8: Economic benefit comparison between farming methods (VND/ha). 45 Figure 3-9: Income diversification of surveyed households.
46 Figure 3-10: Market availability of surveyed households. 47 Figure 3-11: The output market of surveyed households. 48 Figure 3-12: The number of surveyed households want to change their income source. 48 Figure 3-13: The difficulty level of surveyed households in terms of financial for equipment/materials investment.
50 Figure 3-14: Benefits of intercropping farming method regarding economic aspects. 51 Figure 3-15: Difficulties of intercropping method regarding economic aspects. 51 Figure 3-16: Education level of surveyed households. 53 Figure 3-17: Experience years in coffee production.
53 Figure 3-18: Ratio of vulnerable household members. 54 Figure 3-19: Household status of surveyed households. 55 Figure 3-20: The percentage of surveyed households who has agriculture insurance. 56 Figure 3-21: The percentage of household has awareness about climate change/extreme weather events.
56 Figure 3-22: The percentage of households having knowledge of climate resilience farming practices. 57 ii Figure 3-23: The percentage of households access to communication device to explore coffee farming techniques. 58 Figure 3-24: The type of communication devices to access information on coffee farming techniques. 59 Figure 3-25: The availability of climatic information.
60 Figure 3-26: The type of communication devices to access information on climatic information. 60 Figure 3-27: The percentage of households participating in farmer organization. 61 Figure 3-28: The percentage of households access to credits. 61 Figure 3-29: The percentage of households planning to expand farming scale.
62 Figure 3-30: The ability of farming scale expansion. 63 Figure 3-31: The challenges of household applied intercropping with fruit trees. 63 Figure 3-32: The challenges of household applied intercropping with both fruit trees and forest trees. 63 Figure 3-33: The percentage of households implementing soil and waste management.
64 Figure 3-34: The impact of extreme weather events/climate change to water resources. 65 Figure 3-35: The impacts of extreme weather events/climate change on coffee trees. 66 Figure 3-36: Difficulties in monocropped coffee production. 67 Figure 3-37: Difficulties in intercropped coffee with fruit trees.
67 Figure 3-38: Difficulties in intercropped coffee with both fruit and forest trees. 67 Figure 3-39: The effectiveness and challenges of intercropping with fruit trees method. 68 Figure 3-40: The effectiveness and challenges of intercropping with both fruit and forest trees method. 69 Figure 3-41: Road quality assessment.
69 Figure 3-42: Local government support after the impact of climate change/extreme weather events. 70 Figure 3-43: Resilience level of five dimensions of coffee monocropping method in Chieng Chung commune. 76 Figure 3-44: Resilience level of five dimensions of coffee intercropping with fruit trees method in Chieng Chung commune. 77 Figure 3-45: Resilience level of five dimensions of coffee intercropping with both fruit and forest trees method in Chieng Chung commune.
The necessity of the research Climate change is one of the most threatening issues that caused negative impacts to socio–economic development and ecosystems. Viet Nam is one of the countries most affected by climate change and extreme weather phenomena. This country is witnessed increasing temperatures, unpredictability precipitation, storms, floods, drought, and saline intrusion, which are all known as the key consequence of climate change (Mai Trong Nhuan et al. As one of the most important economic sectors and the backbone of Viet Nam‘s economy, agriculture contributed to 15.7% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country (GSO, 2021).
In addition, according to World Bank (2021), 37% of the population still depends on agriculture. However, due to the tight dependence and inherently interconnected to climate and weather conditions, agriculture is considered one of the most vulnerable and sensitive sectors to climate change (Duong Thi Loi et al. As one of the most traded commodities globally, coffee production is estimated to generate an annual income exceeding $200 billion and is the main livelihood of at least 100 million households (FAO, 2021; The Coffee Guide, 2021). Viet Nam is the second- largest coffee-producing and exporting country in the world (The Coffee Guide, 2021).
However, the impacts of climate change hinder the sustainability of coffee and caused serve and negative effects on this sector. The increasing temperature, droughts, decreasing precipitation, episodes of frost as well as a shift in geographical coffee growing areas and rising pest, and pathogens incidence may affect the development of the plant, flowering, and fruit, and lead to a drastic decline in coffee productivity, increasing water stress (de Sousa et al., 2019; DaMatta and Ramalho, 2006). 1 Son La province in Vietnam's northwest region is ideal for coffee farming, particularly Arabica coffee which accounts for almost 18,000 hectares of the largest coffee-growing area in the country. Mai Son district is known for its Arabica coffee and has 12 communes growing coffee as a key crop for economic development, including Chieng Chung commune.
However, Son La province, in general, and Chieng Chung commune, in particular, have been affected by climate change causing many difficulties in cultivation, rainy rules, and dry season changes, decreasing yield and coffee quality. Therefore, in the context of climate change, it is essential that coffee farmers in Chieng Chung commune take the initiative to strengthen their climate resilience. Intercropping coffee trees with alternative crops or forest trees are able to strengthen and stabilize the agroecosystem, mitigate the negative effects of climate change and improve microclimate conditions (Oliosi et al. Growing coffee trees under a layered canopy of native forest or other crops has positive impacts on coffee production, including efficient resource use, enhanced soil water holding capacity, increased ecosystem diversity and quality for pest control and pollination services, and carbon sequestration (Ehrenbergerová et al., 2016; Huss et al.
The intercropping farming method using shade trees such as fruit and forest trees is currently employed on almost 30% of the total coffee area (about 5,500 hectares) in Son La province, according to Decision 331/QĐ-UBND. The plan is to increase this intercropping area to 70% of the total coffee area by 2050. However, these practices have not been widely applied due to their negative impacts on coffee production and productivity, their potential on increasing susceptibility to pests, and management complexity (Durand-Bessart et al., 2020; Huss et al. As a results, in order to define effective solutions to strengthen climate resilience in coffee production in Chieng Chung commune, Mai Son district, a resilience level analysis of intercropping practices in comparison with monocropping method is required.
However, there is a lack of an assessment of the climate resilience of the coffee production system in Son La province, especially in Chieng Chung commune. 2 In this context, the research on the topic “Strengthening climate resilience in coffee production in Chieng Chung commune, Mai Son district, Son La province” was conducted. The study focused on identifying the current status of coffee production under the impacts of climate change and the climate-resilience assessment of coffee farmers in Chieng Chung commune, in which the different farming practices will also be considered. Accordingly, the proper solutions and recommendations will be figured out to strengthen climate resilience on coffee production in this area.
The research questions and hypothesis 1. The questions of research This study is conducted to assess the climate resilience of coffee production in Chieng Chung commune, thereby, identifying the proper solution for strengthening climate resilience in the research area.