Agriculture is a sector with a long tradition and an important contribution to economic growth in Vietnam, providing food security and generating revenue for the country's exports. However, agricultural activities in Vietnam are significantly affected by climate change. In Vietnam, the central coastal area in general and Ninh Thuan province in particular are the most vulnerable areas to natural disasters. In that context, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a good strategy to help local famers coping with climate change while securing food security. This study has two main objectives: to assess farmers' awareness on disasters and to analyze factors affecting the decision to apply CSA practices of farming households in Ninh Thuan. The study conducted focus group discussion, in-depth interview and survey of 436 households in 3 districts of Ninh Thuan to collect data. Research results showed that local farmers have a high awareness of natural disasters trends and impacts on agricultural livelihoods. Facing with disasters in the context of climate change, farming households have applied some models of CSA such as minimal tillage, intercropping, crop rotation, crop transformation, and the use of plant varieties. Binary logit regression analysis indicated that age, education level, household income, membership of local associations, training attendance, and support policies were variables significantly influencing the farmers' decision to apply CSA. Challenges for CSA adoption include lack of capital, information, technical support and land ownership institutions in Vietnam. The study also made recommendations to promote CSA in Vietnam, including reforming the legal system, strengthening agricultural extension services, and providing technical and capital support to farmers.

Perception and attitude toward wetland values and conservation are essential to the sustainable management and wise use of this resource. This study examined the attitudes of local communities towards the values and management of Xuan Thuy National Park (XTNP) in Vietnam. The study also explores factors affecting conservation attitudes in the study area. A survey was implemented to 677 households randomly selected in five communes adjacent to XTNP. In addition, focus group discussions, and interviews with selected key informants were conducted. The study shows that local villagers generally hold positive attitudes towards wetland conservation. However, awareness of the threats to wetlands and the national park rules are not high. People are willing to sacrifice part of their income to preserve wetlands for future generations. Age, length of residency, and schooling year are observed to be significantly impacting attitudes towards wetland conservation. It is critical to connect management agencies and people to propagate conservation regulations and XTNP zoning for sustainable wetland management and conservation. Social networks and the internet are potential vehicles for increasing understanding and connection.

The objective of this study was to establish drought classification maps to simulate and calculate the lack of discharge in the Ba River basin in Vietnam. The maps were established using three meteorological drought indices (the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Drought Index (J), and the Ped Index (Ped)), the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, and the hydrological drought index (KDrought). The results from the calculation of the SPI, Aridity Index (AI), and Ped at three stations (An Khe, Ayunpa, and MDrak) showed that the J index was suitable for the study area. Based on the J index, an extreme drought was predicted to occur at the Ayunpa, An Khe, and MDrak stations. During the calibration process, the SWAT Calibration Uncertainties Program (SWAT-CUP) model, with automatic algorithms, was used to select the parameters to optimize the SWAT model. For the calibration and validation, the observed discharge at two hydrology stations, An Khe and Cung Son, from the periods 1981–1991 and 1992–2002, respectively, were used. The simulated discharge was found to be acceptable, with the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), Percent bias (PBIAS), and R2 reaching good levels in both calibration and validation. The results from the calculation of the drought index (KDrought), and the established drought classification maps in 2016, showed that the most affected areas were the communes of the Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces. The results from the simulation and calculations were found to be consistent with the situation that occurred in practice. The application of meteorological and hydrological drought indices, as well as the hydrological model, to support impact assessments of drought classification in space and time, as well as the establishment of forecasting and warning maps, will help managers to effectively plan policy responses to drought.

With the rapid economic development in the past decades, Vietnamese people are more and more aware of the role of safe food for their health and that of their families. Currently, the trend of organic food consumption is happening faster, especially in urban areas. The study aims to determine the influence of transparent information and knowledge about organic products on consumers' attitudes, trust, and subjective norms affecting their purchase intention of organic products. Data were collected from 420 consumers in Da Nang city, Central Vietnam. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) method and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to evaluate the scale's reliability and identify the impact factors. The results show that attitudes and trust have a positive relationship with the intention to buy organic food. In addition, research shows that trust is a predecessor of attitudes and mediates the relationship between information, knowledge about organic food, and intention to buy organic food. The study's findings are consistent with previous literature and provide implications for food managers, organic food businesses, and the community.

No abstract