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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine factors that affect smallholders' adoption of improved rice varieties in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a cross-sectional survey design. A random sample size of 257 was drawn from a total of 725 smallholders. Descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression were used to analyse the data.FindingsThis study concludes that younger smallholders who participate in credit and training programs have a high level of education, receive government support, have both owned and rented land for growing rice and those who have a larger farm size have a greater tendency to adopt improved rice varieties. In addition, if improved rice varieties have higher productivity potential, palatability and marketability compared with the traditional ones as perceived by smallholders and seed of these rice varieties are available in local markets, then they are likely to be adopted by smallholders.Research limitations/implicationsA combination of socio-technological characteristics of smallholders should be considered when promoting smallholders' adoption of improved rice varieties and when choosing agricultural extension strategies to improve small-scale farmers' uptake of improved crop varieties in developing countries.Originality/valueThis research provides important understanding of the determinants of smallholders' adoption of improved rice varieties and highlights factors that need to be considered when designing policies to enhance the uptake of improved rice varieties in developing countries.

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In Vietnam, thermal power plants produce millions of tons of fly ash per year and cause a lot of problems for the environment. The re-use of fly ash as mineral additives in the production of building materials such as cement, concrete etc is a comprehensive solution that brings high socio-economic efficiency. However, to achieve high efficiency, the technical specifications index of fly ash needs to be studied and evaluated in detail because the content of added fly ash is very important for producing and manufacturing processes. This paper aims to study the influence of Formosa fly ash on the mechanical properties at the early age of cement paste. The mechanical properties of the samples which contain alternatively 10÷30% of fly ash was measured at the early ages (1, 3, and 7 days) by experimental methods. In addition, the microstructure analysis and differential thermal analysis methods have been used to interpret the obtained results.