Acacia Plantation Development and the Configuration of Tree Farmers’ Agricultural Assets and Land Management—A Survey in Central Vietnam

Abstract

Since 1990 acacia-based tree plantations have fast expanded in Vietnam, now supporting a multi-billion-dollar export-oriented wood industry which is transforming from woodchip production to value-added products. Within this dynamic context, tree farmer associations have started to produce sawlogs under FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. In this paper, we retrace the development of plantation assets, investigating farmers’ current livelihoods and land management, specifically considering various aspects of sustainability. We interviewed 180 tree farmers in three districts (lowland–upland regions) of Thừa Thiên Huế Province, including sawlog producers with and without FSC and smallholder producers of woodchips. Acacia planting in ‘barren lands’ was initiated through state programs in the 1990s (low-/midlands) and 2010s (uplands). Farmers now producing FSC sawlogs were among the first to gain forestland tenure; they now own large plantations (on good terrain), are in tune with policies and maintain resources/capacities to adopt management in line with FSC standards. Yet, most farmers also retain plots for easy-to-manage and low-risk woodchip production. Soil/vegetation conservation depends on farmers’ status/capacities and environmental awareness; FSC membership added economic-political benefits. Findings are discussed within a regional historic context. Plantations contribute to economic development, but issues persist/emerged in terms of land equity and environmental governance, risks (e.g., plant pathogens), and spaces/impetus for farm-based innovation and adaptiveness.

Conditions that Enable Successful Participation of Smallholder Tree Growers in Timber Value Chains

“…Not all smallholders can establish plantations with long rotations and intensive management regimes (Herbohn et al 2003). Smallholders who are resource-constrained, i.e., limited knowledge and skills, inadequate access to financial capital, and scant support from local organizations, are better suited for more practical systems that are easy to manage with simple techniques, and which require low investments (Cochard et al 2021;Scherr 2004). These types of smallholders respond well to tree-growing schemes involving short-rotation for wood for pulp and paper industries where timber quality and large diameters are not crucial (Arvola et al 2019).…”

“…Availability of quality planting material and inputs such as fertilizers are essential during plantation management phases, and so is strong technical knowledge on topics ranging from germplasm and reproductive materials to nursery practices, site preparation, planting, tending, silviculture, and protection against disease, fire, and pests (Carle 2007). Smallholders usually internalize their labour costs, but depending on the scale of the operation and complexity of the management regime, they may need additional labour to carry out necessary tasks (Nambiar 2021) or reach out to other smallholders for mutual collaboration in each other's plots (Cochard et al 2021).…”

“…Even with genetic material of good quality, the benefits of improved seedlings only fully materialize with improved management practices (Nambiar 2021;Arvola et al 2019). Better silvicultural management results in better quality timber, is usually reflected in higher prices for smallholders (Cochard et al 2021;Vallesteros 2016, Sousa et al 2016 and results in trees of consistent dimensions that are easier to harvest, bulk, transport, and process (Russell and Franzel 2004). Smallholder tree growers often do not possess this critical human capital (Bettles et al 2021).…”

The Acacia Plantation Boom in Thừa Thiên Huế Province, Central Vietnam: A Survey of Tree Farmers’ Shifting Livelihoods, Environmental Perceptions, and Occupational Perspectives

“…In Vietnam, rapid and wide-ranging transformationsin terms of bio-physical as well as social, political, and economic 'landscape changes' -have occurred as an outcome of an acacia plantation boom that started in the 1990s (McElwee 2016;Cochard et al, 2017Cochard et al, , 2020Cochard et al, , 2021Cochard et al, , 2023. During the 1970s-1980s rural communities in Vietnam still mostly depended on communally used fixed irrigated fields (for rice and other crops), open pastoral lands (intermixed grass-/bushlands), shifting agri-silvi-cultural lands (i.e.…”

“…Accordingly, plantation management for timber production under specific standards (such as by the Forest Stewardship Council, FSC) has been favoured through various government policies and economic incentives (Maraseni et al, 2017a(Maraseni et al, , 2017bZhunusova et al, 2019). This, in turn, has often benefitted the better-established owners of large tree plantations (Cochard et al 2021). Overall, the past and continuing development of acacia plantations has brought new and lucrative incomes for many farmers; yet the acacia boom also partly disadvantaged and marginalised other farmers (with poverty and equity issues often deepening along divergences of ethnicity and gender) and raised new concerns for land management in terms of key sustainability aspects (e.g.…”