Identifying sustainable rice farming strategies in the Mekong Delta through systems analysis

This study assesses the sustainability of intensive rice monocropping (IRM) and integrated rice-fish (IRF) farming in the Vietnam Mekong Delta, through systems analysis. Stakeholder (SH) consultations and a literature review were conducted to construct a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD), visualising the connections and effects of the two farming strategies across environmental, economic and social domains. 42 SHs, including farmers and scientists, assessed the impact of IRM and IRF on 42 interlinked CLD variables using a 5-point scale (-2 to 2). The SHs' scores were used to assess the farming strategies impact on 18 ecosystem services (ES) and the fulfilment of nine sustainable development goals (SDGs). The results show that IRM would have a negative impact on 14 ES, while IRF would have a positive impact on 17 ES. IRM was perceived to primarily have positive impacts on the rice yield and flood protection through an increased use of high dikes and agrochemicals, which however also was the main causes of the negative impacts on several other ES. IRF was perceived to have a positive effect on all SDGs, while IRM would only contribute to two and move away from seven SDGs. It is concluded that IRF provide a more sustainable alternative to IRM because it strengthens physical, ecological and social connections for an enhanced use of interlinked ES. This contributes to an increased productivity, farmers profit and wellbeing. IRF was also perceived to increase farming systems resilience, which is important for adapting to ongoing climate change and upstream dams.