36 economic circumstances after the wars put Vietnam as among the world poorest countries with unstable social situation, slow economic growth, inefficient production in both agriculture and industry[.]
36 economic circumstances after the wars put Vietnam as among the world poorest countries with unstable social situation, slow economic growth, inefficient production in both agriculture and industry (Macasaet, Grace Minerva Q, Teodoro M Maranan, 2015) It was recorded that the South suffered more than 20,000 bomb craters, 10 million refugees and million unemployed (Tran, 2016), while all the critical agricultural infrastructure, irrigation canals and power plants in the North were heavy damaged, and the GDP (for the whole country) was recorded as 2.8% during 1973-1991 (Tran, 1998) Agaisnt this backdrop, energy-food-water nexus became even more critical in serving the economic growth of the country for the coming decades The nature of the linkages would vary, with significant differences in the country economic development strategy in two periods, namely Economic restoration during 1975-1985 and Economic Reform since 1986 2.5.1 Economic Restoration: 1975 – 1985 The philosophy of nationalization and collectivization continued during this period by the Vietnamese Government Hence, the centrally planning economic system spread to the South Following this trend, thousands of private business was closed and replaced by state trading networks named cooperatives; private wealth and property of merchants and land landowners were seized, and most landholdings were collectivized (Le, 2006) In regard to food, water and energy, these three sectors became state-owned, and managed During this period, the role of governments in guiding agriculture, power and water sectors increased substantially as discussed below The food sector and agriculture-at large: the continuation of collective agriculture resulted in poor performance In the North, the government conducted a campaign to reorganize agricultural production Directive 208 CT/TW dated 16/09/1974 of the Secretariat and the Resolution 61/CP dated 05/04/1976 of the Council of Ministers made the farmers and industrial workers lose their rights to directly produce agricultural foods The cooperation between cooperatives and big farms with centralized management resulted in massive waste, popular embezzlement, property losses and abandoned fields The capacity and output of agriculture constantly decreased severely In 1976 and 1977, agricultural production contracted by 0.5% and 6.6%, respectively The amount of grain available in the country was falling, forcing the government to increase grain imports sharply Government procurement of food also dropped, as farmers sought to avoid the