Vietnam: Strengthen Women’s Livelihoods and Participation for Greater Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Viet Nam

Nov 22, 2019 | Thao Hoang, UN Women
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When Tran Thi My Linh, a 51-year-old rural woman first said that she would replace her rice fields with lotus fields, she raised many eyebrows. In the little commune of Hoa Dong in Phu Yen province, just south of Viet Nam’s capital, Ha Noi, villagers had planted rice for generations. However, with the changing weather patterns in recent years, millions of people have been affected in Phu Yen and in rural Viet Nam in general and people have started looking for new livelihoods.

“The weather has become more extreme and erratic. Storms, heavy rains and floods are more frequent and unpredictable. My commune is always at high risk of flooding. Almost every year, the commune suffers at least one severe flood that heavily damages our rice crops. I knew that sooner or later my family must find a new livelihood,” Linh explained.

When Linh heard about a new project on livelihoods coming to her village, she immediately persuaded her husband and her neighbours to join. Besides Linh’s family, 25 households were selected to join the project. With UN Women’s support, the famers were trained in new skills to plant lotus following the standards of VietGAP (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices). They also learned about the market, business and skills to build a strong brand for their products.