Agricultural land tenure security under Vietnamese land law: legislative changes and improvements since the economic reform.

Abstract

Land tenure security is believed to be important for agricultural investment. Tenure security can be measured using the three criteria of breadth, duration, and assurance. This paper assesses agricultural land tenure security under Vietnamese land law - specifically with respect to individual farmers - by employing these three criteria. The main finding is that the current law,which is a result of the economic reform initiatedin 1986, provides significant security of tenure even thoughthe ownership of all land in Viet Nam is conferredon the State. However, in order to ensure investment in agriculture to support the continued advancement of the economy of Viet Nam, further improvements in the law, among other improvements, are desirable to strengthen the security of tenure of individual farmers.