systems research - the IDRC Digital Library - International ...

population growth is 2.9%. The rural population of Lao PDR is among the poorest
In the world and has an inadequate diet. The population is ethnically diverse, and
some traditional customs may have constrained efforts in the past to provide social
and economic development. The dominant ethnic group, the lowland Lao, resides in
the river valleys and represents about 50% of the population. The remainder is
distributed between the upland areas and mountain Lao, and comprises Khmu,
Lamet, Hmong, Yao, Man, and tribal Tai.
Vietnam covers an area of 329,600 km2. Over 40% of the country is forest
and about 17% is cultivated for crops. Government policy aims to increase the
amount of land under cultivation. The country is divided into two main agricultural
areas: the Red River Delta in the north and the Mekong River Delta in the south.
A mountain range runs along the western boundary with Cambodia and Lao PDR,
and along the northern border with China. The population of Vietnam is
approximately 63 million with an average density of 191 people/km2. Its population
growth rate is about 2.5%. The population is basically rural and is concentrated in
the two rice-growing deltas. In some northern provinces, population densities are
among the highest in the world.
Economies
The Cambodian economy functions at low capacity in nearly all sectors.
Immediately following the fall of the Pol Pot regime in 1979, there was a continued
food shortage and a massive relocation of the population. A UN-sponsored relief
operation costing US$213 million averted famine and assisted in resettlement. The
former Soviet Union provided an additional US$300 million in aid.
The Lao economy is poorly developed. Production is almost entirely agrarian
and aims at self-sufficiency. Modernization of agriculture and the exploitation of
mineral resources are constrained by shortages of skilled labor, domestic capital,
and inadequate internal transportation and communications. Lao PDR is also
landlocked, which is an additional constraint to its growth and development. The
major objectives of its development plan are, first and foremost, self-sufficiency in
food and improved infrastructure (e.g., roads, rural electricity, health, and
education).
Vietnam is predominantly an agricultural economy based on rice production.
Crop cultivation accounts for about three-quarters of the gross value of agricultural
product (GVAP), and roughly two-thirds of this, or almost 50% of total GVAP,
consists of grain production (of which rice accounts for 85%). Food-grain
production amounted to 19 million t in 1988, of which rice was 16.4 million t.
Government policies in Vietnam are in transition. Several measures have
been taken in recent years to liberalize agricultural production. There is a move
toward independent planning by the provinces and the districts to exploit the private
and open-market opportunities. In 1981, Vietnam departed from the collectivized