Strategic Group Formation in the
Mekong Delta: The Development of a Modern Hydraulic Society
Evers, Hans-Dieter and Benedikter, Simon
Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany
2 May 2009
Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/17131/
MPRA Paper No. 17131, posted 06 Sep 2009 19:04 UTC
ZEF
W orking Paper Series
Depart ment of Polit ical and Cult ural Change
Project
St rat egic Group Format ion in t he M ekong Delt a -
The Development of a M odern Hydraulic Societ y
Hans- Diet er Evers and Simon Benedikt er
35
Department of Political and Cultural Change
Bonn 2 0 0 9
ISSN 1864- 6638
Center for Development Research, University of Bonn
Editors: H.- D. Evers, Solvay Gerke, Peter M ollinga, Conrad Schetter
Authors’ address
Prof. Dr. Hans- Dieter Evers
Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, W alter- Flex- Str. 3
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel. Sec. 0228- 73197 0: Fax 0228- 731972 www.zef.de
E- mail: hdevers@ uni- bonn.de, internet: http:/ / www.uni- bonn.de/ ~ hevers/
Simon Bnedikter
W ISDOM Project Office at the M ekong Delta Development Research Institute Can Tho University / Campus 2, 3/ 2 Street, Ninh Kieu District
Can Tho City, Vietnam
Tel: + + 84 (0)710 733797; Fax: + + 84 (0)710 733797 E- mail: simon.benedikter@ uni- bonn.de
W ISDOM project: www.wisdom.caf.dlr.de
The Development of a M odern Hydraulic Society
Abstract
The low er M ekong Delt a, one of t he largest river delt as in Asia, is a landscape shaped by t he w at ers of t he M ekong River t hat f low s, as last part of it s long w ay f rom t he Tibet an Plat eau t o t he Sout h Chinese Sea, t hrough a dense river and canal net w ork in t he Sout hw est of Viet nam. People in t his area are, t radit ionally, exposed t o a w at er- shaped environment and have lived f or generat ions in adapt at ion t o t heir nat ural surrounding w it hout much human int erf erence int o t he complex nat ural hydraulic syst em of t he delt a. How ever, t his has changed dramat ically during recent decades w hen hydraulic management st art ed t o become a key issue f or t he development of t he low er M ekong Delt a const ant ly, in part icular w it h respect t o t he agricult ural sect or, w hich is t he backbone of t he delt a’s economy.
Af t er t he Second Indochinese War ended in 1975 t he delt a st art ed t o shif t f rom human adapt ion t o human cont rol, t ransf orming it self int o w hat Wit t f ogel has described as a hydraulic societ y. This w as mainly due t o t he new socialist government ’s policy of rapid agricult ural ext ension and grow ing endeavours in hydraulic management f or f ost ering irrigat ed rice product ion. By now , in many places of t he delt a hydraulic w orks such as addit ional canals, dykes and sluices have been set up, const ruct ed f or regulat ing w at er f low s. Technical innovat ions in hydraulic management and agricult ural product ion have not only had signif icant impact on t he delt a’s environment and ecology, but also have t riggered social t ransf ormat ion, in part icular t he appearance of new social groups st ruggling f or access t o resources and pow er.
This paper int ends t o analyzes recent t rends of social development and w at er management in t he M ekong Delt a f rom a scient if ic approach t hat is based on t w o social t heories, f irst ly “st rat egic group analysis”, and secondly select ed core aspect s of Wit t f ogel’s social t heory of “hydraulic societ y”. By present ing recent ly collect ed dat a, it is illust rat ed how t he M ekong Delt a has been t ransf ormed int o a modern hydraulic societ y, in w hich cert ain st rat egic groups emerged as a consequence of grow ing act ivit ies in hydraulic management and agricult ural- based economic grow t h. M ore specif ically, t he paper aims t o give an overview of st rat egic group development in t he delt a by put t ing a st rong f ocus on t he process of f orming a st at e bureaucracy of hydraulic management and t he appearance of hydraulic const ruct ion companies as it s client s. The paper show s how t he st rat egic alliance bet w een bot h groups has increased t he chances f or mut ually appropriat ing government f unds spent on hydraulic w orks and how t his has caused ecologically and socially f ar- reaching impact s f or t he M ekong Delt a.
Key words:
Viet nam, M ekong Delt a, st rat egic groups, hydraulic societ y, social t ransf ormat ion and pow er, w at er management , hydraulic bureaucracy
1. Introduction
During recent years t he low er M ekong Delt a has undergone an ext raordinary development , w hich t urned Viet nam int o one of t he leading Asian rice export ers and ensured f ood securit y f or t he Viet namese nat ion. Now adays, t he M ekong Delt a has been t ransf ormed int o one of t he most product ive areas w orldw ide in agricult ure and aquacult ure. How ever, w it h some except ions like Brocheux (1995), LeM eur (2005), Biggs (2004) or M iller (2006), most of t he research done on t he delt a has cent red on t echnical and nat ural science aspect s. By addressing t he M ekong Delt a’s rapid development f rom a social science perspect ive, w e assume t hat t echnological progress in hydraulic management and agricult ure as w ell as rapid economic grow t h of t he agricult ural sect or t hroughout t he previous t hree decades may have prof oundly changed t he social st ruct ures of t he delt a’s societ y, especially in respect t o economically and socially dominat ing groups and pow er st ruct ures. Follow ing up on Le M eur’s st udy on polit ics of land and w at er in t he delt a (2005), t his paper1 w ill examine social t ransit ion by f ocusing on st rat egic group f ormat ion during t he last 30 years. Thereby w e hope t o t hrough new light s on t he delt a’s social t ransf ormat ion by draw ing at t ent ion t o t he social consequences of t echnological progress and economic development w it h regard t o t he dist ribut ion of resources and pow er.
Figure 1 M ekong Delta
1We grat ef ully acknow ledge usef ul comment s on t his paper by Solvay Gerke, Gabi Waibel, Saravanan S.V.
In t he f ollow ing w e shall point out how t echnological innovat ion in hydraulic management combined w it h new agricult ural product ion pat t erns has cont ribut ed signif icant ly t o t he f ormat ion of new social groups. Their emergence is due t o new resources t hat have become available in dif f erent st ages of t he delt a’s lat est hist ory. We consider t hese new ly emerging groups as st rat egic in t erms of t heir common int erest and collect ive act ion.
For an explanat ion of t hese social processes w e shall ref er t o t w o set s of social t heory, charact erized by t heir cent ral concept s of st rat egic group f ormat ion (Evers 1975, Evers and Schiel 1988) and hydraulic societ y (Wit t f ogel 1957). As t he M ekong Delt a is t o a large ext end shaped by it s’ rivers, canals and dykes, t here is a necessit y t o cont rol w at er and manage it as a basic means of product ion f or economic development . In t his sense, w e assume t hat nat ural condit ions have driven t he f ormat ion of specif ic f orms of w at er- based st rat egic groups, especially af t er t he reunif icat ion of Viet nam w hen a new government w as set up in t he Sout h
The paper as a w hole is divided int o t w o sect ions. First ly, w e w ill give a brief overview of t he concept s and t heories t hat provide t he t heoret ical groundw ork of t his st udy. Secondly, in an analyt ical part w e shall use survey dat a derived f rom int erview s w it h local aut horit ies, privat e persons and local expert s in t he delt a, mainly in Can Tho. Furt hermore, t his is supplement ed by quant it at ive dat a obt ained f rom t he Viet nam General St at ist ic Of f ice and it s’ various sub depart ment s locat ed in t he delt a, as w ell as local st at e agencies and mass organizat ions.
Through an analysis of bot h survey and secondary dat a it w ill be demonst rat ed how t he M ekong Delt a has t urned int o a human- regulat ed environment or as w e w ould like t o call it , a “modern hydraulic societ y”. This process has been driven by st rong human int erf erence int o nat ure, based on t he const ruct ion of hydraulic w orks f or f lood prevent ion, salinit y int rusion cont rolling and irrigat ion purposes. Furt hermore, w e w ant t o show how t hese processes w ere driven by t he emergence of st rat egic groups, of w hich, beside various w at er relat ed businesses, t he st at e bureaucracy of hydraulic management appears t o be t he most crucial one in t erms of pow er, t he number of it s members and it s’
cont rol over resources.
Figure 2 Hydraulic Landscape: River networks of the M ekong Delta
2. Strategic Group Theory and Analysis
2.1. Defining strategic groups.
St rat egic groups are neit her elit es nor social classes. They cut across hierarchies, it s members do not carry cards or ident if icat ion t ags, and t hey may f ollow dif f erent lif est yles and f ollow dif f erent belief s.
They are, how ever, unit ed by one common goal: t o secure present and f ut ure chances t o gain access t o resources; t o share chances of appropriat ion of resources and t heir dist ribut ion. They are not necessarily members of a net w ork nor members of an organisat ion, t hough t his is not excluded eit her. A st rat egic group is, in sociological t erms, a quasi- group. As all quasi- groups it may event ually assume group or net w ork charact erist ics and move t ow ards becoming a “St and” (est at e) in t he sense of M ax Weber or becoming a social class in M arxian t erms, t hough w e admit on t heoret ical grounds t hat it rarely happens.
As resources are, by def init ion, scarce dif f erent st rat egic groups compet e f or access t o t hese resources.
The deregulat ion of t he Viet namese economy af t er Doi M oi provided such a chance t o appropriat e new ly available resources. If new resources are creat ed by t he act ion of a st rat egic group, ot hers nevert heless at t empt t o get a (perhaps undeserved) share, calculat ing cost s and gains in t erms of a cost - benef it analysis2. In t he case t o be discussed below , w at er appears t o be t he st rat egic resource. The management and cont rol of t he f low of w at er, it s use f or irrigat ion, aquacult ure, river t ransport or indust rial w at er supply provide a bundle of resources t o st rive f or.
In t his sense compet it ion and st rif e f or resources resembles a market model, w here t he act ors are not individuals but social groups and w here t he overarching st rat egy is not necessarily immediat e prof it but inst it ut ional change. St rat egic act ion aims at creat ing social, polit ical and economic st ruct ures and inst it ut ions t hat enhance t he chances t o appropriat e resources.
What keeps a st rat egic group t oget her? Not hing but nodding ones head t o a cert ain line of proposals, st rat egies, act ions may be required t o support t he st rat egies or collect ive act ion of a st rat egic group, t hough support may also t ake t he f orm of joining collect ive act ion, t ransf er of f unds or grant ing or accept ing privileges. St rat egic groups are volat ile, but may nevert heless be pow erf ul and long last ing.
St rat egic groups t ypically t ranscend social boundaries and encompass leaders and f ollow ers. They may cross class boundaries and it s members may belong t o dif f erent social st rat a. Common values, ideologies and common int erest s are pow erf ul binding f orces and help t o develop real groups out of quasi- groups, as are kinship net w orks or old school t ies.
Typical st rat egic groups may be
Government /bureaucracy: government employees
M ilit ary: members of t he armed f orces, t heir f amilies and t heir suppliers of goods and services Prof essionals: doct ors, nurses, members of t he pharmaceut ical indust ry
Int ellect uals: t eachers, lect urers, preachers, st udent s, universit y administ rat ors, poet s, art ist s and journalist s
Land Ow ners: large f armers, ow ners of est at es, land speculat ors, landed gent ry
Big business: business men, managers, employees of corporat ions, w orkers in big indust ry.
St rat egic groups support long- t erm st rat egies t o secure t he appropriat ion of resources by shaping or st ruct uring inst it ut ions. It may be irrelevant w ho t akes act ion t o secure resources or shape t he inst it ut ions t o secure access t o resources, as long as t he st rat egic group as a collect ive support s t he act ion by select ive act ors w ho may be described as int erest groups or elit es. Nevert heless collect ive act ion is t he hallmark of st rat egic groups. There are quit e dif f erent social f igurat ions emerging f rom t his collect ive act ion. Quit e of t en new organisat ions, perhaps in t he f orm of st at ut ory boards or st at e companies may be f ormed, as in t he case of w at er management organisat ions or hydraulic const ruct ion companies in t he M ekong Delt a t o be discussed below .
St rat egic groups t end t o emerge w henever new resources become available f or appropriat ion or dist ribut ion. This w as part icularly t he case during t he indust rial revolut ion, in t he period of
2This sect ion draw s on Evers and Gerke 2009, w here st rat egic group t heory is explained in great er det ail.
decolonizat ion or, more recent ly, in t he course of globalisat ion. The chances of surplus- ext ract ion and appropriat ion are part ly det ermined by t he w orld economic syst em and it s local art iculat ion, but also by t he polit ical syst em of t he st at e. Not only economic law s and st ringencies but also pow er, possibly coercion, helped t o det ermine t he chances t o increase t he st rat egic groups' share of t he GNP.
Consequent ly, t here is an int erest on part of each st rat egic group t o creat e a polit ical and economic syst em t hat provides opt imal chances f or appropriat ion of surplus (Evers 1997).
In t his connect ion t he sequent ial pat t ern of st rat egic group f ormat ion becomes import ant . What ever group emerges f irst , t ries t o est ablish a "superst ruct ure" (polit ical and economic syst em) t hat is most suit ed t o it s int erest . Wit h t he emergence of a new economic or polit ical syst em, w hichever group emerges f irst t o become large or pow erf ul, has t he great est chance t o st ruct ure t he polit ical syst em, t o est ablish pat t erns of legit imacy, of polit ical st yle, in short , t o act ively promot e a specif ic f ramew ork suit ed t o it s int erest s. Any succeeding group has t o cont end w it h t he already est ablished f ramew ork.
Here w e have t o point t o a basic cont radict ion. "Polit ical st abilit y" t hrough an alliance bet w een st rat egic groups might produce f avourable condit ions f or economic grow t h but also increased chances of enrichment and exploit at ion, w hich in t urn may provoke react ions, movement s, uprisings and possibly revolut ion. The peasant movement in t he M ekong Delt a in t he 1930ies are as relevant as t he NLF3 uprising bef ore t he American w ar in t his respect . Cont rolling t hese movement s f rom below and checking t he grow t h of count er st rat egic groups t hus becomes a major aspect of t he polit ical syst em. Ironically organizat ions originally int ended t o f ost er t he int erest s of t he immediat e producers like f armers groups or t rade unions may be t urned int o inst rument s of cont rol and int o st ruct ures of appropriat ion, a possibilit y w e have t o concider in our st udy of t he modern hydraulic societ y of t he M ekong Delt a.
2.2. Strategic Group Formation in M odern Hydraulic Societies
In 1957 Karl August in Wit t f ogel published his w ork on “Orient al Despot ism”, in w hich he assumes t hat in many places of t he w orld a specif ic f orm of social order appeared since prehist oric t imes due t o t he necessit y of large- scale w at er management . The need t o regulat e w at er f or irrigat ion and t o cope w it h f loods as disast rous nat ural event s t hrough hydraulic w orks such as canals, embankment s and sluices creat ed f orms of social orders t hat are t ypically charact erised by st rong organizat ional st ruct ures of rule or government . Wit t f ogel grant s such civilisat ions great abilit y in organizing, coordinat ing and managing w it h special f ocus on w at er regulat ion f or agricult ural product ion. He t heref ore considers t hem as hydraulic or agrobureaucrat ic societ ies. This indicat es t he exist ent of a st rong st at e bureaucracy commanding huge armies of corveé labour t hat w ere required t o build heavy hydraulic w orks f or w at er management purposes:
“All t eam w ork requires t eam leaders; and t he w ork of large int egrat ed t eams requires on- t he- spot leaders and disciplinarians as w ell as organizers and planners. The great ent erprises of hydraulic agricult ure involve bot h t ypes of direct ion. The f oreman usually perf orms no menial w ork at all; and except f or a f ew engineering specialist s t he sergeant s and of f icers of labour f orce are essent ially organizers. [...].Under hydraulic condit ions of agricult ure, cert ain large operat ions of const ruct ion and management must be organized.
Ot her organizat ional act ivit ies are not imperat ive, but t hey are made possible by a polit ical economy w hich compels t he government t o maint ain cent ers of direct ion and coordinat ion in all major regions of product ion. Being able t o est ablish it s aut horit y not only over a limit ed “royal domain” and a number or royal t ow ns – as does t he t ypical f eudal st at e – t he hydraulic regime places it s administ rat ors and of f icers in all major set t lement s, w hich virt ually everyw here assume t he charact er of government - cont rolled administ rat ive and garrison t ow ns” (Wit t f ogel 1957: 26, 55).
Even polit ical pow er of t he ruling elit e w as very much linked t o t he ruler’s and his bureaucracy’s abilit y of cont rolling w at er, w hich w ere bot h a blessing and a curse. In imperial China, w here large scale irrigat ion schemes f or rice cult ivat ion w ere highly developed in early t imes, much of t he king’s ruling
3 Nat ional Liberat ion Front of Sout h Viet nam (Mặt t rận Dân tộc Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam)
pow er w as legit imized by his success in regulat ing t he big st reams of t he count ry, as it is w rit t en in t he myst ic legend about China’s f irst ancest ral ruler:
“In China t he legendary t rail blazer of government al w at er cont rol, t he Great Yü, is said t o have risen f rom t he rank of a supreme hydraulic f unct ionary t o t hat of king, becoming, according t o prot ohist orical records, t he f ounder of t he f irst heredit ary dynast y, Hsia”
(Wit t f ogel 1957: 27).
In brief , f ollow ing Wit t f ogel’s t erminology of hydraulic societ y, it can be assumed t hat in w at er- based societ ies and economies t he necessit y t o regulat e w at er t hrough hydraulic management has creat ed st rong hydraulic st at e bureaucracies, w hich hold considerable pow er t o rule over how t o ut ilize cent ral means of product ion, namely w at er and land f or agricult ure. Since t hey are t he great planners, builders and maint ainers of t he economical inf rast ruct ure in f orm of hydraulic w orks, hydraulic bureaucracies play a pow erf ul role in economies and societ ies t hat are predominant ly based on int ensive w at er resources management as precondit ion of development .
Hydraulic w orks in hydraulic societ ies:
•
Product ive inst allat ions: canals, aqueduct s, reservoirs, sluices, and dykes f or t he purpose of irrigat ion•
Prot ect ive inst allat ions: drainage canals and dykes f or f lood cont rol•
Aqueduct s providing drinking w at er•
Navigat ion canals Source: Wit t f ogel 1957: 42Wit t f ogel’s f inal conclusion t hat hydraulic societ ies consist of st at ic and unchangeable social and polit ical orders ruled by despot ic regimes w as harshly crit icized by many scholars (e.g. Eisenst adt 1958, Eberhard 1958), t hough his int ent ion t o unmask t he Soviet Union as a despot ic st at e w as much appreciat ed by right - w ing polit icians under t he w orld- polit ical circumst ances of t he Cold War.
Nonet heless t he concept “hydraulic societ y” has been used t o describe various societ ies, f rom Sri Lanka (Leach 1959) and Thailand (Wijeyew ardene1973) t o Calif ornia (Worst er 1982).
Eisenst adt ’s comprehensive review may be quot ed here as a relevant sociological point of view (Eisenst adt 1958). He f inds it doubt f ul “w het her a general unif orm t ype of eit her ‘hydraulic’ or ‘Orient al despot ic’ societ ies can be f ound, and w het her t he t w o - hydraulic and Orient al despot ic- are necessarily so closely connect ed” (Eisenst adt 1958:440). Furt hermore he doubt s if t he polit ical process in t hese societ ies has been adequat ely analysed, “especially w it h t he ext ent of t he inf luence of various social groups on t he polit ical st ruct ure and government act ivit ies in t hese societ ies, and w it h t he impact of social changes on t his polit ical st ruct ure” (Eisenst adt 1958:440). We could not agree more w it h t his crit icism and have t heref ore endeavoured t o combine Wit t f ogels analysis of hydraulic societ ies w it h st rat egic group t heory, t hus t aking care of Eisenst adt ’s above ment ioned crit icism.
Though w e are not ent irely in line w it h t he f ar- reaching social and polit ical implicat ions Wit t f ogel draw s in “Orient al Despot ism”, namely t hat hydraulic societ ies necessarily are subject t o et ernal despot ic rule of cent rally organized st at e bureaucracies over a st at ic societ y, it remains relevant t o keep in mind t hat st at e bureaucracies might play an import ant role as a leading st rat egic group in w at er- based landscapes like t he one w e encount er it in Viet nam’s M ekong Delt a. Pushing t his idea f orw ard, w e should like t o change direct ion t ow ards a more divers approach on hydraulic societ ies. We do not deny st rong hydraulic bureaucracies as a signif icant f eat ure of such social and polit ical order, but allow ot her act ors t o have a st ake as w ell.
“The f unct ions of t he bureaucracy are not only t o administ er hydraulic w orks and t o mobilize resources f or t he ruler and f or t hemselves. Even in order t o be able t o do t his, t he
bureaucracy has t o perf orm various f unct ions f or t he dif f erent groups in t he societ y, and t o mediat e t o some ext ent bet w een such various groups. And in such mediat ion it must somet imes uphold t he int erest s of t hese groups against t he w ishes and int erest s of t he rulers, or t o f ind some modus Vivendi bet w een t he t w o, even if t he modus Vivendi is great ly biased in f avour of t he rulers” (Eisenst adt 1958:445- 6).
In t he cont ext of st rat egic group t heory, w e assume t hat t he arena f or pow er and resource acquisit ion in hydraulic societ ies is indeed divers and complex, w hich implicat es t hat apart f rom t he hydraulic bureaucracy t here are, as already indicat ed by Eisenst adt , addit ional social groups such as privat e business, f or inst ance hydraulic const ruct ion companies or consult ing business f or w at er resources management , or simply users of w at er and hydraulic w orks such as rice f armers, f ish f armers and w at erw ay t ransport at ion companies. Indeed, in w at er management
“t here is grow ing recognit ion t hat mult iple act ors are int eract ing w it h diverse rules across complex decision- making arenas t hat are beyond individual coordinat ing bodies”
(Saravanan 2008).
We possibly might also ident if y count er- st rat egic groups t hat at t empt t o oppose pow erf ul groups shaping t he polit ical and economical f ramew ork of societ y. Such a scenario comes close t o w hat w as def ined as st rat egic group f ormat ion. We t hus might ident if y cert ain w at er relat ed businesses, hydraulic bureaucracies or even cert ain prof essions like hydraulic engineers as st rat egic groups int eract ing or compet ing w it h each ot her in an arena cent red on w at er as a resource.
3. The M ekong Delta in Vietnam – Social Transformation and Strategic Group Formation in a Water- based Environment
3.1. Vietnam – A Hydraulic Societ y?
Beside t he t hreat of being dominat ed by a superior pow er in t he Nort h, expansions t ow ards Sout h af t er regaining f reedom f rom China during t he 10t h cent ury AD and st rong village communit ies, st ruggle against nat ure alw ays w as as a signif icant cont inuum at any t ime in Viet namese hist ory. Wat er, w hich is abundant in a count ry shaped by big rivers and delt as, provides f avourable condit ions f or agricult ure on t he one hand, but is a dangerous t hreat on t he ot her hand. Disast rous st orms and f loods cause enormous damages and have brought suf f ering t o t he Viet namese people every year f or generat ions. Theref ore, regulat ing w at ers w as and st ill is an import ant issue in Viet namese societ y.
According t o t he lat est ADB Wat er Sect or Review Report on Viet nam, published in 2008, 80 percent of t he count ry’s t ot al est imat ed w at er use is ut ilized by t he irrigat ion sect or (66,000 million m3 per year), of w hich t he Red River Delt a and t he M ekong Delt a account f or almost 70 percent . In 2007 t he t ot al area under irrigat ed agricult ure w as 8.34 million hect are out of a cult ivat ed area of 9.7 million.
Wat er and f lood management f or irrigat ion already played a crucial role w hen t he Viet namese civilizat ion w as born in t he Red River Delt a several cent uries B.C.. In t he early days of Viet namese hist ory, f irst cent rally ruled kingdoms emerged on t he basis of irrigat ed w et paddy product ion, w hich required large- scale hydraulic w orks such as dykes and canals t o cont rol nat ural hazards caused by t he unpredict able w at ers of t he Red River:
“Early in Viet namese hist ory, possibly bef ore t he Christ ian era, t he Viet namese developed an elaborat ed syst em of dikes and canals and t he rudiment s of government al aut horit y t o cont rol and channel t he supplies of w at er” (Sardesai 1998: 12).
The import ance of hydraulic management and w at er cont rol in Viet namese societ y is also ref lect ed in it s language. “Qu
ả
n lý t ài nguyên nướ
c” is basically t he correct t ranslat ion f or w at er resources management int o Viet namese. How ever, in many Viet namese report s dealing w it h w at er management issues commonly t he t erm “ quả
n lý t hủ
y lợ
i” appears , even t hough “t hủ
y lợ
i”, w hich is Sino- Viet namese,means w at er f or irrigat ion, but not w at er in general. So, t radit ionally, w at er management and irrigat ion management are closely linked in t he percept ion of t he Viet namese people.
As st at ed bef ore, Wit t f ogel argues t hat t he rise of early civilizat ions in Asia, like imperial China or t he Khmer Kingdom, w as only possible due t o t he creat ion of a st rong and cent rally ruled st at e w hose pow er and legit imat ion w as based on t he st at e bureaucracy’s abilit y t o manage high quant it ies of w at er used f or irrigat ion as t he basis of agricult ural product ion and public w elf are.
To sum up, in Viet nam t he necessit y of building hydraulic w orks f or regulat ing w at er f or irrigat ion is as old as t he Viet namese civilisat ion it self . Being under Chinese occupat ion f or more t han t housand years, t he old Viet namese kingdoms w ere very much inf luenced by t he Chinese concept of administ rat ion and rule, and it s skilf ul t radit ion in hydraulic management . To use Wit t f ogel’s t erminology of hydraulic societ y in t he cont ext of Viet nam t herew it h is just if ied, how ever, w it h some reservat ions remaining4. By combining select ed aspect s of Wit t f ogel’s t heory on hydraulic societ ies w it h st rat egic group t heory w e int end t o proof Wolf ram Eberhard w rong, w ho doubt ed t hat Wit t f ogel’s t heory “w ill be used as a t ool in sociological analysis” (Eberhard 1958:448).
3.2. From Adaptation to Control – The Birth of a M odern Hydraulic Society in the M ekong Delta
Using Wit t f ogel’s t erminology and argument , t hough not necessarily f ollow ing his conclusions, w e w ill now at t empt t o illust rat e how t he low er M ekong Delt a w as t ransf ormed f rom a societ y adapt ed t o it s nat ural environment int o a modern hydraulic societ y, in w hich hydraulic management plays a predominat e role f or economic development . Furt hermore, it is argued t hat t his process w as t he result of t echnological progress in hydraulic management accompanied by innovat ions in agricult ural product ion pat t erns.
Wit h more t han 70 percent of t he count ry’s populat ion living in rural areas, irrigat ed agricult ure and aquacult ure is st ill t he backbone of Viet nam’s economy. Among all regions of t he count ry, t he low er M ekong Delt a, locat ed in t he Sout hw est of Viet nam, is t he most product ive agricult ural zone. In only 250 years of colonizat ion t hrough Viet namese set t lers t he M ekong Delt a w as t ransf ormed f rom a relat ively w ild and unspoiled landscape int o w hat t oday is w idely know n as “Viet nam’s rice bow l”.5 Now adays, more t han 75 percent of t he ent ire delt a is under agricult ural use, mainly irrigat ed rice and rapidly expanding aquacult ures.
How ever, w hile t he Red River Delt a t radit ionally is a “w at er” landscape t hat is very much shaped by human act ion, in t he M ekong Delt a ext ensive hydraulic management f or agricult ural product ion reached a peak only af t er t he end of t he Second Indochinese War in 1975. Bef ore t hat , people w ere more or less adapt ed t o t he nat ural environment t hey f ound in t he delt a, grow ing f loat ing and rain- f ed rice as w ell as engaging in f ishing (Nguyen Van Sanh et al. 1998).
For t he inhabit ant s of t he Cuu Long Delt a, as t he Viet namese call t he low er M ekong Delt a, w at er is t he basis of living, serving agricult ural product ion, aquacult ure, t ransport at ion and daily domest ic use, including drinking w at er in many cases. When t he f irst pioneer Viet namese set t lers reached t he Delt a as f inal dest inat ion of w hat in Viet namese is called “Nam Ti
ế
n” (M arch t o t he Sout h) by mid of t he 18t h cent ury, t hey f ound t hemselves in an almost w ild landscape of rivers, ecologically shaped by t he w at ers of t he M ekong, monsoon climat e and t he t ide of t he Sout h Chinese Sea. In t hose days, w hen a never ending f low of Viet namese and Chinese set t lers ent ered t he region and colonized t he delt a along it s4 Alt hough t he Viet namese st at e of t en is described as a cent rally managed st at e wit h hierarchically st at ic st ruct ures, t here are clear f eat ures indicat ing t hat t he cent ral st at e is w eak w it h respect t o enf orcement of pow er at t he local level. Theref ore, t he st ruggle bet w een t he cent ral st at e and t he local st at e (provinces) is a cont inuum t o be met t hroughout t he ent ire Viet namese hist ory, also ref lect ed by it s st rong and aut onomous village societ y. In f ormer t imes Viet nam’s administ rat ive syst em w as derived f rom t he one in China, w hich is charact erized by a w ell organized administ rat ion and a hierarchically st ruct ured bureaucracy (Koh 2001, Großheim 2004, M arr 2004)
5 Though t here w ere several ancient kingdoms like Funan or Chenla (indinized civilizat ions) present in t he delt a, t he delt a as a w hole w as w idely unt apped w ild nat ure, w hen Viet namese and Chinese pioneers arrived.
rivers and new ly dug canals, t he delt a t urned int o a so- called Wat er- River- Civilisat ion (V
ă
n M inh Sông Nướ
c). The new set t lers and t heir civilizat ion adapt ed t o t he nat ural condit ions t hey w ere exposed t o (Brocheux 1995).It w as not unt il t he French colonial rule w as est ablished over Cochinchina (sout hern Viet nam) in 1885 t hat w at er management and human int erf erence int o t he nat ural environment st art ed t o play a cert ain role in t he development of t he delt a region. According t o Brocheux, in t his chapt er of t he delt a’s hist ory, addit ionally dredged canals served mainly t ransport at ion purposes and milit ary considerat ions, but did not f ocus on drainage, irrigat ion or f lood cont rol (Brocheux 1995). This is cont radict ed by Biggs w ho point s out t hat French hydraulic management of t he Delt a st art ed f rom 1866 (Biggs 2004:66). Wat er pumps and dykes w ere used already short ly af t er 1900 (157), w hen “scient if ic agricult ure” w as pract iced (Biggs 2004:126) and ext ensive dredging campaigns w ere carried out in t he 1920ies (Biggs 2004:117).
There w ere, how ever, set backs and t he French colonial administ rat ion never managed t o gain f ull hydraulic cont rol of t he M ekong Delt a.
Lat er on, during t he Cold War, US American expert s init iat ed f irst programs cent red on w at er regulat ion t o address t he problem of seasonally occurring f loods in upst ream areas and salt w at er int rusion in t he coast al areas of t he delt a t hat w ere seen as obst acles f or agricult ural development and enf orcement of t he green revolut ion in t he Sout h of Viet nam. M ore precisely, t he object ive of t his policy w as t o build up st ruct ures t hat allow w at er f low cont rol int o and out of t he ent ire delt a t o enable double and t riple- cropping. How ever, apart f rom some small- scale hydraulic w ork project s, t he realisat ion of t hese plans t urned out t o be dif f icult because of t he ongoing milit ary conf lict and overw helming communist presence in t he delt a (Käkönen 2008).
Af t er t he w ar ended and Nort h and Sout h reunit ed, t he process of bringing t he nat ural environment of t he delt a under human cont rol became more dynamic. Dredging new canals all over t he delt a in t he f irst years af t er t he w ar made it possible t o shif t f rom t radit ional rice grains (f loat ing and rain- f ed rice) t o high- yield variet ies w hich only grow under int ensive irrigat ion. Lat er on in t he 1990s, under a product ion orient ed w at er policy of t he government , dykes w ere const ruct ed and hydraulic w orks w ere grow ing in size. Double and t riple- rice cropping based on irrigat ion schemes st art ed t o spread all over t he delt a (M iller 2006). Today, t ypical hydraulic management devices such as pumps, f lood gat es and dikes can be f ound in most part s of t he delt a (Le M eur 2005). This clearly at t est s t he shif t f rom adapt ion t o more cont rol and t he t ransf ormat ion of t he M ekong Delt a f rom a “w at er landscape” int o a modern “hydraulic landscape”, i.e. a “hydraulic societ y” in w hich hydraulic management plays a crucial role in many aspect s of daily lif e and t he economy as a w hole. Viet nam’s renovat ion policy (
Đổ
i mớ
i) af t er 1986 t o a large ext end explains t he ongoing social t ransf ormat ion process in t he M ekong Delt a.To summarize, in only 30 years, t he ent ire Cuu Long Delt a, as t he Viet namese call it , w as t ransf ormed int o a human- regulat ed environment and has t hus become t he count ry’s cent re f or agricult ural product ion. M ore precisely, t his means t hat t echnological progress in hydraulic management and f lood cont rol laid t he groundw ork f or agricult ural development and economic grow t h in t he delt a. While in t he 1980s rice product ion could not ensure f ood securit y f or t he ent ire nat ion, by t he mid 1990ies Viet nam had developed int o one of t he w orld’s largest rice export ers (Käkönen 2008). Today 51 percent of Viet nam’s ent ire rice product ion, and even more impressively, 70 percent of Viet nam’s t ot al rice export s, are grow n in t he sout hern delt a. Apart f rom mono- cult ural rice, aquacult ure plays an increasingly import ant role w it h a share of 48 percent of all aquat ic product s produced in Viet nam t oday.
3.3. Strategic Group Formation in a Hydraulic Society – The Formation of a Bureaucratic Polity of Hydraulic M anagement and its Clients
While in t he previous sect ion it w as demonst rat ed how t echnological progress in hydraulic management t urned t he M ekong Delt a int o a modern hydraulic societ y, t his sect ion now explores t he precise processes of social t ransf ormat ion t hat came along w it h t he creat ion of t his human- regulat ed environment . Here, w e w ill point out t hat due t o t he t ransf ormat ion of t he M ekong Delt a int o Viet nam’s new agrarian f ront ier, several new pow erf ul groups emerged on t he basis of w at er management during t he last 30 years.
When Nort h and Sout h w ere reunit ed by t he vict orious communist part y t hrough proclaiming t he Socialist Republic of Viet nam in 1976, administ rat ive st ruct ures in t he Sout h w ere complet ely adjust ed t o t he one of t he cent rally managed socialist st at e in t he Nort h. Wit h respect t o w at er management , new st at e agencies responsible f or hydraulic and irrigat ion management w ere est ablished at all administ rat ive levels6 in t he sout hern part of Viet nam under subordinat ion of t he M inist ry of Irrigat ion in Hanoi (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 Administrative system of hydraulic and irrigation management in the M ekong Delta after reunification and before liberalization.
Administrative system of hydraulic managment in the first years after reunification
Ministry of Irrigation (BộThủy Lợi)
Department of Irrigation (SởThủy Lợi)
Office of Irrigation (Phòng Thủy Lợi)
People‘s Committee of the Commune (UBND Xã/Phường) District Peple‘s
Committee (UBND Huyện/Quận) Central Government
(Chính Phủ Trung Ương)
Provincial People‘s Committee (UBND Tỉnh)
Military-owend &
state-owned hydraulic construction companies at diffrent scales
Farmers
Source: ow n draw ing.
Under t his condit ion a new bureaucrat ic polit y of hydraulic management began t o emerge in t he M ekong Delt a due t o t housands of new ly creat ed civil service posit ions t hat had t o be f illed w it hin a short t ime. In t he early days of socialist rest ruct uring in t he Sout h, social mobilit y w as relat ively high at t he low er administ rat ive level of irrigat ion management , in part icular f or t hose w ho had obt ained some know ledge on hydraulic management and f ought on t he right side during t he w ar. How ever, high- ranking posit ions in t he new ly est ablished bureaucrat ic apparat us of w at er management w ere conf ined t o a circle of cadres f rom t he Nort h, w ho almost all graduat ed f rom t he Universit y of Wat er Resources M anagement in Hanoi7 and w ere t hen sent t o t he Sout h t o w ork in eit her cent ral- st at e inst it ut ions or inst it ut ions of t he provincial government s, w hile ot hers made careers in large- scale st at e- ow ned const ruct ion companies building hydro- dams or irrigat ion w orks. Thus, no mat t er w het her looking int o t he t op management of eit her cent ral st at e inst it ut ions of hydraulic management or large- scale hydraulic const ruct ion companies t oday, t he presence of people f rom t he nort hern part of Viet nam in high- ranking posit ion prevails.8
6 Since 1976 t he administ rat ive syst em of Viet nam of f icially consist s of f our levels: cent ral government , provinces, dist rict s and communes (Viet namese Const it ut ion of 1992, art icle 118).
7 Trường Đại Học Thủy Lợi Hà Nội: For long, t his w as t he only universit y t hat provided higher educat ion in w at er resources management in Viet nam. In 1997, a branch of t his universit y w as opened in Ho Chi M inh Cit y.
8 Int erview w it h a f ormer st udent of t he Wat er Resources Universit y in Hanoi w hose f at her w as a lect ure and prof essor f or more t han 30 years t here. Int erview s conduct ed w it h managers of large- scale hydraulic const ruct ion companies in Can Tho Cit y.
In Can Tho Cit y, w here w e carried out Part icipat ory Rapid Appraisal w orkshops w it h cadres f orm t he irrigat ion st at ion and agricult ural of f ice of t hree dist rict s in Oct ober 20089, w e learnt t hat t he f irst years af t er t he w ar f inancial resources f or invest ing in new hydraulic w orks w ere rat her scarce. Theref ore addit ional canals in t his period w ere normally dug by hands, more precisely, f armers provided labour f or public inf rast ruct ure development . It w as only af t er 1985 t hat public expendit ures f or t he const ruct ion of new hydraulic w orks began t o increase signif icant ly. As a consequence t he sect or’s development became more dynamic as hydraulic const ruct ion as w ell as relat ed act ivit ies w ere on t he rise.
Since privat e business w ere af t er communist vict ory almost t ot ally abolished in t he Sout h , st at e- ow ned const ruct ion ent erprises f illed t he gap and became t he client s of t he f reshly est ablished hydraulic bureaucracy. In Can Tho Cit y, t here w ere st at e- ow ned hydraulic const ruct ion ent erprises10 locat ed at t he provincial level under t he M inist ry of Irrigat ion as w ell as in each dist rict under t he Depart ment of Irrigat ion, w hich possessed all machines and t echnical equipment necessary t o build large irrigat ion w orks on behalf of t he st at e. Government f unds dest ined f or new hydraulic w orks w ere t heref ore t ransf erred f rom t he Depart ment of Irrigat ion t o dist rict st at e- ow ned ent erprises f or project implement at ion. In case of large- scale hydraulic w orks w it h high invest ment , t he M inist ry of Irrigat ion it self t ook over management and supervision of const ruct ion w orks t hrough a special invest ment and hydraulic const ruct ion management board t hat w as set up right af t er reunif icat ion, represent ing t he cent ral government ’s int erest s in local hydraulic management af f airs.11
During t he 1990s t he t ransf ormat ion of t he M ekong Delt a int o an agricult ural product ion hub w as achieved by building new hydraulic w orks f or cont rolling w at er f low s. Whereas bef ore, t he f ocus w as exclusively on canals, during t he 1990s dykes and gat es began addit ionally t o play an increasingly import ant role t ow ards a successf ul complet ion of t he green revolut ion in t he delt a, namely t o ent irely replace t radit ional f arming syst ems t hrough double and t riple rice cropping pat t erns t hat require irrigat ion. Since t he number of hydraulic w orks had grow n considerably in provinces like Can Tho, a provincial st at e- ow ned irrigat ion management and exploit at ion company w as est ablished under t he People’s Commit t ee t o ensure t he maint enance of hydraulic w orks.12 Once t his aut onomous company w as est ablished, it w as exclusively responsible t o manage and t o ensure maint enance of all hydraulic w orks t hat w ere under t he provincial administ rat ion.13
The preservat ion of irrigat ion w orks caused new addit ional cost s f or t he provincial government . The st at e addressed t his problem by collect ing an irrigat ion f ee t o be paid by all t hose f armers w ho enjoyed benef it s out of hydraulic w orks f or double and t riple rice cropping. Revenues generat ed by t he irrigat ion f ee w ere used t o run t he new ly est ablished irrigat ion management and exploit at ion company and w ere reinvest ed in t he maint enance of hydraulic w orks. 14
In an at t empt t o reduce t he number of st at e agencies, including minist ries, t he M inist ry of Irrigat ion w as merged w it h t he M inist ry of Agricult ure and Rural Development (M ARD). Thus t he complet e administ rat ive st ruct ure of irrigat ion management w as int egrat ed int o M ARD and f rom t hen on has been exist ing under t he umbrella of M ARD (see f igure 4). Alt hough t he st at e bureaucracy of hydraulic management w as merged w it h M ARD, it s pow er cont inued t o grow w it h t he gradual enlargement of hydraulic syst ems consist ing of canals, gat es and dykes and t heir regulat ion in t he delt a.
9 PRA w orkshops w ere carried out in t hree of t he eight dist rict s of Can Tho Cit y (Vĩnh Thạnh, CờĐỏ, Phong Điền) in
order t o capt ure t he hist orical development process of hydraulic management and it s inst it ut ional development af t er t he w ar in Can Tho Cit y.
10 Xí nghiệp xây dựng t hủy lợi /xí nghiệp quản lý t hủy nông
11 Ban quản lý Đầu tư & Xây dựng Thủy lợi số. During an int erview w it h t he management board w e f ound out t hat during t he last 30 years almost all st af f has exclusively been sent f rom t he Nort h by t he minist ry.
12 Bef ore, provincial irrigat ion management and exploit at ion companies exist ed in many provinces and can st ill be f ound in many places in Viet nam. Also compare Font enelle 2001 or Harris 2006, M ARD 143/2003/NĐ- CP.
13 Int erview s w it h t he Agency of Irrigat ion of Can Tho Cit y (Chi Cục Thủy Lợi Tp. Cần Thơ) and Can Tho Joint - St ock Hydraulic Const ruct ion Company.
14 The irrigat ion f ee (t hủy lợi phí) w as imposed all over Viet nam in 1992 and w as abolished in 2007 again.
Figure 4 Administrative systems of hydraulic and irrigation management after administrative reformation and liberalization.
Administrative system of hydraulic management today
Ministry of Agriculture
& Rural Development (BộNông Nghiệp & Phát
Triển Nông Thôn) Department of Irrigation
(Cục Thủy Lợi)
Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (SởNông Nghiệp &
Phát Triển Nông Thôn) Department of Irrigation
(Chi Cục Thủy Lợi)
Office of Agriculture and Rural Development
(Phòng Nông Nghiệp & Phat Triển Nông Thôn) Station of Irrigation
(Trạm Thủy Lợi) District Peple‘s
Committee (UBND Huyện/Quận) Central Government
(Chính PhủTrung Ương)
Provincial People‘s Committee (UBND Tỉnh)
People‘s Committee of the Commune (UBND Xã/Phường)
Farmers
•Military-owned construction
companies
•State-owned construction
companies
•Private construction
companies
•Private construction cooperatives
Regional projects managment
boards
tender
te nde r
Source: WISDOM ZEF dat a.
By t he end of t he 1990s, pressure as a result of t he government ’s renovat ion policy of economic liberalizat ion caused new changes in t he sect or. While bef ore, t he irrigat ion sect or w as monopolized by an alliance consist ing of t he st at e bureaucracy and st at e- ow ned hydraulic const ruct ion ent erprises as it ’s’ client s, now t he sect or became increasingly opened up t hrough liberalized t ender procedures. Then, also privat e hydraulic const ruct ion companies and privat e const ruct ion cooperat ives w ere allow ed t o part icipat e in t ender procedures of hydraulic const ruct ion project s.15 In Can Tho Province, t he st at e- ow ned irrigat ion management and exploit at ion company as w ell as some ot her st at e- ow ned hydraulic const ruct ion companies w ere convert ed int o joint - st ock companies f rom t he end of t he 1990s on, w hich w as t he result of a nat ionw ide liberalizat ion policy on st at e- ow ned ent erprises16. Theref ore t oday, part icipat ion in t ender procedures is not exclusively conf ined t o st at e- ow ned ent erprises any longer.
Hydraulic const ruct ion has become an almost f ree market in w hich all kind of ent erprises are allow ed t o operat e in. How ever, f or small- scale project t here is st ill t he opt ion t o make use of closed t ender procedures, w hich allow local aut horit ies t o address cert ain companies direct ly f or project implement at ion, w it hout openly t endering it . 17
15 Hydraulic w orks f unded by public expendit ures w ort h more t han 1 billion VND (60 000 US$) have t o be t endered openly f or all kind ent erprises all over Viet nam (int erview w it h Agency of Irrigat ion Can Tho Cit y)
16 Though t he company operat es under t he st at us by being a joint - st ocked ent erprise, 51 percent of t he equit ies remain w it h t he st at e (Int erview w it h t he Agency of Irrigat ion Can Tho Cit y). Furt hermore, some ot her st at e- ow ned const ruct ion companies have recent ly been t ransf ormed int o joint - st ock companies (Công t y Xáng & Xây dựng Cần
Thơ, Xí nghiệp Tàu Cuốc Sông Hậu.This is t he Viet namese w ay of privat izing st at e- owned companies, also know n as
“equit izat ion” (cổ phần hóa).
17 Int erview s conduct ed w it h t he Agency of Irrigat ion of Can Tho Cit y (Chi Cục Thủy Lợi Tp. Cần Thơ), Can Tho Joint - St ock Hydraulic Const ruct ion Company and t w o ot her large- scale hydraulic const ruct ion companies in Can Tho Cit y.
The “equit izat ion” of st at e- ow ned hydraulic companies in Can Tho t hat , how ever, are in somehow st ill under t he management of st at e inst it ut ions and agencies, w as t he occasion f or some people t o set up privat e hydraulic const ruct ion companies18 in Can Tho. Since 2000, t hese companies have considerably increased in number due t o t he availabilit y of new resources released by market access, and t heref ore compet it ion has become f iercer in t he sect or t oday.
Figure 5 One of 70 sluices of the W orld Bank funded O M on – Xa No subproject for large- scale hydraulic management in the M ekong Delta
Phot o S. Benedikt er/H.D. Evers January 2009
While in t he f irst years af t er t he w ar t he size of hydraulic const ruct ion project s w as rat her small, t oday t here is t he t endency t hat such project s st eadily grow is size, w hich is due t o new approaches of f lood and salinit y cont rol in cont ext of t he global t rend of int egrat ed w at er resources management (IWRM ).
During t he lat e 1990s large- scale hydraulic w ork project s based on t he M ekong Delt a M ast er Plan19 w ere carried out by t he cent ral government (M ARD), in many cases w it h f inancial support f rom t he World Bank.20 Of t en big f ormerly st at e- ow ned const ruct ion companies under M ARD, sit uat ed in t he nort hern part of Viet nam and Ho Chi M inh Cit y, carry out const ruct ion project s of large- scale hydraulic w orks in t he delt a.
18 Hydraulic const ruct ion is not t he only f ield of t hese companies. Some of t hem also of f er services in road and bridge const ruct ion, or civil const ruct ion (dat a received t hrough t he Depart ment of Planning and Invest ment of Can Tho Cit y / int erview w it h t he Joint - St ock Hydraulic Const ruct ion Company of Can Tho)
19 The M ekong Delt a M ast er Plan w as a st udy done by NEDECO and served as planning document f or int egrat ed w at er resources management in t he M ekong Delt a based on large- scale hydraulic schemes.
20 In t he lat e 1990s t he World Bank co- f inanced t he M ekong Delt a Wat er Resources Project , w hich consist s of 6 provincial cross- boundary subproject s eff ect ing large areas of t he delt a.
Figure 6 O M on – Xa No subproject for large- scale hydraulic management, showing water control gates (blue dots)
Figure 7 Hydraulic construction companies in Can Tho City
Source: Depart ment of Planning and Invest ment of Can Tho Cit y
Alt hough compet it ion has become f ierce during recent years, f inancial f low s int o t he sect or have gradually increased. Solely in t he period 2006- 2010 t he cent ral government is carrying out 13 large- scale hydraulic project s in t he delt a w ort h 35 million US$. Anot her 75 million US$ are disbursed f or 45 medium- sized hydraulic management project s out of government f unds in t he same t ime f rame and, f urt hermore, t here are hundreds of small- scale project s at t he dist rict level. This implies t hat t he ecological t ransf ormat ion of t he delt a w ill cont inue in t he upcoming years, since monet ary resources remain abundance t o f urt her f eed t he bureaucrat ic polit y of hydraulic management and respect ive const ruct ion companies (Long An Government 2008).
Table 1 Can Tho’s large- Scale hydraulic construction companies under state and military management
Company name Company’s owner
Công t y c
ổ
phầ
n Xáng xây dự
ng Cầ
n Thơ
People’s Commit t ee of Can Tho Cit y Công t y cổ
phầ
n Xây dự
ng Thủ
y lợ
i Cầ
n Thơ
People’s Commit t ee of Can Tho Cit yCông t y C
ổ
phầ
n Tàu Cuố
c – Xí nghiệ
p TàuQu
ố
c Sông Hâu M inist ry of Agricult ure and Rural Development Công t y Cổ
phầ
nđầ
u tư
và xấ
y dự
ng 40 M inist ry of Agricult ure and Rural DevelopmentCông t y c
ổ
phầ
n xây dự
ng 621 People’s Army of Viet namCông t y 622 People’s Army of Viet nam
To sum up, t he government ’s policy of agricult ural development based on hydraulic management laid t he groundw ork f or t he emergence of new pow erf ul groups in t he M ekong Delt a, namely a hydraulic bureaucracy and const ruct ion ent erprises ow ned by t he st at e and in some cases under t he management of t he milit ary, w hich bot h serve as client s of t he st at e bureaucracy. In ot her w ords, t echnological progress in hydraulic management and large public invest ment s int o inf rast ruct ure development f or w at er f low cont rol released new resources t hat have been shared bet w een bot h groups f or mut ual benef it . Throughout t he years, bot h groups w ere able t o consolidat e t heir social and economic posit ion const ant ly and t heref ore secured t heir access t o resources in t he long- run. Alt hough bot h groups pursue dif f erent modes of resources appropriat ion, (1) bureaucracy: collect ive mode of appropriat ion; (2) ent erprises: corporat e mode
of appropriat ion, t hey have built up a t ight net w ork f or communicat ion and resources redist ribut ion among t heir members. The coalit ion bet w een t he st at e bureaucracy and t he privat e sect or has become a dist inct f eat ure of Sout hern Viet nam’s hydraulic societ y.
The grow ing connect ion of polit ics (bureaucracy) and business t hrough coalit ion and even hybridizat ion in t he cont ext of Doi M oi, is also point ed out by Gainsborough (2003, 2007), w ho conduct ed empirical research on t he changing polit ical economy of Viet nam w it h case st udies f rom Ho Chi M inh Cit y and Tay Ninh Province:
In int erview s, company direct ors f requent ly explained t heir success, or w hy t he st at e did make t rouble f or t hem, by ref erence t o t heir connect ions t o provincial leaders or t heir reput at ion because t hey used t o w ork f or t he provincial government . That is accessing resources, w het her it be money, cont ract s or inf ormat ion, did not depend on a set of rules w hich w ere t he same f or everyone. Inst ead, it depends of w ho you know (Gainsborough 2007: 6).
A similar assessment w as given w hen w e conduct ed an int erview w it h Can Tho Hydraulic Const ruct ion Joint - St ock Company, w here w e learnt t hat close relat ionships w it h t hose w ho decide on t ender procedures, w hich in f act is t he hydraulic bureaucracy, are needed t o survive in a market t hat is increasingly compet it ive:
“To w in t ender procedures depends mainly on t wo f act ors, t o be cheaper t han ot hers and t o have good relat ions21”
Furt hermore, w e w ere t old t hat it is rat her dif f icult t o succeed f or t hose w ho are unable t o int egrat e inf ormal means in t heir business st rat egies (không
đ
i banđ
êmđượ
c), w hereas t hose w ho go inf ormal w ays do bet t er.Af t er t he part y- st at e promulgat ed economic ref orms t ow ards a more marked- based economy, resources monopolized by t he coalit ion of t he st at e bureaucracy and st at e- ow ned ent erprises, became now also available f or a new ly emerged group, namely privat e business. Since economic liberalizat ion, many new ent erprises have emerged and ent ered t he marked f or hydraulic const ruct ion. Theref ore t he arena w as enlarged by a new st rat egic group t hereby increasing t he dynamics of t he sect or.22
3.4. From Green to Blue Revolution – Agricultural Diversification and the Emergence of New Groups
Bef ore 2000, agricult ural product ion w as predominat ely based on int ensive mono- cult ural rice cult ivat ion in t he delt a. This began t o change t he f irst t ime by t he end of t he 1990s, w hen t he cent ral st at e announced a new policy of rural development w it h st ronger f ocus on diversif icat ion of agricult ur.
Concept s like t he VAC- model (v
ườ
n, ao, chuồ
ngÆ
garden, pond, st able) designed f or increasing and diversif ying product ion of small- scale f amers pushed agricult ural diversif icat ion t ow ards new f orms of f arming syst em t hat , beside f rom rice, consist s of upland crops cult ivat ion, irrigat ed f ruit orchards or veget able product ion (Tran Thanh Be et al. 2007). Wit h t he occurrence of shrimp f arming in coast al areas and f ish f arming in f reshw at er zones by t he lat e 1990s, aquacult ure has experienced signif icant grow t h during recent years in t he delt a. This is mainly because Viet nam w as able t o improve it s access t o global market s considerably; in part icular af t er t he US rat if ied a bilat eral t rade agreement w it h Viet nam in 2001 t he count ry’s int egrat ion int o t he w orld economy has sped up dramat ically and made new resources available. Aquacult ure has benef it ed very much f orm economic int egrat ion due t o t he access t o new market s in t he EU, Aust ralia, Russia and Asian count ries (Tran Thanh Be 2007).In cont ext of t his blue revolut ion (aquacult ural boom), new occupat ional groups emerged out of t he agrarian scenery of t he delt a, f or inst ance, f ish f armers in t he in f resh w at er zones and shrimp f armers in coast al areas. Furt hermore, t he upsw ing of aquacult ure came along w it h a st rong grow t h of export - orient ed processors of aquat ic product s as a new f ield of ent repreneurship.
In Can Tho Cit y, w hich is locat ed in t he f reshw at er zone of t he delt a, f ishery w as alw ays an import ant source of income. How ever, bef ore in Can Tho f ishery w as mainly based on w ild f ish in rivers caught f or subsist ence or sale at local market s. Today t he sit uat ion has changed dramat ically w it h up t o 95 percent of t ot al f ishery out put produced in f ish f arms, mainly cat f ish f or export . Likew ise, t he number of f ish processing companies has increased explosively w it hin recent years only up t o 28, of w hich 22 are specialized on cat f ish processing f or export (see map). M ost of t hese new ly est ablished processing f acilit ies are ow ned by ent repreneurs, w ho operat ed in ot her sect ors such as real est at e or f ood processing bef ore. When t hey saw t he availabilit y of new resources in t he sect or of aquacult ure due t o accesses t o global market s, t heir at t ent ion w as t hen draw n t o t he f ishery sect or as a new f ield of operat ion. Today aquacult ural sect or has set up an ow n business associat ion (VASEP) f or pushing t hrough t heir individual int erest s.
21 Int erview w it h t he management board of Can Tho Joint St ock Hydraulic Const ruct ion Company (Công t y Cổ phần
Xây dựng Thủy lợi Cần Thơ): “Đấu t hầu dựa t rên 2 yếu tố chính, đấu giá rẽ hơn và có mối quan hệ tốt là t rúng”.
22 So f ar it remains unclear who recent ly has set up all t hese privat e hydraulic const ruct ion ent erprises and w hat is t he social background of t his new ent repreneurship. Furt her research is necessary and already under w ay t o t hrow new light on t his process.
Figure 8 Fish Farming Output
Source: Viet nam General St at ist ic Of f ice
Figure 9 Aquaculture Output
Fish f arming is capit al- int ensive and highly risky in t erms of sudden price f luct uat ions on t he market and diseases in f ish. In t his sense, only rich people are able t o accumulat e enough capit al t o get int o business and successf ully make it t here in t he long run. When t he cat f ish f arming boom reached t he upst ream- locat ed dist rict s of Can Tho Cit y by beginning of 2000, bet t er of f rice f armers and urban dw ellers st art ed t o invest t heir capit al in cat f ish f arming and t hus diversif ied t heir act ivit ies or even sw it ched complet ely t o f ish f arming. Today, about 80 percent of grow n f ish is produced by small and medium- sized f amily businesses, w hile 20 percent comes out of large- scale f ish f arms, respect ively. For t he f ut ure, it is predict ed t hat int ensive f ish- f arming in large scale f arms w ill dominat e t he sect or due t o grow ing qualit y st andards imposed on f oreign export market s. Large f armers are rat her able t o deal w it h t his problem and t o ensure high qualit y product s t hrough st eady invest ment s in new t echnologies by benef it ing f rom an economy of scale.23
Figure 10 Irrigation Canals and W aterways, Can Tho City
Dykes make t he dif f erence. View f rom Nui Sap during t he w et season, locat ed in t he borderland bet w een Can Tho and An Giang province. While in An Giang high dykes enable t riple rice cropping, Nort hern Can Tho st ill relies on f ishing af t er t he second crop in f looded areas.
Phot o S. Benedikt er Oct ober 2008
In cont rast t o t he hydraulic const ruct ion sect or, t he f ishery sect or is ent irely in t he hands of privat e business at dif f erent scales. For t he f ut ure, expert s draw a pict ure of f urt her rapid modernizat ion and prof essionalizat ion of f ish f arming, w hich more precisely means t hat large- scale f arms are expect ed t o replace many of t oday’s small and medium- sized household- based f ish f arms.24 This process might t hen
23 Int erview w it h t he Agency of Fishery of Can Tho Cit y (Chi Cục Thủy Sản Tp. Cần Thơ), Can Tho Fishery Associat ion (Hiệp Hội Thủy Sản Tp. Cần Thơ) & Can Tho Cit y Farmer’s Union (Hội Nông Dân Tp. Cần Thơ)
24 Int erview s w it h t he Agency of Fishery of Can Tho Cit y (Chi Cục Thủy Sản Tp. Cần Thơ) & Can Tho Fishery Associat ion (Hiệp Hội Thủy Sản Tp. Cần Thơ)
inevit ably lead t o t he f ormat ion of an alliance consist ing of f ish f armers and processors as business man, or pow erf ul processors w ill t ot ally absorb f ish f arming.
Figure 11 Irrigation Canals and W aterways, Can Tho City
Coming back t o t he rice sect or, t he M ekong Delt a, t radit ionally, is a region w here big landow nership w as w idely common bef ore t he w ar ended (Brocheux 1995). This is also ref lect ed in t he Viet namese expression of “Công T
ử
Bạ
c Liêu”25 or how t he Viet namese call t he sons of t hose w ho made it t o become big landow ners (đạ
iđ
iề
n Chủ
) in t he delt a during t he days of French rule and t hereby creat ed a new elit e of nat ives under f oreign occupat ion. Though, big landow nership part ly w as smashed af t er t he w ar by t he new socialist government in t he Sout h (Vo Tong Xuan 1995), now adays, t here are t endencies t hat landow nership enjoys a revival af t er years of command economy and collect ively- organized f orms of product ion. Ironically, it w as conf irmed by several agencies under t he Depart ment of Agricult ure and Rural Development of Can Tho Cit y t hat t he st at e’s policy current ly put a st rong f ocus on f ost ering mechanizat ion and prof essionalizat ion, including t o st rengt hen large f armers t hat are able t o produce more ef f icient ly t han small- scale f armers. The appearance of new f orms of big landow nership or even landlordism seems t o be a st rong f eat ure in several provinces of t he delt a, w here in recent years high- dyke embankment s26 and sluices w ere set up t o cont rol w at er f low s in f lood prone areas f or pushing t riple rice cropping. From 2000 t o 2007 t he number of large- scale f arms has increased dramat ically by 70 percent , comprising not only rice f armers but also large- scale f ish f armers and shrimp f armers (GSO 2008). This might indicat e a correlat ion bet w een increasing hydraulic management on t he one hand and changes in land dist ribut ion on t he ot her, since small scale f armers of t en are not able t o survive w it hin high dyke syst em, and are t heref ore f orced t o give up and sell t heir land t o bet t er of f armers.27 Since25 Today t he expression is w idely used among Sout hern Viet namese t o describe t he t ype of „rich playboy “or t he new rich.
26 In t he M ekong Delt a, w e may dist inguish bet w een t w o kinds of dyke syst ems: (1) August dykes prot ect t he summer- aut umn crop f rom f loods. Af t er t he harvest w at er can ent er t he dyke. (2) Wit hin high dykes crops can be grow n all year round.
27 Closed dyke syst ems, like in An Giang, have negat ive impact on t he environment and soil f ert ilit y, since w at er f low in and out t he syst em is const rained. Fert ile alluvial soil cannot get int o t he syst em in suf f icient quant it y, w hich demands higher applicat ion of f ert ilizer and pest icides w hich is cost ly, especially f or small scale f armers.
M oreover, small- scale f armers locat ed w it hin dyke syst ems cannot rely any longer on w ild f ishery due t he absence
