Peasant responses to agricultural land conversion and mechanism of rural social differentiation in Hung Yen province, Northern Vietnam

Agricultural accumulation has been one of the main source determined the social differentiation in Vietnamese countryside. The complexities of agrarian changes under the post - socialist industrialization with high rate of agricultural land conversion in recent context reveal the new forms of capital accumulation and social differentiation. This research investigates how land conversion process to industrial zones and clusters affected to the way that different groups of peasant households accumulate their resources. The study was carried out in 3 districts of Hung Yen province from 2006 to 2010. The study results are as follows: first, the land conversion to industrialization has impact on not only the decline of household landholdings but also the changes value of land which are the sources of social conflicts and informal land transfer. Second, in the context of land conversion to industrialization with tiny plots of land, low return from agricultural production and more opportunities of non-farm activities, even when non-farm employment is very profitable, peasant households are not likely to give up their land but maintaining agricultural production for not only their basic and secure livelihood but also for their identity. Third, among the affected peasant groups, the households with non-farm background tend to be in better position in engaging to high - earning activities. They are likely the rich peasants in opposed to the poor group with farming background and lost more than 50% of their agricultural land. This research has showed that the industrialization policies have to deal with the proportion of agricultural land would be transferred for industrialization zones and other measures in order to limit the conflicts as well as the social differentiation in countryside.