Post-merger agriculture in the Mekong Delta: Shifting to large-scale production

Shifting from small-scale to large-scale agricultural production

The Mekong Delta, a vast delta region covering roughly 40,000 km² and home to 17.4 million people across 13 provinces and cities, has undergone a remarkable transformation. From a land once described as where “even a bird call carried fear, and a fish stir caused chills,” it has risen to become a national hub for the production and export of food, seafood, and fruit.

In 2024, the total export turnover of the Mekong Delta region reached approximately USD 25.7 billion, representing a 16% increase compared to the same period last year. Despite this success, the region continues to face structural limitations, including small-scale production, fragmented resources, asynchronous infrastructure, and weak regional linkages. These constraints have diminished its competitiveness and its responses to pressing challenges, such as climate change and saltwater intrusion.

The Government's policy to merge provincial-level administrative units is seen as a strategic direction to address these issues. As Vietnam's key agricultural region, the merger of provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta is not merely a matter of changing land boundaries, but it also opens up major opportunities for the region to reshape its agricultural development strategy toward large-scale production, effective regional linkage, and sustainability.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Le Thong, Head of the Agricultural Economics Department (School of Economics – Can Tho University), merging provinces will enlarge the scale of the provinces. This creates favorable conditions for provinces to plan specialized production zones on a large and synchronous scale.

Redefining regional development space

Sharing about new favorable conditions for the Mekong Delta region’s agriculture following the merger of provinces and cities in the region, Dr. Tran Huu Hiep, Economic Expert of the Mekong Delta region, emphasized that the merger opens up new expectations and opportunities for regional and local development space.

“Merging provinces can unlock new models of cooperation and linkage in agricultural investment and development, focusing on sustainable agriculture with key products,” Dr. Tran Huu Hiep said.

He also highlighted that aligning development strategies with local strengths and leveraging marine economic potential will unlock new growth areas. For example, Can Tho, which was once the regional hub, will open up a new pathway for maritime development after integration with Hau Giang and Soc Trang. Similarly, An Giang and Kien Giang provinces will also coordinate to form a new An Giang province, with a development orientation toward the Western Sea.

This reorganization is expected to breathe new life into regional planning, enabling each locality to better utilize its natural advantages within a broader and more coordinated framework.

Enlarged scale, more benefits

As Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Le Thong mentioned that an enlarged scale will pave the way for planning larger and more synchronous production zones. “Merging provinces allows for long-term planning on a bigger scale, which is key to developing infrastructure, logistics, and the application of high-tech and circular agriculture,” he explained.

This shift, Dr. Pham Le Thong added, also reduces administrative barriers and creates a more attractive environment for investors. As provincial markets and production capacities expand, costs decrease and efficiency improves, benefiting both businesses and consumers.

Moreover, provincial mergers are expected to facilitate better management of natural resources, agricultural resources, land, and especially water resources. As a result, agricultural production activities across the region can become more synchronous and effective.

Building connected infrastructure and value chains

Another key advantage of the mergers lies in infrastructure development, especially irrigation works. According to Dr. Tran Huu Hiep, the decentralization and fragmentation of administrative boundaries between provinces in the past led to disconnected investments. “For example, an irrigation work might be built by one province, even though it should have been connected with neighboring provinces,” he explained.

Now, with a broader development space, the implementation of investment projects in irrigation and raw material areas can be more widely connected across localities.

Importantly, this new development framework also allows for the creation of fully integrated value chains. From input supply and raw material areas to production, processing, and distribution, agricultural activities can now be synchronized across provinces. This facilitates better coordination between production zones and logistics systems, including agro-product processing hubs and consumption markets.

The restructuring of provincial boundaries in the Mekong Delta is more than an administrative adjustment. The provincial merger will create a premise for the Mekong Delta to maximize its potential, optimize resources, facilitate infrastructure investment, and strengthen regional linkages.