The role of knowledge in sustainable agriculture: Evidence from rice farms' technical efficiency in Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

This paper examines the production efficiency of 2079 rice farms in Hanoi (Vietnam) in 2018 and the role of formal and informal knowledge on their efficiency. Our empirical results showed that, in general, Hanoi's rice farms performed quite well in 2018. The differences in the specific performance of each farm could be explained by the farmer's characteristics (age, education and gender of the head of household) as well as by certain external factors (support programs or distance to city center). We found that self-learning through experience did not obviously improve the farm's production efficiency whilst education and training were notably important. We further suggest that regional councils and agricultural support programs played an important role in helping farmers improve their efficiency and sustainability.