Land Titling and Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Vietnam

Abstract This study quantifies the less salient yet important impacts of land titling on the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) in the context of Vietnam. Exploiting the within-plot variation in titling status, we find that land titling is positively associated with the implementation of SAPs. Specifically, being given formal titles to land makes Vietnamese rural households 6.58, 3.65, and 1.97 percentage points more likely to invest in soil-water conservation, adopt crop rotation, and leave the land fallow, respectively. These estimates represent increases of 8.7, 20.9, and 2 % compared to the sample averages, respectively. Given the substantial stress on the agricultural system generated by conventional farming, raising the adoption of SAPs could improve food security and alleviate hunger. Our findings also imply that strengthening land property rights through land titling can help us achieve sustainable development goals. The study calls for intensified policy efforts to make sure that formal land use certificates are issued for all farmlands.