Meet me in the Mekong Delta for a day in the life of a rice farmer.
Rice is by far the most important crop in Vietnam, both in terms of production — Vietnam is the world’s second largest rice exporter, after Thailand — and consumption — Vietnam is the world’s seventh-largest consumer. Vietnam’s national economy rises and falls with the undulating price of rice; in the Mekong Delta, for example, which is known as “Vietnam’s Rice Bowl,” about 80% of the population is engaged in rice production. (We see the rice-harvesting magic happen in this video.) Beyond its economic benefits, rice provides Vietnamese with an estimated 80% of their daily intake of carbohydrates and 40% of their protein. Very literally, Vietnam can’t live without rice.
