Hồ Thanh Tâm
Koji Shimada

Abstract
This study uses the propensity score matching approach to empirically analyze farmers’ preference for adaptation to climate change in rice production and the impact of adaptation response on their livelihood, more specifically on household income. Observational data were obtained from interviews with 80 Soc Trang rice farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings indicate that 74% of farmers typically decided to adapt their rice farming to climate change with respect to salinity intrusion while 26% of farmers did not. The choice of adaptation response is significantly influenced by education, social norm, location at district level and micro-level (e.g. access to water sources). Furthermore, the study demonstrates that adaptation response to climate change at the farm level has a positive impact on household income. Specifically, farmers who have adapted their rice farming to salinity intrusion have a higher annual income (about 34 million Vietnamese Dong) than those who have not adapted.

Key words: climate change, adaptation, rice farmers, income, propensity score matching.