Le Thi Thanh Thuy describes herself as a “city girl”, yet her heart lies with farming communities in central Vietnam. In her Danida-supported PhD research, she explores how agriculture is rapidly changing – though not all farmers are able, or willing, to keep pace with new innovations and technologies.
By Elena Adamo
Around the world, agriculture faces huge pressure from climate change. In central Vietnam just a few days ago, floods destroyed crops, undermining farmers’ livelihoods.
Agriculture is vital for the livelihoods of millions of people, but many widespread agricultural practices are unsustainable. Tackling these problems means transforming the approach to agriculture, “but, so far, most efforts focus on technical fixes, often ignoring local adaptive capacity,” says PhD researcher Le Thi Thanh Thuy.
The four-year Danida-funded project Governing Transformations in the Agricultural System in Vietnam TRANS-AG (2024 – 2028) focuses not on technologies, but on people and governance.
The research project focuses on farmers, the major role players in agriculture. As a joint-degree PhD student at the University of Copenhagen and Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, she studies how ready farmers are to adopt sustainable and low-emission rice farming practices.
Thuy grew up in Hanoi, but her career has taken her far away from urban life. Originally trained as an economist, she shifted from markets and trade to work with decision-makers and communities in promoting conservation and environmental protection.
Her most transformative experience came in 2016, when she joined a project supporting ethnic minority farmers. “It was the first time I worked directly with farmers. I stayed in their villages, shared meals with them, and learned how hard they worked.”
Later, at WWF Vietnam, Thuy worked on plastic waste reduction. “We trained farmers in sorting waste and composting, but adoption was slow – not because people were not aware of the issue, but because daily life is complex.”
These experiences shaped the focus of her PhD. Vietnam aims to meet the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Agriculture accounts for 43% of the country’s total emissions.
“We need to understand the human side: how people decide, who’s included, and what pressures they face.” Thuy’s research links local innovations, policies, and global pressures like climate change and trade.
Her approach centres on how people learn from one another. “Farmers may know composting is good, but they believe it only when they see their neighbour succeed.”
Her research may focus on central Vietnam, but its lessons are global. Understanding why some farmers resist change can help create more inclusive, sustainable agriculture everywhere.
“I strongly believe that through adaptive management we can promote the sustainable transition”, Le Thi Thanh Thuy
