Rice Growing and Recent Changes in Agricultural Practices in North Vietnam. In Vietnam, where 70% of the population is rural, the level of rice production remains an important economic indicator. Strong demographic growth tends to absorb the progress achieved in rice growing. The Mekong Delta in the South and the Red River Delta in the North contain most of the agricultural resources in Vietnam as well as the bulk of its population ; the changes in these two deltas have been markedly different. In the North, collectivism, begun in 1955, had a greater influence on the agricultural sector. In the 80"s, the government started a fast decollectivization program. In 1988, the agricultural production system was given back to the peasants. Production related structures were returned to the private sector. Highly important changes occurred during 1990-1993 period. The French Red River Program witnessed these changes by means of an agronomic survey of some family fields in two communes of the Red River Delta. Some agricultural methods were quickly modified by the farmers and output increased. The standard of living of farm families improved, and matters were made easier for people entering farming. Still, free agricultural practices may become detrimental to productivity because the paddy fields are spread over vast areas, thus justifying a community management of some aspects of rice growing, for example, hydraulic facilities and crop protection measures.