Binh Thuan is an agricultural commune, with 5 hamlets: Thuan Hanh, Thuan Nhat, Thuan Truyen, Thuan Hiep and Hoa My. It has 1,931 households and a population of 9, 765 inhabitants. The average income per capita is low (< 500, 000 VND per month) since local farmers do not have any other part-time employment. The rate of poor households in 2009 was 19.77% which was double the rate in the whole district of Tay Son (10.04%). The main crops are rice, peanuts and cassava.

The local land mainly consists of sandy soil and grey infertile soil of little nutrition. Due to the lack of ponds, lakes and an irrigation system, agricultural production completely depends on rain water and underground water exploitation. In addition, this commune often suffers from unusual rain and flooding, though it is in an area affected by dryness and droughts with dry season lasting for 7 months a year. At times, hundreds of hectares of rice fields undergo a loss of crop because of droughts. Moreover, the current use of underground water for rice watering will gradually exhaust local underground water system and there will be no water resources for people’s production and livelihoods. Some rice land, especially the area with a high foundation, can be deserted due to insufficient water, and thus, this land will be degraded and become infertile.

To help people in Binh Thuan adapt to increasingly serious lack of water and droughts due to climate change, this project is developed with the general aim to contribute to reducing the risks caused by storms, floods and to increase adaptability capacity to droughts of agricultural production in Binh Thuan commune via experimental performance of farming model changing ineffective rice producion into peanut production in autumn-winter crop, improving and stablising farmers’ income in Binh Thuan commune. This long-term goal will be achieved by reaching these following specific objectives (i) to enhance local authorities’ and community’s awareness and understanding about the impacts of climate change on local people’s production and lives, as well as environment and natural resources, (ii) to conduct experimental performance of farming model changing from ineffective rice producion to peanut production in autumn-winter crop to adapt to droughts and storms and floods in Binh Thuan commune, and (iii) to summarise and share experience in experimental implementation of farming model to boost up the multiplication of the model in communes with similar conditions in Van Canh, Phu My, Hoai An and Hoai Nhon districts.