The Mekong Delta region has been seriously affected by climate change, with increasing temperatures, sea-level rise, and salinization strongly impacting agricultural activities of the region. Recent studies have shown that groundwater exploitation also contributes significantly to land subsidence throughout the delta. Thus, combating climate change now makes it necessary to design strategies and policies for adapting to and mitigating climate change and subsidence, not only at the individual level (mainly farmers), but also at the institutional level (province and region).

A stable farmland tenure can optimize farmers’ allocation of production factors and then determine the income level and structure of farmers. In recent years, the reform of China’s farmland tenure system had been making efforts to strengthen the stability of farmland tenures. Will the farmland tenure security restrict agricultural development? Based on the data of the 2018 China Labor Dynamics Survey (CLDS), this paper empirically analyzes the impact of farmland tenure stability on rural household income and its mechanism.

Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments.