Question

Explain any three steps taken by the French to develop cultivation in the Mekong Delta.

Answer 1

Hint: Mekong Delta is one of the largest Asian mega Deltas located at the south of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It was during 1866-1868, under the leadership of Captain Ernest Doudard de Lagree, a group of French colonial officers launched a naval exploration of the Mekong River called the Mekong expedition. The French implemented several measures to improve the agriculture as well as infrastructural facilities around this region.

Complete answer: The three major steps adopted by the French to develop cultivation in the Mekong Delta are:
- Construction of canals and draining lands in order to improve farming, particularly rice cultivation.
- Use of extensive irrigation facilities which were built by the forced labour of native people.
- Infrastructure and transportation facilities for the export of agricultural produce were built.

Other than these, measures were taken such as:
- Construction of Trans Indo China rail network to connect the north and southern part of Vietnam and China which was mainly for the purpose of transportation of goods for trade.
- The area under cultivation of rice was made larger. While the area under rice cultivation was 2,74,000 hectares in 1873, it became 2.2 million hectares by 1930.
- In 1931, Vietnam became the third-largest exporter of rice in the world after it began to export two-thirds of its rice production.

Note: In Vietnam, the most productive region in agriculture as well as aquaculture is the Mekong Delta region. Life of people in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the Mekong river. Many of the villages in the region are often accessible by canals and rivers rather than by road.