Current situation and implications to enhance rural youth’s access to land: a case study in Hue city

Abstract

This study examines the barriers to land access and land use among rural youth in Vietnam’s mountainous areas, drawing on interviews with 100 young people, two focus group discussions, and eight key-informant interviews conducted in Long Quang commune, Hue city. The findings indicate that youth face substantial challenges in land access, particularly financial constraints, fragmented landholdings, and limited awareness of opportunities to participate in land policy processes at the grassroots level. Although they acknowledge the importance of land legislation and view recent administrative reforms positively—reflecting the State’s efforts in legal dissemination, but most remain indifferent or disengaged. This results in a persistent gap between policy intentions and practical needs, and constrains the voice of young people in land governance. Building on these insights, the study proposes four key directions: (i) Expanding credit schemes and land-support mechanisms for youth entrepreneurship; (ii) Enhancing youth involvement in resource planning and management; (iii) Strengthening land-law communication through digital platforms; and (iv) Promoting a more transparent, accessible, and youth-friendly administrative system.