The Vietnamese government has been fostering an enabling environment for vertical integration within t he rice v alue c hain t hrough c ontract farming (CF) to enhance value chains, improve product quality, and increase farmers’ incomes. While previous studies have explored the impacts of CF participation versus non-participation, there is limited evidence on the differing effects of specific CF types. This study addresses self-selection bias using propensity score matching (PSM) to evaluate and compare the effects of two CF types―indirect contract farming (CF-I) and direct contract farming (CF-D)―on rice farmers’ income and yield in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Data were collected from 437 rice farmers across three provinces: Can Tho, An Giang, and Hau Giang. The findings indicate that participation in contract farming is not scale-neutral; CF-D tends to benefit larger-scale farmers. Additionally, farmers involved in CF-I experienced higher yields and incomes compared to non-CF farmers, with yield increases ranging from 0.44 to 0.76 tons/ha and income increases from 7.48 to 8.99 million VND/ha. Farmers participating in CF-D saw income increases of 5.04 to 5.54 million VND/ha, but the change in yield was not statistically significant. Moreover, those involved in CF-I had both higher yields and incomes than those engaging in CF-D. This study provides comparative evidence on the effects of different CF types in the rice sector and suggests that scaling up CF, particularly CF-I, can effectively enhance farmers’ yields and incomes.

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
LITERATURE REVIEW
    1. The Effect of Contract Farming on Income andYield
    2. Organizational Structures of CF-I and CF-D
MATERIALS AND METHODS
    1. Data Collection
    2. Method
RESULTS
    1. Probit Model
    2. Matching Quality
    3. The Effects of CF on Income and Yield
CONCLUSIONS
적 요
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REFERENCES
Appendix

• Le Thi Dieu Hien(Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Kangwon National University, South Korea) | 레 티 디우 헨 (강원대학교 농업자원경제학과)
• Jonghwa Kim(Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Kangwon National University, South Korea) | 김종화 (강원대학교 농업자원경제학과) Corresponding author