Rice production in Vietnam in the Mekong and Red River deltas is important to the food supply in the country and national economy. Vietnam is one of world's richest agricultural regions and is the second-largest (after Thailand) exporter worldwide and the world's seventh-largest consumer of rice.[1] The Mekong Delta is the heart of the rice producing region of the country where water, boats, houses and markets coexist to produce a generous harvest of rice.[2] Vietnam's land area of 33 million ha has three ecosystems that dictate rice culture. These are the southern delta (with its Mekong Delta dominating rice coverage), the northern delta (the tropical monsoon area with cold winters) and the highlands of the north (with upland rice varieties).[3] The most prominent irrigated rice system is the Mekong Delta.[3] Rice is a staple of the national diet and is seen as a "gift from God".[4]