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This study presents a seven-step approach to identify and support local climate change (CC) responses in agriculture. The following seven steps comprise this approach: 1. Analyse past trends on the climatic factors and model the future trends. 2. Simulate the possible impacts of CC on the selected system(s) or product(s). 3. Present and discuss the predicted impacts with the local stakeholders. 4. Identify and rank CC responses together with the local stakeholders. 5. Elaborate plans to develop and test the highest ranked response(s). 6. Evaluate the results of the tests and recommend implementation or changes. 7. Report the results to the involved authorities and suggest ways to implement the responses and/or advise new tests if the first ones were not able to sufficiently deal with the impacts. Six pilot studies in Vietnam were funded through two projects led by Wageningen University & Research. The first addressed several production systems in one southern province, and the second in three more northern districts, each with different problems. This paper reflects and communicates the seven-step approach in order to make local CC responses accessible to the larger rural development communities. Most of the identified solutions can spread autonomously, while others will require specific planned interventions.

This study uses the decision tree framework to analyse possible climate change impact adaptation options for pangasius (Pangasianodon hypopthalmus Sauvage) farming in the Mekong Delta. Here we present the risks for impacts and the farmers' autonomous and planned public adaptation by using primary and secondary data. The latter studies showed that a proportion of the pangasius farms located in the coastal provinces will be affected by salinity intrusion in the dry season. Options to adapt to this are: modify pangasius farming practice, stock other species or stock saline-tolerant pangasius. With research and extension support, farmers can further improve their already adapted practice to deal with salinity or use water recirculation systems for prolonged nursery rearing. A breeding program for saline-tolerant striped catfish requires a medium-to long-term investment (0.4% of the production cost) from government and/or private company. Pangasius farms in up- and mid-stream regions and in coastal areas, which are not located within upgraded government dyke-protected areas, will be affected by flooding at the end of each rainy season. This implies an increased cost for dykes to about 0.34% and 0.25% of the total variable costs for one harvest per ha in the up- and mid-stream regions, and in the downstream region, respectively.

Many academic curricula suffer from a teacher-centred focus on knowledge transfer and do not consider the societal needs for competences. This paper reflects on the transformation from theory-centred towards competency-oriented curricula at three Vietnamese Agriculture Universities with support of a Netherlands-funded project. Experts guided the implementation, from analysis of labour market to evaluation of new courses. Based on students' evaluation and lecturers' experiences, both types of respondents reported that after having been exposed to a series of trainings and hands-on experience in and outside classrooms, they gained new sets of knowledge and skills. However, some issues emerged in the process. Among these are the lack of competence among lecturers to design curricula based on outcomes, particularly addressing competence of students' knowledge, skills and attitudes; lack of staff to develop and implement a competence-based curricula; non- aggregation of closely related courses in modules that avoid repetitions and provides time for training of skills and attitudes. There is also a need to train students for competency in performing more complex learning outcomes, such as critical thinking. For this change to happen, lecturers need continuous training in didactics for active teaching, and Universities need to provide means for participative learning.

Vietnamese Universities Transform Agriculture Curricula and Research. This special issue of TROPICULTURA is a fruit of the long-term collaboration of several Vietnamese universities and Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Most of the papers report on activities that were carried out by the NICHE-VNM-105/ACCCU project since 2012. ACCCU supported three Vietnamese universities: Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF), Hong Duc University (HDU) and Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) to move away from "learning to recite" to "learning to perform" in agricultural curricula. Simultaneously, where most appropriate, ACCCU integrated gender and climate change issues in some courses. Next to WUR, the project was supported by Maastricht School of Management (MSM), Can Tho University (CTU) and the Regional Office for Asia of SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation). At the three universities, in total seven curricula were adjusted: Agronomy at HDU, Aquaculture at both HUAF & VNUA, Environmental Sciences at VNUA, Horticulture at both HUAF & VNUA, and Land Management at HUAF. The first two papers discuss the curriculum reforms and provide recommendations on developing students' competences to enable them to perform in society. The present tendency of universities to cater to the "learning to recite" curricula has contributed to a rising unemployment rate among their graduates. At present, employers prefer hiring undergraduates and give them training while they are doing their actual jobs, and then retain the best performers. The authors recommend that government enunciate clear strategies for an educational system that crafts out critical thinking skills as early as in the primary and secondary schools, and prescribe overall learning outcomes instead of lists of courses. Such learning outcomes will allow universities to aggregate closely related courses in interdisciplinary modules, which may, at the same time, prevent repetitions and allow active skill and competency learning activities. However, such undertaking requires training of the lecturers' pedagogical skills and raising their awareness on the necessity to teach skills and attitude. The other papers and the abstracts report on climate change adaptation research. The first describes a seven-step approach that identifies responses to climate change impacts. This is followed by four results of this approach: the paper on Melon cultivation and the abstracts on a water-sharing mechanism, sedge culture and three adaptations in the Mekong delta. The remaining four papers present the results of studies focusing on specific climate change adaptation and mitigation measures: autonomous adaptation by sugar cane growers, breeding of saline-tolerant climbing perch, pollution mitigation from shrimp farming wastewater and Payment for Ecosystem Services for forest conservation to compensate CO2 emissions. The decision making for adaptation of pangasius farming is an invited paper from a lecturer of Nha Trang University who defended his PhD at WUR. In these studies, the lecturers were able to strengthen their skills in conducting stakeholders' consultations and other participatory research methods. Part of the methods and results documenting lessons and actual field experience were captured in video clips as support materials for classroom purposes. Although long and winding, the journey towards transforming Vietnamese agriculture curricula from theory to skills-based has started, and lecturers are using their experiences from field work in their classes. In the near future, students will be better able to respond to the demands of the World of Work in the region.