Background and objective: Unlike urban migration, which is often individual-based and short-term, rural migration tends to be more stable and long-term, raising issues related to housing, livelihoods, and community integration. While migration to urban areas has been widely studied, research on rural migrant communities remains limited, particularly from a social network perspective. This study examines the level of cohesion and identifies key actors within the agricultural support network of a rural migrant community in Southeastern Vietnam.Methods: Using a multistage sampling approach, 97 agricultural households in a hamlet of Tan Khai commune, Dong Nai province, were surveyed, identifying 117 actors in the agricultural support network. Social Network Analysis was applied to measure network cohesion (density, connected components, and clustering) and to identify central actors based on out-degree, betweenness, and EV-brokerage indices.Results: The network exhibited low cohesion, with a density of 0.011, comprising 33 connected components and several isolated ones. Within the main component (accounting for 65% of all nodes), seven subgroups were identified. About half exhibited homophily, with members sharing the same regional origin. The remaining subgroups were heterophilous, characterized by diverse regional backgrounds.Conclusion: The network structure exhibits notable differences from the typical social structures of traditional rural communities in Vietnam, which are often characterized by strong cohesion and tightly knit relations based on kinship, extended family, and neighborhood ties, particularly in the northern regions. In light of the limited capacity of formal agricultural extension systems, strengthening informal support networks and leveraging the roles of central actors as key nodes and intermediaries for disseminating information, techniques, and farming experience can play a crucial role in enhancing agricultural performance.
Nguyen Ngoc Toai (Sat,) studied this question.