Land loss, fragmentation land, less land and landless are the direct causes of poverty and low income of rural people in the Mekong Delta. From a survey of 180 landless and less land households in 5 communes of Cao Lanh district, Dong Thap province was conducted in 2022. The purpose of the study is to analyze livelihoods and life development strategies of people in the study area. The results show that: the number of members of the family is among the average of the Mekong Delta, the main labor is 67% of the population of the study area. Most of the family is hired employed in agriculture and non-agricultural occupations, 15% operate in other fields. The education level of the household head is generally low, with the average being lower secondary school. The surveyed households have few assets, most live in semi-permanent houses or temporary thatched houses, only 15% of households inherit land from their parents. However, for households with less land and landless, they cannot generate enough income to live on. It is interesting that only 17% of less land households have low income due to fluctuating market prices and poor production management capacity. More than 50% of workers are employed in agriculture and other activities. Very few people work in commercial companies and workers in industrial zones. The average total income is about 29.5 million VND/year/household, in which income from non-agricultural activities accounted for the majority of more than 25 million VND. The average income per capita is about 6.5 million VND/year/person. The regression model on household income is significant from factors such as education level of household head, number of people involved in activities, number of household activities and participant in livelihood training classes. However, there is no income correlation between less land and landless households.

Keywords: household income, landless, less land, livelihood, non-agriculture