Mixed crop–livestock systems, the world's most widespread farming systems, promote farm resilience through diversification and allow for crop–livestock integration (CLI). Intensification and specialization challenge these systems.

In Northwest Vietnam, the standard farm model is based on mixed crop–livestock family farms but is shifting towards more specialized farming systems. The study aim to identify the new balance between livestock and crops on farms in Northwest Vietnam and to examine the effects of specialization on CLI practices and production system intensification by identifying current CLI practices and performing a retrospective analysis of changes in these practices.