(i) The French began by building canals and draining lands in the Mekong delta to increase cultivation. (ii) The vast system of irrigation works-canals and earthworks-built mainly with forced labour, increased rice production and allowed the export of rice to the international market. (iii) The area under rice cultivation went up from about 2,74,000 hectares in 1873 to around 1.1 million hectares in 1900 and 2.2 million in 1930. (iv) Construction of railways also helped in the expansion of rice market.