The main objectives of this study were to analyze the various aspects of upland farming, determine the inter-relationship between the influencing factors and existing land-use types at the farm-household and district level, and to design specific farming systems for the uplands of the Northern Uplands of Vietnam. The study was conducted at Dinh hoa district of Thainguyen province, Vietnam. Both agroecosystem and statistical analysis methods were used. Informal and formal surveys involving 204 respondents were done from February to May 1998.