Gendered Roles in Agrarian Transition: A Study of Lowland Rice Farming in Lao PDR

Title
Gendered Roles in Agrarian Transition: A Study of Lowland Rice Farming in Lao PDR
Publication Date
2020-07-01
Author(s)
Moglia, Magnus
Alexander, Kim S
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9015-1683
Email: kalexa26@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:kalexa26
Larson, Silva
(Giger)-Dray, Anne
Greenhalgh, Garry
Thammavong, Phommath
Thephavanh, Manithaythip
Case, Peter
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
MDPI AG
Place of publication
Switzerland
DOI
10.3390/su12135403
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/63265
Abstract

Traditional lifestyles of lowland rice farmers of the southern provinces of Lao People's Democratic Republic are rapidly changing, due to two important trends. Firstly, there is a push towards modernization and commercialization of farming. Secondly, though farmers still focus on rice farming as a key activity, there is an increasing move towards diversification of livelihoods. The changes have seen the uptake of non-rice crops, livestock husbandry and forest and river utilization" as well as non-farming activities. This has influenced gender relations, impacting household agricultural production decisions and amplified transitional trends. To explore the processes, we analyzed data from a study of innovation adoption amongst rice farmers in southern Lao PDR. The study revealed nuances of gender-based differences in the priorities and attitudes towards farming and off-farm activities, as well as differences in behaviour related to the adoption of new practices. Women were more focused on non-farming practices and considered engaging in the modern, non-traditional, economy more so than men. Women also reported experiencing greater challenges when engaging and trading in the agricultural marketplace. The study supports the importance of taking a gendered approach to understanding the inherent complexities within agrarian change.

Link
Citation
Sustainability, 12(13), p. 1-20
ISSN
2071-1050
Start page
1
End page
20
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink
openpublished/GenderedRolesAlexander2020JournalArticles.pdf 1011.202 KB application/pdf Published Version View document