Boom and bust: Variegated livelihood pathways among rural households in the banana boom in northern Laos
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Boom and bust : Variegated livelihood pathways among rural households in the banana boom in northern Laos. / Mienmany, Soytavanh; Kanowski, Peter; Friis, Cecilie; Robins, Lisa; Smith, Hilary.
In: Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 2024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Boom and bust
T2 - Variegated livelihood pathways among rural households in the banana boom in northern Laos
AU - Mienmany, Soytavanh
AU - Kanowski, Peter
AU - Friis, Cecilie
AU - Robins, Lisa
AU - Smith, Hilary
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Asia Pacific Viewpoint published by Victoria University of Wellington and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Crop booms are a significant driver of change for both rural landscapes and smallholder livelihoods. Cavendish bananas have boomed in northern Laos and replaced maize, the previous boom crop, through land leasing contracts between farmers and Chinese companies. This study of two villages in Oudomxay Province explores rural households' participation in this banana boom and the conjunctures that shape variegated livelihood pathways and outcomes. Household participation in the banana boom depended on their assets (land and labour), livelihood context and social pressure. Household income in both villages generally improved, but differentially. The better-off, and those with a wider array of livelihood options, used income from bananas to move to primarily non-agricultural livelihoods, while many poorer households became dependent on wage labour in banana production, at the expense of their health. Women reported to be content to escape agricultural labour through land leasing; but many who contributed labour to banana production felt trapped in ongoing heavy labour, with attendant adverse impacts. These outcomes reflect how the conjunctures of different household, community and external elements, and crop boom-bust cycles, lead to differentiated (‘variegated’) household livelihood trajectories and outcomes for households and for men and women, and suggest points of policy intervention.
AB - Crop booms are a significant driver of change for both rural landscapes and smallholder livelihoods. Cavendish bananas have boomed in northern Laos and replaced maize, the previous boom crop, through land leasing contracts between farmers and Chinese companies. This study of two villages in Oudomxay Province explores rural households' participation in this banana boom and the conjunctures that shape variegated livelihood pathways and outcomes. Household participation in the banana boom depended on their assets (land and labour), livelihood context and social pressure. Household income in both villages generally improved, but differentially. The better-off, and those with a wider array of livelihood options, used income from bananas to move to primarily non-agricultural livelihoods, while many poorer households became dependent on wage labour in banana production, at the expense of their health. Women reported to be content to escape agricultural labour through land leasing; but many who contributed labour to banana production felt trapped in ongoing heavy labour, with attendant adverse impacts. These outcomes reflect how the conjunctures of different household, community and external elements, and crop boom-bust cycles, lead to differentiated (‘variegated’) household livelihood trajectories and outcomes for households and for men and women, and suggest points of policy intervention.
KW - banana boom
KW - labour contracts
KW - land leasing
KW - livelihood change
KW - northern Laos
U2 - 10.1111/apv.12417
DO - 10.1111/apv.12417
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85196827460
JO - Asia Pacific Viewpoint
JF - Asia Pacific Viewpoint
SN - 1360-7456
ER -
ID: 397599914