Agricultural and food systems in the Mekong region: Drivers of transformation and pathways of change

Agricultural and food systems in the Mekong Region are undergoing transformations because of increasing engagement in international trade, alongside economic growth, dietary change and urbanisation. Food systems approaches are often used to understand these kinds of transformation processes, with particular strengths in linking social, economic and environmental dimensions of food at multiple scales. We argue that while the food systems approach strives to provide a comprehensive understanding of food production, consumption and environmental drivers, it is less well equipped to shed light on the role of actors, knowledge and power in transformation processes and on the divergent impacts and outcomes of these processes for different actors. We suggest that an approach that uses food systems as heuristics but complements it with attention to actors, knowledge and power improves our understanding of transformations such as those underway in the Mekong Region. The key transformations in the region include the emergence of regional food markets and vertically integrated supply chains that control increasing share of the market, increase in contract farming particularly in the peripheries of the region, replacement of crops cultivated for human consumption with corn grown for animal feed. These transformations are increasingly marginalising small-scale farmers, while at the same time, many other farmers increasingly pursue non-agricultural livelihoods. Food consumption is also changing, with integrated supply chains controlling substantial part of the mass market. Our analysis highlights that theoretical innovations grounded in political economy, agrarian change, development studies and rural livelihoods can help to increase theoretical depth of inquiries to accommodate the increasingly global dimensions of food. As a result, we map out a future research agenda to unpack the dynamic food system interactions and to unveil the social, economic and environmental impacts of these rapid transformations. We identify policy and managerial implications coupled with sustainable pathways for change

Rural transformation and gender relations in the Northeast of Thailand

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN037077 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The 'greening of Isaan': politics, ideology and irrigation development in the northeast of Thailand

In Molle, Francois; Foran, T.; Kakonen, M. (Eds.). Contested waterscapes in the Mekong region: hydropower, livelihoods and governance. London, UK: Earthsca

Red-Shirt Heartland: Village-Level Socioeconomic Change in Northeast Thailand Between 1999 and 2008

Contains fulltext : 94033.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)In this article, we investigate the socioeconomic changes that took place on a village level in northeast Thailand during Thaksin Shinawatra's rule as prime minister of Thailand (2001–2006). By comparing data from 1999 and 2008, we show that most households in the research villages have become wealthier. The analysis reveals that household characteristics are not significant in explaining the increase in wealth but that the triggers for change have to be sought on a higher level. This does not necessarily mean that development was the result of measures taken by the Thai government during or before the Thaksin regime, the quick recovery of the Asian economy after 2001, or a combination of both. It, however, leads to an understanding of why so many people in northeast Thailand are still supporting Thaksin or a Thaksinite party up until today