In Cambodia, there was no option for farmers to have contracts with the company that took over from the land concessions, as the indigenous land use system was not recognised. All villagers lost large chunks of their land, but women lost almost all of their land.
Gender analysis of economic land concessions in Cambodia and in Northern Laos: Case of rubber plantations
Professor
Kyoko Kusakabe
(She/Her)
Professor
Asian Institute of Technology Thailand
Kyoko Kusakabe is Professor of Gender and Development Studies at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. She has over 20 years of experience in research and teaching gender and development in Asia, especially focusing on the Mekong Subregion.
About
This paper gives a gender analysis on the rubber land concessions in Cambodia and in Northern Laos.
Many reports pointed out the deprivation of land by such economic concessions in Cambodia. In Northern Laos, there are different types of contracts arrangements made between the companies, district offices and the communities as well as individual farmers. With the drastic decrease in rubber price, the relationships between the companies and the farmers are also changing.
Key Findings
In Laos, arrangement have been diverse often dependent on difficulty of the terrain and complex local governance system.
Monocropping has negative impacts on communities, focusing on diverse plantation is important, but little research is being done on how to sustain communities in this manner. In the case of Laos, where contracts are not being enforced.
How to use
Stop renting out economic concessions to private companies. These are often carried out at a detriment to local people.
Want to read the full paper? It is available open access
Kusakabe, K. (2015). ‘Gender analysis of economic land concessions in Cambodia and in Northern Laos: Case of rubber plantations.’ [Conference Paper]
About this research
Land grabbing, conflict and agrarian‐environmental transformations: perspectives from East and Southeast Asia
This research was funded by the Norwegian Research Council
Recommended for
UN Sustainable Development Goals
This research contributes to the following SDGs
About this research
Land grabbing, conflict and agrarian‐environmental transformations: perspectives from East and Southeast Asia
This research was funded by the Norwegian Research Council
Recommended for
What it means
In Cambodia, there was no option for farmers to have contracts with the company that took over from the land concessions, as the indigenous land use system was not recognised. All villagers lost large chunks of their land, but women lost almost all of their land. Women lost their customary land rights during the rubber concession and land registration. Loss of land has left women more housebound while men engage in wage labour.
In Laos, arrangement have been diverse often dependent on difficulty of the terrain and complex local governance system. Initial idea was good. However implementation has not gone smoothly. Rented out to a Chinese company which works faster and more efficiently but often leaves villagers left behind. More farmers planted rubber privately and they had more negotiation power with the company. Women’s work load increased, often engaging in wage labour, however their decision making power has not seemed to increase alongside workload.
In both cases the state facilitated the private company investment and land concessions.
Methodology
130 households as part of the Cambodian study with 10 follow up in-depth interviews and a group discussion. In Laos, 8 villagers were studied with 306 respondents with a following two rounds of in-depth interviews.
However, worth noting that the situation changes rapidly, so active monitoring is important. The research was conducted during a price decrease in rubber, so the Chinese company were not enforcing contracts strictly, this could change in the future however.
Glossary
Precarity
Already vulnerable communities are forces into precariousness due to government policies reducing access to land and resources.
Let your research make a social impact
Arianne Zajac prepared this research following an interview with Kyoko Kusakabe.
