Journal Publications

The following publications are available online:

1. Larson, S., Dray, A., Cornioley, T.,Thephavanh, M., Thammavong, P.,Vorlasan, S ., Connell, J.G., Moglia, M., Case, P., Alexander, K. and Perez, P. (2020). A game-based approach to exploring gender differences in smallholder decisions to change farming practices: white rice production in Laos. Sustainability, 12, p6594. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/16/6594

2. Moglia, M., Alexander, K.S., Larson, S., (Giger)-Dray, A., Greenhalgh, G., Thammavong, P., Thepavanh, M. and Case, P. (2020). Gendered roles in agrarian transition: a study of lowland rice farming in Lao PDR. Sustainability, 12, 5403.

3. Greenhalgh, G., Alexander, K. S., Larson, S., Thammavong, P., Sacklohkham, S., Thephavanh, M.,Sinavong, P. Moglia, M., Perez, P. and Case, P. (2019). Transdisciplinary agricultural research in Lao PDR. Journal of Rural Studies, 72, 216-227. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.10.020

4. Alexander, K., Greenhalgh, G., Moglia, M., Thephavanh, M., Sinavong, P. Larson, S., Jovanovic, T., Case, P. (2019). What is technology adoption? Exploring the agricultural research value chain for smallholder farmers in Lao PDR. Agriculture and Human Values. 37(1) 17-32 . DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09957-8

5. Moglia, M., Alexander, K.S., Thephavanh, M., Thammavong, P. Sodahak, V., Khounsy, B., Vorlasan, S. Larson, S., Connell, J., and Case, P. (2018). A Bayesian network model to explore practice change by smallholder rice farmers in Lao PDR. Agricultural Systems. 164:84-94.

6. Alexander, K., Parry, L., Thammavong, P., Sacklokham, S., Pasouvang, S., Connell, J., Jovanovic, T., Moglia, M., Larson, S., and Case, P. (2017). Rice farming systems in Southern Lao PDR: Interpreting farmers’ agricultural production decisions using Q methodology. Agricultural Systems. 160 (2018) 1-10.

7. Alexander, K., Case, P., Jones, M. and Connell, J. (2017) Commercialising smallholder agricultural production in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Development in Practice 27(7). 965-980, DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2017.1353064

DETAILS

1. Larson, S., Dray, A., Cornioley, T.,Thephavanh, M., Thammavong, P.,Vorlasan, S ., Connell, J.G., Moglia, M., Case, P., Alexander, K. and Perez, P. (2020). A game-based approach to exploring gender differences in smallholder decisions to change farming practices: white rice production in Laos. Sustainability. (under review)

ABSTRACT

What influences farmers’ decisions to adopt agricultural technologies is an important question for international agricultural research projects. There are often interpersonal differences between women and men that influence adoption decisions and behaviours but few studies in the literature focus on those. We describe a game-based approach to explore decision-making processes underpinning the adoption of new farming technologies and practices in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Sowing a different rice variety is the tailored technology. The game explored adoption behaviours influencing decisions on transitioning from growing glutinous rice, a traditional variety preferred for consumption, to ‘white’ rice for commercial export to international markets. We conducted separate game-workshops with 36 women and 36 men in 4 villages of southern Laos that were transitioning from subsistence to commercial smallholder production. The gaming exposed various possible behaviours and decisions that women and men considered. Access to resources, both assets and information, was equal for all players yet women were found to adopt new rice varieties more readily than men and to engage in cooperative behaviours in the game situation. The study highlighted the need for further gender-sensitive research into cooperation among women in the agricultural context, an understanding beneficial for countries and regions undergoing agricultural transition.

2. Moglia, M., Alexander, K. S., Larson, S., (Giger)-Dray, A., Greenhalgh, G., & Case, P. (2020). Gendered roles in agrarian transition: a study of lowland rice farming in Lao PDR. Sustainability, 12, 5403.

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 the trend toward agrarian change. 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 adoption of new practices. Women were more focused on non-farming practices and considered engaging in the modern, non-traditional, economy more than did 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.

3. Greenhalgh, G., Alexander, K. S., Larson, S., Thammavong, P., Sacklohkham, S., Thephavanh, M.,Sinavong, P. Moglia, M., Perez, P. and Case, P. (2019). Transdisciplinary agricultural research in Lao PDR. Journal of Rural Studies. 72, 216-227. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.10.020

ABSTRACT

Transdisciplinary research focussing on improving smallholder farmers’ uptake of technological innovations enables the integration of knowledge systems and the co-design and delivery of creative solutions. In this paper, we illustrate how scientific research can be mobilised within professionally facilitated change management workshops to engage a broad range of stakeholders and co-create knowledge in a rural development context. Multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary and multi-national stakeholders have contributed to finding innovative solutions to challenges experienced by smallholder farmers. By combining different worldviews we were able to assess research priorities, define problems and determine research options based on new hybrid knowledge systems. The outcome of this transdisciplinary process was the co-creation of a Research Discussion Tool and identification of 9 thematic areas which, in combination, enabled obstacles to technology uptake to be overcome and for smallholder farmers to benefit from research-based innovations. The process involved assisting Lao national researchers and extension agents to co-develop solutions, strategies and methods to improve technology uptake by farmers in the lowlands of southern Lao PDR using a series of change management interventions. A complex ecology of factors involving farmers’ decision drivers and farmers’ decision enablers within farmers’ production systems influence technology uptake. The relative importance of each factor is dependent on the specific technology that is being introduced. Hence, projects that introduce new technologies struggle to address all relevant factors and often do not have the ability to deal with the complex array of factors that are at play. Co-constructed knowledge embeds local knowledge that becomes accessible to projects. The approach we document in this paper also has the potential to harness collaborative exchanges with other projects in similar geographical regions.

4. Alexander, K., Greenhalgh, G., Moglia, M., Thephavanh, M., Sinavong, P. Larson, S., Jovanovic, T., Case, P. (2019). What is technology adoption? Exploring the agricultural research value chain for smallholder farmers in Lao PDR. Agriculture and Human Values. 37(1) 17-32 . DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09957-8. DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09957-8

ABSTRACT

A common and driving assumption in agricultural research is that the introduction of research trials, new practices and innovative technologies will result in technology adoption, and will subsequently generate benefits for farmers and other stakeholders. In Lao PDR, the potential benefits of introduced technologies have not been fully realised by beneficiaries. We report on an analysis of a survey of 735 smallholder farmers in Southern Lao PDR who were questioned about factors that influenced their decisions to adopt new technologies. In this study, we have constructed measures or states of adoption which identify key elements of an adoption decision-making nexus. Analysis was conducted to statistically group explanatory factors of adoption. The key explanatory factors represented attributes of the farmer, the factors considered when undertaking production decisions and elements of the agricultural value chain that present as opportunities or constraints. We describe the combination of farmer’s personal attributes, perceptions of the value chain, and the introduction of new technologies by external actors as an “agricultural research value chain”, where agricultural research activities intervene to derive greater benefits for local farmers. A generalised linear model, via Poisson (multiple) regression analysis on the identified explanatory factors, was applied to explore how they influence adoption measures and we found several significant relationships.

5. Moglia, M., Alexander , K., Thephavanh, M., Thammavong, P., Sodahak, V., Khounsy, B., Vorlasan, S., Larson, S., Connell, J. and Case, P. (2018). A Bayesian Network model to represent technology adoption by smallholder rice farmers in Lao PDR. Agricultural Systems. 164:84-94

ABSTRACT

A robust Bayesian Network model has been developed that synthesizes findings from concurrent multi-disciplinary research activities. The model describes the many factors that impact on the chances of a smallholder farmer adopting a proposed change to farming practice. The model, when applied to four different technologies, generated insights, in particular, about the factors that have the greatest influence on adoption rates. Behavioural motivations for change are highly dependent on farmers’ individual viewpoints and are also technology dependent. The model provides a boundary object that provides an opportunity to engage experts and other stakeholders in discussions about their assessment of the technology adoption process, and the opportunities, barriers and constraints faced by smallholder farmers when considering whether or not to adopt a technology.

Highlights

· A Bayesian Network model has been constructed to explore the likelihood of technology adoption for smallholder rice farmers in Southern Lao PDR.

· The model emphasises specific barriers to adoption of several introduced technologies and strategies to reduce their impact.

· Coordinated actions with multiple stakeholders can improve the likelihood of technology adoption.

· The model simultaneously identifies several leverage points to more effectively increase adoption rates.

· The model can be used by researchers, policy makers and extension workers, to focus on specific linkages and dependencies within the technology adoption process.

6. Alexander, K., Parry, L., Thammavong, P., Sacklokham, S., Pasouvang, S., Connell, J., Jovanovic, T., Moglia, M., Larson, S., and Case, P. (2018) Rice farming systems in Southern Lao PDR: Interpreting farmers’ agricultural production decisions using Q methodology. Agricultural Systems. 160(2018), 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.018

ABSTRACT

The agricultural sector in Lao PDR is forecast to move from subsistence rice production to a more modernised and market-oriented sector with greater focus on commercialisation of agricultural production. Intensification of agricultural production in the southern and central rice growing regions of Lao PDR is problematic as dryland farmers rely on rainfall and soils are poor, yet rural households have been experiencing rapid change in their farming and livelihood systems. This paper employs Q methodology techniques to explore 35 farmers' viewpoints when contemplating their production goals and potential to adopt technologies to improve productivity. Findings describe the two emerging viewpoints among farmers as ‘labour saving productivity maximisation’ and ‘traditional labour productivity using improved techniques’. The two viewpoints describe the different issues currently guiding production decisions. While the Lao Government forecasts substantial increases in rice production in the southern plains, farmers will require specialised and tailored support, accounting for their envisaged livelihood and production goals, to allow the sector transformation that many stakeholders currently envisage.

7. Alexander, K.S., Case, P., Jones, M.J. and Connell, J. (2017) Commercialising smallholder agricultural production in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Development in Practice. 27:7, 965-980, DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2017.1353064

ABSTRACT

Many smallholder farmers in Lao People’s Democratic Republic are transitioning from subsistence to commercial production. This article employs the Agriculture Innovation System (AIS) framework to report on empirical findings from six case studies of Lao smallholder production. It identifies the actors, organisations, and institutions involved in systemic commercialisation of subsistence farming and articulates patterns of interactions that contribute to the relative success of the transition. Of the factors identified in the case studies, the most important enablers of commercial production and adoption of innovative technologies were technical and financial assistance, access to markets, and the formation of farmer associations/organisations.

Publications with open access