“Forever Hmong”: Ethnic Minority Livelihoods and Agrarian Transition in Upland Northern Vietnam

This article examines how ethnic minority Hmong farmers have adapted to, circumnavigated, or resisted state-sponsored agrarian change and other interventions in the northern Vietnam uplands over the past twenty years. Based on longitudinal research with Hmong informants, I examine to what extent their livelihood strategies have led to wealth creation or differentiation. The article highlights the most important transformations, as farmers conceive and voice them, to Hmong agrarian livelihoods over this period, the importance of longitudinal fieldwork to help unravel endogenous wealth definitions, and the complex impacts of state interventions on ethnic minority ways of making a living.     

Under the state's gaze: Upland trading‐scapes on the Sino‐Vietnamese border

Within the politically‐defined Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the borderlands of southeast Yunnan, China and Lào Cai province, northern Vietnam, have been categorized as being part of the GMS North‐South Economic Corridor. I argue that the creation of this subregion and corridor have been an opportunity for the governments in these locales to extend their territorialization and create new state spaces. For centuries, relatively isolated and ignored by lowland rulers, ethnic minority residents in these borderlands maintained their own culturally appropriate livelihoods, trade networks and societies. Nowadays, an increasing state presence in the uplands presents both challenges and opportunities for local populations on either side of the border, be they ethnic minorities, or Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) and Han Chinese. Contemporary border narratives gathered from local traders managing important upland commodities shed light on the means by which these borderland spaces are shaping both attractive prospects as well as restrictive constraints. Local residents fashion new trading‐scapes by drawing on kin ties, historical linkages, local indigenous knowledges and transnational societies that reach deep inside each country. As inhabitants carefully avoid or manipulate the state's gaze, I conclude that those living in the Sino‐Vietnamese borderlands possess the agency to ‘do things differently’ from hegemonic development approaches supported by GMS sponsors, and can create, maintain, support and refashion culturally appropriate trade livelihoods.     

The role of NTFPs in a shifting cultivation system in transition: A village case study from the uplands of North Central Vietnam

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(2): 103–114, 2006

Periods characterized by agricultural change and transitions are often associated with insecurity and vulnerability regarding food production and food supplies. Forests and forest products tend to play an important buffer role during the process of change and uncertainty, where forest and fallows provide food products or income that people can temporarily fall back on. In the upland village of Que in North Central Vietnam, several different drivers are currently changing land use and land cover. The Forest Land Allocation policy, implemented in 1998, is one of the major driving forces, allocating farmers a reduced area of land for shifting cultivation in order to prevent any further deforestation and land degradation. However, the reduction in agricultural land set aside for shifting cultivation has lead to a severe decrease in hill rice production. The land use system is in a transition phase—from a conventional shifting cultivation system to a composite swiddening system. The area under shifting cultivation has been reduced, and the system has been intensified via the introduction of paddy rice cultivation, increased livestock rearing and commercial exploitation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Yet, the current transformation of the system has resulted in a drastic reduction in overall rice production. Thus, the collection and selling of NTFPs such as bamboo shoots, broom grass and pherynium leaves seem to prevent severe shortage of food since farmers are able to purchase food products with the money generated from the selling of NTFPs.     

Itinerant livelihoods: Street vending‐scapes and the politics of mobility in upland socialist Vietnam

This paper explores the politics of mobility for a group of rural inhabitants attempting to diversify their livelihoods in an especially prescribed environment, namely ethnic minority street vendors living and working in upland socialist Vietnam. These Hmong, Yao and Giáy individuals face a political environment where access and trade rights shift on a near‐daily basis because of the impulses of state officials, and where ethnicity is central to determining who gets to be mobile and how. We analyse three groups of itinerant vendors—those vending on the streets of an upland tourist town, the mobile minority wholesalers who supply them and other traders, and vendors who trek with Western tourists—to reveal the nature of this trade environment, while also highlighting the ways in which ethnic minority vendors negotiate, work around and contest vending restrictions in numerous innovative ways. We find that this focus on the micro‐geographies and everyday politics of mobility is essential to understanding how rural Global South livelihoods are fashioned and diversified, in this case revealing specific relationships and negotiations regarding resource access, ethnicity, state authority and livelihood strategies.     

Improved land tenure not the driver of economic development in a Vietnamese community

During the restructuring of the Vietnamese economy in 1986, the Communist party of Vietnam (CPV) took the decision to leave central planning and build a market economy in Vietnam. In order to promote rural development and deal with deforestation, poverty and declining agricultural profitability, the government implemented the forestland allocation policies (FLA) and started a process of decentralization. This research note examines the impact of FLA policies on the agricultural practices of an upland community in central Vietnam and discusses the effects of increased tenure security. It is shown that the promotion of a sedentary production system has altered the sustainability of swidden agriculture leading to declining profitability and that a transition towards new crops and specialized crop cultivation has compensated for the loss. Furthermore, it is argued that the FLA policies have increased the villagers’ incentive to invest, their access to credit and the forest area of the village, but that the CPV has been the main driver of these changes rather than the increased tenure security.     

Institutions, the governance of quality and on-farm value retention for Indonesian specialty coffee

Fluctuating global commodity prices affect the livelihoods of millions of tropical farmers worldwide. In recent years, systemic oversupply of many tropical agricultural products, grown in countries such as Indonesia, has meant that agricultural incomes have continuously fallen below subsistence levels. Within an increasingly open global trade regime, along with the limited ability of governments to protect domestic farm prices, quality-informed product differentiation appears to offer an escape route from the trap of low commodity prices. However, ownership and governance of quality constructions are fundamental to determining who benefits from such differentiation. This paper examines the use of geographical identities as a specific tool for value-adding in agricultural produce, presenting the case of specialty coffee production in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The potential for producer-driven geographical indications compete with corporate-driven quality constructions, where the latter are able to appropriate place-related quality associations by using trademarks, vertical integration and tightly coordinated supply chain controls. An emergent politic of quality governance and ownership in global commodity chains reveals the highly restricted institutional terrain within which growers of specialty coffee might attempt to retain a higher share of the economic rent associated with quality production.     

云南省出口东盟的特征及其经济和就业贡献率分析

利用海关信息数据、统计年鉴数据、相关贸易指标以及投入产出方法分析云南省与东盟之间的出口贸易特征,出口带来的经济和就业贡献。结果表明：云南省与东盟之间的贸易依赖关系显著增强,但是与东盟联系强度的空间分布不均匀,同时云南对东盟的出口产品出现升级特征,由矿产品、化工产品为主的出口转向了以农产品、电子制造产品为主的出口。云南省出口东盟农林牧渔产品对本省经济和就业贡献率最大,对农林牧渔产品深加工,有助于云南省的经济增长和保障就业,同时也有助于促进产业发展向技术密集型产业转型。     

中国东北三省对外贸易空间格局研究

分析了东北三省整体的对外贸易规模及贸易伙伴,在此基础上,分别从省级和地市级尺度比较研究了东北三省内部对外贸易空间格局,以及东北三省在不同贸易空间方向上的商品结构。研究结果表明：① 东北三省与东南亚、中东等地区贸易规模有所增长,但日韩、德国、美国和俄罗斯等依然是其主要的贸易伙伴;② 东北三省对外贸易的商品多为原材料、初级加工品和劳动密集型产品等,且商品结构趋同明显,不利于发挥地区的比较优势;③ 大城市和沿海港口城市是东北三省对外贸易重要的空间载体。根据东北三省及各自的对外贸易现状和面临的挑战,提出了差异化的进出口贸易空间格局优化策略。     

中国与“一带一路”沿线国家农产品贸易规模、结构及发展潜力研究

农产品贸易是中国与"一带一路"沿线国家经济合作的重点领域之一。通过对中国与"一带一路"沿线国家农产品贸易规模、结构及其发展趋势进行研究,结果表明：中国与"一带一路"沿线国家农产品贸易规模及其增速存在区域间与区域内国家间双重差异性和阶梯性特征,东盟地区是沿线与中国农产品贸易额最高的区域,中亚地区是沿线与中国农产品贸易占比较低但增速较快的区域;改善贸易结构、优化贸易环境是实现沿线国家互动共赢共享发展的迫切要求。     

中巴农产品贸易的效率评价与潜力预测研究

基于1992—2016年中国与南亚八国的相关贸易数据，从巴基斯坦的角度出发，选取南亚七国作为参考对象，利用随机前沿引力模型对其双边农产品贸易总额及出口农产品贸易总额的面板数据进行测算。研究结果表明：人均GDP、国家类型等因素对中巴双边农产品贸易发展产生正向影响；人口、距离因素则阻碍中巴农产品贸易发展；中巴双边农产品贸易效率（平均值约0.689）高于中国对巴基斯坦出口农产品贸易效率（平均值约0.615）；中国对巴基斯坦实际农产品出口总额未达到最佳的贸易前沿水平，因此农产品出口还存在较大的提升空间。     

Imagining the borderlands: Contending stories of a resource frontier in Muang Sing

Muang Sing in Luang Namtha province, an administrative district of northern Laos bordering Myanmar and China, has been portrayed by the Lao government and international development agencies as a ‘poor’ rural region in need of development. To developers, Muang Sing's remoteness from major towns and the livelihoods of ethnic people such as the Akha in the uplands based on swidden agriculture and opium production characterized ‘poverty’. To address this rural poverty, state and development agencies devised land use zoning that would demarcate and regulate various land uses in line with a rural development plan for the district. This vision for regulated development began to go awry, however, as farmers and traders in Muang Sing launched their own rapid social and economic changes. In contrast to the official image of a backward rural district in need of outside assistance, this paper portrays farmers and local entrepreneurs of the Muang Sing borderlands as actively transforming their lives and agricultural landscapes. This paper challenges the official version of a remote, poor district untouched by regional trade through a focus on narratives of local people. Ethnographic research reveals the dynamic micro‐processes of agrarian transformation during recent decades to highlight the centrality of borderland people in reworking their lives and agricultural landscapes through cross‐border relationships in China.     

中国农产品贸易结构演化及对粮食安全的影响

利用可比净出口指数、贸易集中度指数、Hilbert曲线、时空多元模式可视化、岭回归等方法,对1992—2020年中国农产品贸易结构演化进行分析,并解释其与粮食安全的关系。结论认为：① 1992—2020年中国农产品贸易总体格局发生了转变,表现为对国际进口的依赖显著增强,猪肉、牛肉、玉米、高粱、油菜籽等众多农产品由出口转变为进口状态。快速增长的进口直接增加了国内食物的供应,提升了粮食安全水平。② 农产品进口呈现产品结构和空间结构双集中的叠加效应,这种效应使得重点农产品进口极易受美国、澳大利亚等少数国家贸易政策变化的不利影响;在出口方面,农产品集中度较小,随着与“一带一路”等地区国家贸易的发展,地理集中度也显著降低。较低的集中度有利于稳定出口的经济效益,保障出口部门农业生产的稳定性。③ 中国农业生产出现部分进口产品生产规模压缩的趋势,加上高度集中的进口结构,将使得国内农业生产与粮食安全保障在面对外部冲击时更加脆弱。建议在坚持贸易开放的同时,优化农产品的生产和贸易结构,引导形成合理的农业种植格局。     

COMPOSITIONAL GRADIENTS IN MESOPHYTIC FORESTS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA

Numerical classification and ordination techniques are used to examine compositional variability in 112 stands of mesophytic upland forest in the eastern United States from data published by Braun (1950). Five forest types are identified and used to interpret ordination results. Two prominent environmental gradients account for much of the compositional variability in the data set: along the first ordination axis a microclimate gradient reflects increasing soil moisture availability and cold stress from dry uplands to northern hardwood sites; along the second ordination axis, a soil fertility gradient segregates hemlock coves and dry uplands, both of which are characteristically found on shallow, nutrient-poor soils, from the other forest types. The efficacy of combining numerical classification and ordination techniques for analyzing and interpreting patterns in ecological data is underscored by these results.     

“一带一路”背景下的中国与巴基斯坦的贸易关系演进及其影响因素

中巴经济走廊是“一带一路”6大经济走廊之一,而贸易畅通是“一带一路”建设的核心环节。研究中巴贸易关系演变及其影响因素、分析其贸易潜力,对推进“一带一路”建设具有重要的示范作用。论文从中巴贸易发展态势、商品结构、空间格局等方面揭示中巴贸易关系,运用随机前沿引力模型分析中巴贸易关系的主要影响因素、并探析其发展潜力,以期为推进中巴经济走廊建设提供科学支撑。研究发现：① 中巴贸易发展迅速,中对巴贸易顺差持续扩大;中国主要出口机械及电气设备等资本密集型产品,主要进口纺织原料及纺织制品等初级产品和劳动密集型产品。② 中国各省份与巴基斯坦的贸易合作存在明显的空间差异,东部沿海省份与巴贸易联系较紧密,西部各省份除新疆外与巴基斯坦贸易额均较小。③ 中国多数省份对巴贸易商品结构发生显著变动,其中,新疆、山东等进出口商品结构多元的省份的变动相对较小。④ 中国各省份的经济发展水平和市场规模对中巴贸易拉动较强;海运距离对中巴贸易规模有显著的负向影响;领土接壤为中巴组织边境贸易提供了良好条件;铁路和水运口岸的建设对中巴贸易具有积极影响。⑤ 中国各省份与巴基斯坦均有较大贸易潜力,内蒙古、云南、广西、陕西等省份的合作潜力更明显。     

佛山市农业内部生产结构调整与城市化的关系

利用佛山市1978~2002年农业经济活动数据,探讨城市化对农业内部生产结构的影响趋势和程度。结果表明,受城市化水平提高的影响,在农业内部各业占农业总产值的比重中下降最快的是种植业,上升最快的是渔业,而其他各业则变化较小;以生产面积为标志的生产规模缩减最快的是稻谷,扩张最快的是蔬菜;生产的地域结构分化明显,城镇边缘地区逐渐成为蔬菜、花卉等农副产品的专业化生产地带。     

Leimavo Revisited: Agrarian Land-Use Change in the Highlands of Madagascar

Describing and explaining land-use change is of critical concern in Madagascar, where land transformations such as deforestation and resulting environmental degradation currently capture widespread attention. While the eastern rain forest recedes in the face of swidden cultivators, the highlands demonstrate more constructive transformations. In this paper I present a case study of land-use change in Leimavo, a small village near Ambositra studied in the 1960s by Jean-Pierre Raison. Here, the twentieth century has seen a gradual reduction in irrigated rice cultivation and cattle husbandry, and a boom in market-oriented orange, vegetable, and grain production. In the long term, a historical landscape of grassy hills has been transformed into a productive cultural landscape with woodlots, anti-erosion benching, rice terraces, fruit groves, and diverse crops. Critical factors determining the trajectory of land-use change include regional population pressure, state policies, market incentives, climate variations, and access to land and water resources. These critical factors, or explanations, are linked in the discussion by the use of a simple heuristic device—the range of choice—as a theoretical framework.     

中非农产品贸易强度及其国际地位演变分析

近年来中国和非洲农业合作日渐频繁，中非农产品贸易也逐渐受到学术界的广泛关注，中非农产品贸易在全球中的横向对比、中国与非洲各国之间的横向对比研究也显得尤为重要。为掌握在全球背景下中非农产品贸易关系及强度的历史状况，利用FAOSTAT中的农产品贸易数据，对中非农产品贸易与其他国家或地区农产品贸易展开横向对比，并对中国与非洲各国之间贸易强度的历史变化进行系统分析。研究结果显示：1）尽管非洲农产品进出口贸易额不断上升，但在世界贸易中的份额持续徘徊在低位，并无显著变化；2）中非之间的贸易关系在1986-2013年间的变化并不突出，欧美仍是其主要的贸易伙伴；3）大多数非洲国家对华年次贸易频率低且贸易量小；4）南非、坦桑尼亚、埃塞俄比亚、马里、尼日利亚、阿尔及利亚、马达加斯加、毛里塔尼亚和尼日尔等国不仅拥有较多农用地资源，且具有较好的对华农业贸易的历史基础。     

Leimavo Revisited: Agrarian Land-Use Change in the Highlands of Madagascar

Describing and explaining land-use change is of critical concern in Madagascar, where land transformations such as deforestation and resulting environmental degradation currently capture widespread attention. While the eastern rain forest recedes in the face of swidden cultivators, the highlands demonstrate more constructive transformations. In this paper I present a case study of land-use change in Leimavo, a small village near Ambositra studied in the 1960s by Jean-Pierre Raison. Here, the twentieth century has seen a gradual reduction in irrigated rice cultivation and cattle husbandry, and a boom in market-oriented orange, vegetable, and grain production. In the long term, a historical landscape of grassy hills has been transformed into a productive cultural landscape with woodlots, anti-erosion benching, rice terraces, fruit groves, and diverse crops. Critical factors determining the trajectory of land-use change include regional population pressure, state policies, market incentives, climate variations, and access to land and water resources. These critical factors, or explanations, are linked in the discussion by the use of a simple heuristic device—the range of choice—as a theoretical framework.     

Sælemyr,Siren Therese. 2015. Contested Resources: Landscapes of Matter,Mind and Practice in the North Peruvian Andes

Clout, H. D. 1974. Agricultural plot consolidation in the Auvergne region of Central France. Norsk geografisk Tidsskr. 28, 181–194.

Plot consolidation has made great progress in the Paris Basin and has accentuated the agricultural contrast between northern innovation and southern backwardness. The Auvergne contains a wide range of agrarian structures, with environmental conditions being most favourable for farming in the lowland Limagnes. Detailed examination of Puy-de-Dôme département shows that most of the Limagnes have been consolidated, but little has been done in the uplands, which require other forms of structural change, including enlargement and re-afforestation. Plot consolidation is not a revolutionizing process since it cannot change land ownership, which is the ultimate constraint on its success.     

国内产业转移背景下重庆对外贸易的地理格局

在全球第四次产业转移的背景下,重庆迅速调整产业结构并取得突破,对外贸易的地理格局发生较大变化。本文搜集整理2008～2012年海关统计数据,采用地理信息系统软件（Ar-cGIS9.3）对重庆市对外贸易伙伴的空间分布格局、商品构成状况进行研究。研究表明：①2008年以来重庆进出口商品总量增长迅速,出口集中度逐年提高,而进口集中度逐年降低;②进口贸易伙伴集中分布于亚洲、欧洲和北美洲。贸易伙伴的分布重心向东南亚倾斜。进口商品集中于电子信息产品及机械设备;③出口贸易伙伴分布更加集中于北美洲与欧洲。出口商品以计算机与通信产品、机械设备为主。其中,计算机类电子信息产品已经超过传统汽车、摩托车等产品而位居首位。最后对重庆市对外贸易发展的趋势进行了展望。