1. Using Labour to Characterise Forms of Agriculture: A Thai Family Rubber Farming Case Study
- Author
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Uraiwan Tongkaemkaew, Pierre-Marie Bosc, Bénédicte Chambon, Cédric Gaillard, Agrosystèmes Biodiversifiés (UMR ABSys), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM), Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Département Performances des systèmes de production et de transformation tropicaux (Cirad-PERSYST), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [Rome, Italie] (FAO), Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) (UMR MoISA), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM), Département Environnements et Sociétés (Cirad-ES), Thaksin University International College (Thaksin University), This research was supported and funded by Yara International ASA, the Thai International Cooperation Agency and the French National Research Agency under the grant ANR-14-CE03-0012, HEVEADAPT., and ANR-14-CE03-0012,HEVEADAPT,Comment les plantations familiales peuvent-elles s'adapter aux changements globaux?(2014)
- Subjects
Cultural Studies ,Typology ,agriculture familiale ,family farming ,share-cropping ,Exploitation agricole familiale ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Enquête sur exploitations agricoles ,0507 social and economic geography ,Plante à caoutchouc ,Typologie ,050701 cultural studies ,Agricultural economics ,farm typology ,labour ,Natural rubber ,E12 - Travail et emploi ,050602 political science & public administration ,Economics ,Production (economics) ,2. Zero hunger ,Main d'oeuvre familiale ,Métayage ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,E80 - Économie familiale et artisanale ,Thailand ,Sect ,0506 political science ,E20 - Organisation, administration et gestion des entreprises ou exploitations agricoles ,Agriculture ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,business ,Social Sciences (miscellaneous) - Abstract
International audience; To contribute to the debate on labour and the ways of farming, this study tested the relevance of a labour-based typology to discriminate among forms of production operating in the Thai rubber sector. The data used came from surveys with 469 farmers. The case of Thai rubber-based family farms is specific but also brings generic insights to the debate. Classifying the farms based on their mode of organisation helps in understanding farmers' overall strategies regarding farming and non-farm activities. These differences were important and were linked to the capacity of family labour to develop non-farm activities. However, surprisingly, no discrimination among the types of farms appeared based on the agricultural production system. This finding appeared counter-intuitive given the importance of hired labour in rubber family farming. The non-significant differences for the practices and the land and labour productivities engaged in rubber cropping could be linked to the use of share-croppers (and not wage employees) as external labour. Further research needs to identify factors that can unlock productivity in the rubber plantations, whatever the category of holding. The importance of pluri-activity has strong implications that will require expanding empirical works focusing on labour issues.
- Published
- 2021