Coping with pressures of modernization by traditional farmers: a strategy for sustainable rural development in Yunnan, China |
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| Authors: | Chikamatsu Shiro Jose Ireneu Furtad Lixin Shen Mei Yan |
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| Institution: | (1) Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, England, UK;(2) Yunnan Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650204, China;(3) Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines |
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| Abstract: | Traditional farming practices conform to sustainable rural livelihoods, while agricultural modernisation tends to undermine
these practices through various perturbations. A case study in Tengchong County (western Yunnan, China) shows that transformation
of traditional alder (Alnus nepalensis) and dry rice (upland rice) rotational farming to introduced Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) plantations leads to localised water scarcity and soil fertility decline. While farmers are aware of ecological
sustainability of traditional farming, they prefer Chinese fir forestry because it is less labour-intensive, has a high market
value, and releases time for profitable off-farm work. Farmers adapt to economic liberalization by planting high value crops
and trees. However, alternatives to make local agricultural production more profitable through competitive business strategies,
cooperative approaches, innovations in integrating high value crops and ‘downstream’ processing for sustainable rural livelihoods
have been overlooked largely due to poor information availability and lack of organisational framework. |
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| Keywords: | Agrobiodiversity sustainable rural development capital assets traditional knowledge traditional farming Yunnan alder-upland rice Chinese fir |
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