Agrobiodiversity loss and livelihood vulnerability as a consequence of converting from subsistence farming systems to commercial plantation‐dominated systems in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China: A household level analysis

Abstract

Abstract Production of rice ( Oryza sativa ) under a shifting cultivation system (swidden rice) and paddy fields (wet rice) is an important livelihood strategy in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China where households are facing conversion from subsistence systems to commercial plantation‐dominated systems represented by smallholder rubber plantations. However, there are few studies of the effects on rice production and varieties diversity, as well as livelihood effects at a household level during this conversion. This paper presents a household level analysis of agrobiodiversity loss and food security, as well as livelihood vulnerability during agroecosystems' conversion in Xishuangbanna. First, a quantitative assessment was made of the statistical data for rice and rubber production during the past 50 years in Xishuangbanna and at a village level from 1985 to 2005 for three villages from the valley floor and upland hills, respectively. Second, at a household level, 60 per cent of households from the three villages were investigated with a questionnaire from 1998 to 2005. The process of transformation has led to significant changes in the household's income and its proportion. Meanwhile, households have suffered livelihood vulnerability from excessive rubber plantations. The centrality of rice in Southeast Asian agricultural and social systems, contrasted with the significant erosion of rice‐based agroecosystem of local households, calls for increased attention to the livelihood vulnerability during this conversion. Correspondingly, practical strategies to resolve livelihood vulnerability are proposed, such as construction of paddy and effective irrigation systems for food security, agroforestry systems in rubber plantation, instead of monoculture, and diversification of sources of household income. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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