Dissertation Research: Understanding How Farmers Make Decisions in the Lao PDR

Board Of Regents, Nshe, Obo University Of Nevada, Reno, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

Doctoral student Michelle Roberts, with the guidance of Dr. Robert Winzeler (University of Nevada, Reno, will undertake research on factors that affect farmer decision-making in developing countries. In many countries, governments are encouraging farmers to change from subsistence-focused shifting cultivation to permanent cash crops. As a result, some farmers are deciding to adopt new agricultural practices while others are not. To understand why only some farmers are adopting new practices, farmers' decision-making processes will be studied. The research will be carried out in farming villages in northern Laos (Lao PDR). The research area is composed of three ethnic groups; Lao Loum, Khmu, and Hmong. To elucidate farmer perspectives and gain a holistic understanding of decision-making environments, the study will consider 1) social factors within groups stratified by wealth, status, age, and gender; 2) differences and similarities between groups in perceptions of crops and technologies; and 3) similarities and differences of crop preference, value, and perceptions among various ethnic and stakeholder groups. Research methods will include participant observation, surveys, semi-structured interviews, slip-sorting, ranking, social-mapping, and photo-voice. This research is important because it will illuminate the cultural dimensions of agricultural preferences, values, and perceptions as they influence agricultural decision-making. By understanding local farmers' agricultural perspectives, agents of change can adjust the parameters of innovations to foster a higher adoption rate, increase agricultural productivity, and otherwise benefit target populations. The research also will contribute to cognitive decision-making theories and more broadly to ethnographic knowledge about one of the least studied regions in Southeast Asia. This award also supports the education of a social scientist.