Edited by Rob Cramb White Gold The Commercialisation of Rice Farming in the Lower Mekong Basin White Gold: The Commercialisation of Rice Farming in the Lower Mekong Basin Rob Cramb Editor White Gold: The Commercialisation of Rice Farming in the Lower Mekong Basin ISBN 978-981-15-0997-1 ISBN 978-981-15-0998-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0998-8 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020 This book is an open access publication. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover Image: © Peter Stuckings / Getty Images This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Editor Rob Cramb St Lucia, QLD, Australia To Harry and Rose vii The development story told of Southeast Asia usually focuses on processes of urbanisation, industrialisation, and rapid sectoral change, which have propelled economic growth and thus delivered rising incomes, improving standards of living, and declining poverty. Where, however, does farming and agriculture, and in particular, the region’s signature crop, rice, fit into this story? It is not a simple one, because many of the trends anticipated by scholars and policy-makers have not materialised, while others have worked out far more rapidly than anyone expected. Indeed, some of the trends, or the absence of them, appear on first sight to be puzzlingly at odds. Landholdings have not—generally—amalgamated into larger units of production, which might drive labour productivity increases. Mechanisation of some aspects of rice agriculture has proceeded rapidly, even in countries that remain poor and seemingly in rural labour surplus. Questions and concerns regarding food security stand alongside the disintensification of some aspects of production, even land abandonment. Most rice farms are sub-livelihood in size, but living standards in the countryside continue to improve and poverty to decline. Parents make huge sacrifices to educate their children so that they can escape the drudgery of rice farming, but nonetheless stay rooted in—and to—their natal lands. Production is increasingly commercialised, but farmers in some areas seem to adopt semi-subsistence mindsets in their approach to rice farming. This volume, then, comes at a particularly important moment in Southeast Asia’s agrarian history. How do we interpret these contradictory trends and how they might work out in the years to come? White Gold considers these questions and issues in the context of the Lower Mekong F oreword viii FOREWORD Basin. This region of one river and four countries encompasses more than half a million square kilometres and a population of 66 million, produces 50 million tons of paddy rice each year, and contributes one-quarter of the world’s rice exports. It is also home to some of the earliest rice-growing cultures and the great rice-based civilisation of Angkor, and was a pivotal area in the colonial rice export economy. Where better to consider the past, present, and future of “white gold”? Bristol, UK Jonathan Rigg May 2019 ix Vietnamese farmers have for centuries regarded rice as “white gold” ( vàng tr ắ ng ), reflecting its vital importance to household food security and liveli- hoods. Farmers throughout the Lower Mekong Basin have a similar view of rice as the traditional basis of their wealth and well-being. A household able to produce abundant supplies of rice was not only secure economi- cally but achieved social and political status within the village community. The frequent depredations of floods and droughts on the one hand and extractive state regimes on the other only heightened the value placed on the household’s rice supplies. In the past four decades, rice has also become a commercial crop of great importance to Lower Mekong farmers, augmenting but not replac- ing its role in securing their subsistence. Particularly in Northeast Thailand and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, rice farming has become a major export industry, spurring a process of rural development that has helped lift many households out of poverty. Farmers in Cambodia and Laos have also increased their output to such a level that both countries have become self-sufficient in rice and are entering into export markets, particularly through cross-border trade with Vietnam and Thailand. Significantly, the Cambodian government adopted the term “white gold” in 2010 to epito- mise the country’s push into high-quality rice exports. This book is the outcome of a collaborative research effort to under- stand the current status of this process of commercialisation in the rice sector of the Lower Mekong Basin, with a view to identifying prospects and policy issues for the coming decade. This involved studying not just change in rice-based farming systems but in the value chains through P reFace x PREFACE which farmers gain access to resources and inputs and market their out- puts, and the institutional arrangements governing those farming systems and value chains. The focus was on the rainfed and irrigated lowlands of the Basin rather than the sloping uplands as it is in the former environ- ments that the commercialisation of rice farming has unfolded so dramati- cally, whereas rice cultivation in the uplands has been increasingly constrained, both technically and politically. This publication has been made possible with support from the Australian Government through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The main body of this research was conducted as part of an ACIAR- funded project—“Developing agricultural policies for rice-based farming systems in Lao PDR and Cambodia” (ASEM/2009/023). This project was co-led by Rob Cramb of the University of Queensland (UQ), Silinthone Sacklokham of the National University of Laos (NUOL), Theng Vuthy of the Cambodia Development Resources Institute (CDRI), Benchaphun Ekasingh of Chiang Mai University (CMU) in Thailand, and Dao The Anh of the Centre for Agrarian Systems Research and Development (CASRAD) in Vietnam. The findings from this project were supplemented by socio-economic studies undertaken as part of a second project—“Developing improved farming and marketing systems in rainfed regions of southern Lao PDR” (CSE/2009/004)—involving Rob Cramb and Jonathan Newby (then with UQ), Silinthone Sacklokham (NUOL), and Vongpaphane Manivong (then with the National Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute [NAFRI] of Laos). The results of a third ACIAR project involving Rob Cramb and Jonathan Newby—“Review of rice-based farming systems in Mainland Southeast Asia” (C2012/229)—were also drawn upon in writ- ing this book. In addition, ACIAR provided John Allwright Fellowships for Chea Sareth (of the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, CARDI) and Vongpaphane Manivong (NAFRI) to undertake PhD studies at the University of Queensland on topics closely related to the themes of this book. Nguyen Van Kien and Nguyen Hoang Han of An Giang University contributed Chap. 17 based largely on their research. Dao The Anh would like to acknowledge that Chap. 18 is based on research supported by the Asian Development Bank under Regional Research and Development Technical Assistance (R-RDTA) Project TA-7648. xi PREFACE ACIAR also provided a grant for the book to be available through Open Access. We are grateful to Jonathan Rigg for kindly agreeing to write the Foreword to the book, to CartoGIS of the Australian National University for permission to reproduce the maps in Figs. 1.1, 2.1, 5.1, 11.1, and 17.1, and to the Mekong River Commission for permission to reproduce the maps in Figs. 1.4 and 1.5. Both local currencies and United States Dollars (USD) are used in the book. Exchange rates have fluctuated over the 2010s, but the mean rates for the period 2010–2018 are a good guide to orders of magnitude: 1 USD = 32.5 Thai Baht (THB) = 4063 Cambodian Riel (KHR) = 8143 Lao Kip (LAK) = 21,227 Vietnamese Dong (VND). QLD, Australia Rob Cramb June 2019 xiii Part I Introduction 1 1 The Evolution of Rice Farming in the Lower Mekong Basin 3 Rob Cramb Part II A Fragrant Aroma 37 2 Commercialisation of Rice Farming in Northeast Thailand 39 Pornsiri Suebpongsang, Benchaphun Ekasingh, and Rob Cramb 3 Evolution of Rice Farming in Ubon Ratchathani Province 69 Prathanthip Kramol and Benchaphun Ekasingh 4 Farmer Organizations in Ubon Ratchathani Province 85 Prathanthip Kramol, Pornsiri Suebpongsang, and Benchaphun Ekasingh c ontents xiv CONTENTS Part III A Sticky Situation 101 5 From Subsistence to Commercial Rice Production in Laos 103 Vongpaphane Manivong and Rob Cramb 6 Adapting the Green Revolution for Laos 121 Liana Williams and Rob Cramb 7 Rainfed and Irrigated Rice Farming on the Savannakhet Plain 151 Silinthone Sacklokham, Lytoua Chialue, and Fue Yang 8 The Supply of Inputs to Rice Farmers in Savannakhet 169 Chitpasong Kousonsavath and Silinthone Sacklokham 9 Rice Marketing and Cross-Border Trade in Savannakhet 187 Phengkhouane Manivong and Silinthone Sacklokham 10 Economic Constraints to the Intensification of Rainfed Lowland Rice in Laos 201 Jonathan Newby, Vongpaphane Manivong, and Rob Cramb Part IV In Pursuit of White Gold 225 11 The Commercialisation of Rice Farming in Cambodia 227 Rob Cramb, Chea Sareth, and Theng Vuthy 12 The Production, Marketing, and Export of Rice in Takeo 247 Chhim Chhun, Theng Vuthy, and Nou Keosothea 13 The Role of Irrigation in the Commercialisation of Rice Farming in Southern Cambodia 261 Chea Sareth, Rob Cramb, and Shu Fukai xv CONTENTS 14 The Supply of Fertiliser for Rice Farming in Takeo 291 Theng Vuthy 15 The Use of Credit by Rice Farmers in Takeo 309 Kem Sothorn 16 Contract Farming of High-Quality Rice in Kampong Speu 327 Nou Keosothea and Heng Molyaneth Part V The Overflowing Rice Bowl 345 17 Trends in Rice-Based Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta 347 Nguyen Van Kien, Nguyen Hoang Han, and Rob Cramb 18 The Domestic Rice Value Chain in the Mekong Delta 375 Dao The Anh, Thai Van Tinh, and Nguyen Ngoc Vang 19 The Cross-Border Trade in Rice from Cambodia to Vietnam 397 Dao The Anh and Thai Van Tinh 20 Cross-Border Trade in Sticky Rice from Central Laos to North Central Vietnam 413 Dao The Anh and Pham Cong Nghiep Part VI Conclusion 423 21 Issues of Rice Policy in the Lower Mekong Basin 425 Rob Cramb xvii Chhim Chhun Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Lytoua Chialue Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Rural Economics and Food Technology, National University of Laos, Vientiane, Laos Rob Cramb School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia Dao The Anh Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam Benchaphun Ekasingh Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economy and Development, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand Chea Sareth Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Shu Fukai School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia Heng Molyaneth Faculty of Development Studies, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Kem Sothorn Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia L ist oF c ontributors xviii LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Chitpasong Kousonsavath Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Rural Economics and Food Technology, National University of Laos, Vientiane, Laos Prathanthip Kramol Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economy and Development, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand Vongpaphane Manivong Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Vientiane, Laos Phengkhouane Manivong Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos, Vientiane, Laos Jonathan Newby International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Vientiane, Laos Nguyen Hoang Han Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia Nguyen Ngoc Vang An Giang University, Long Xuyen, Vietnam Nguyen Van Kien An Giang University, Long Xuyen, Vietnam Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Nou Keosothea National Committee, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Pham Cong Nghiep Center for Agrarian Systems Research and Development, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam Silinthone Sacklokham SEAMEO Regional Centre for Community Education Development, Vientiane, Laos Pornsiri Suebpongsang Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economy and Development, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand Thai Van Tinh Center for Agricultural Policy, Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hanoi, Vietnam xix LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Theng Vuthy Office of Food Security and Environment, USAID, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Liana Williams Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD, Australia Fue Yang Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos, Vientiane, Laos xxi Fig. 1.1 Mekong River Basin. (Source: CartoGIS, Australian National University) 6 Fig. 1.2 Mean monthly rainfall and temperature for Laos, 1991–2016. (Source: Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia) 7 Fig. 1.3 Average monthly mainstream flow at Pakse, Laos, 1960–2004 (cubic metres per second). (Source: Cosslett and Cosslett 2018) 8 Fig. 1.4 Land use in the Lower Mekong Basin. (Source: Mekong River Commission) 10 Fig. 1.5 Area planted with rice in Lower Mekong Basin in wet season (July). (Source: Mekong River Commission) 20 Fig. 1.6 Area planted with rice in Lower Mekong Basin in dry season (January). (Source: Mekong River Commission) 21 Fig. 1.7 Schematic outline of evolving rice value chains in Lower Mekong Basin 24 Fig. 1.8 Rice exports from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, 1975–2016. (Source: FAOSTAT) 27 Fig. 1.9 Influence of government policies on rice production 28 Fig. 2.1 Northeast Thailand. (Source: CartoGIS, Australian National University) 41 Fig. 2.2 Annual rice production in Northeast Thailand and remainder of country, 1980–2015 (million t) 45 Fig. 2.3 Marketing chain for rice produced in Northeast Thailand. (Note: Numbers refer to million t of paddy or milled rice ACI 2005) 47 L ist oF F igures xxii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 2.4 Average export price of Thai white and fragrant rice, 2000–2018 (USD/t, FOB). (Source: IRRI—World Rice Statistics Online (http://ricestat.irri.org:8080/wrsv3/entrypoint.htm)) 58 Fig. 5.1 Laos with provinces and provincial capitals, 2012. (Source: CartoGIS Services, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University) 105 Fig. 5.2 Lao farmer showing field trial on his paddy field. (Source: Rob Cramb) 112 Fig. 5.3 Paddy area, output, and yield in Laos, 1985–2017. (Source: Agricultural Statistics Yearbooks (various years), Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Vientiane) 112 Fig. 5.4 Paddy output in Laos by production system, 1985–2017 (‘000 t). (Source: Agricultural Statistics Yearbooks (various years), Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Vientiane) 113 Fig. 5.5 Value of agricultural exports from Laos, 2013–2017. (Source: International Trade Centre) 115 Fig. 6.1 Rice research centres and locations of Lao-IRRI research activities. (Source: Modified from Shrestha et al. 2006: 38) 126 Fig. 6.2 Savannakhet Province showing Outhoumphone and Champhone districts. (Source: Modified from Manivong et al. 2008: 1) 138 Fig. 7.1 Savannakhet Province showing Champhone and other districts and lowland rice-growing areas. (Source: Thavone Inthavong) 153 Fig. 7.2 Sun-drying paddy before storing for household consumption. (Source: Rob Cramb) 161 Fig. 7.3 Incidence of selling rice throughout the year (% of those selling, n = 165 Fig. 7.4 Duration of rice deficit (% of households with deficit, n = 43) 165 Fig. 8.1 Fertilizer supply chain for Savannakhet Province 171 Fig. 8.2 Farmers’ sources of fertilizer (% of survey respondents) 175 Fig. 8.3 The seed supply chain in Savannakhet. a Thasano Centre and PAFO/DAFO buy back seeds from the seed production groups at 10% above the market price for paddy rice 179 Fig. 8.4 Farmer in paddy field planted with improved variety in Savannakhet Province. (Source: Rob Cramb) 182 Fig. 9.1 International border points in Savannakhet Province: Savannakhet-Mukdahan (left); Dansavanh-Lao Bao (right) 188 Fig. 9.2 Mapping of rice marketing and trade in Savannakhet Province 190 Fig. 9.3 Procedure to export rice from Savannakhet Province. (Source: Trade Division, PICO Savannakhet) 197 xxiii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 10.1 Household rice status in Champasak for 2010, by district and village 206 Fig. 10.2 Yield-area combinations by household rice status 208 Fig. 10.3 Cumulative adoption of improved varieties by paddy area 211 Fig. 11.1 Cambodia, showing provinces and terrain. (Source: CartoGIS, Australian National University) 228 Fig. 11.2 Area, yield, and output of rice in Cambodia, 1990–2017. (Source: FAOSTAT) 234 Fig. 11.3 Population pyramid for Takeo and Cambodia. (Source: Cambodian Census 2008) 240 Fig. 12.1 Map of rice value chain in Takeo 251 Fig. 13.1 Locations of the three study districts in Takeo and Kampong Speu Provinces. (Source: Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute) 262 Fig. 13.2 Farm pond with portable pump in Takeo. (Source: Rob Cramb) 266 Fig. 13.3 Farmer in Takeo with tube well and pump. (Source: Rob Cramb) 267 Fig. 13.4 Farmer in Snao preparing paddy field for radish cultivation in the dry season. (Source: Rob Cramb) 281 Fig. 14.1 Percentage of households using chemical fertilisers and pesticides in Takeo Province by district, 2010. (Source: Commune Database, 2010) 293 Fig. 14.2 Fertiliser distribution channels in Takeo 294 Fig. 14.3 Yearly average nominal retail prices of major fertilisers in Takeo, 2002–2010 (KHR/bag). (Source: Agricultural Marketing Office 2002–2010 (USD 1 = KHR 4000)) 298 Fig. 15.1 Growth of MFI clients and loans in Cambodia, 2005–2014. (Source: CMA 2015) 312 Fig. 15.2 Number of MFIs by province, 2011. (Source: Constructed from CMA data) 312 Fig. 15.3 Number of MFI borrowers by province, 2011. (Source: Constructed from CMA data) 313 Fig. 15.4 Total amount of MFI outstanding loans in Takeo in 2011 by district (KHR million). (Note: USD 1 = KHR 4000; Source: constructed from CMA data) 314 Fig. 15.5 Number of MFI borrowers in Takeo in 2011 by district. (Note: USD 1 = KHR 4000; Source: constructed from CMA data) 315 Fig. 15.6 Pattern of access to credit by type of rice farmer. (Source: Field interviews) 316 Fig. 17.1 Mekong Delta showing provinces and agro-ecological zones. (Source: Base map by CartoGIS Services, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University) 348 xxiv LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 17.2 Mean monthly rainfall and temperature at Can Tho. (Source: Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia) 349 Fig. 17.3 Average farm area in Mekong Delta by land use and agro- ecological zone, 2005. (Source: Derived from data in Nguyen, D. C. et al. (2007)) 353 Fig. 17.4 Planted area of rice in the Mekong Delta by season, 1995– 2016. (Source: General Statistics Office 2016) 356 Fig. 17.5 Paddy yields by season and total paddy production in the Mekong Delta, 1995–2016. (Source: General Statistics Office 2016) 357 Fig. 17.6 Cattle being fattened for sale in a farmyard shed in My An Commune, Cho Moi District, An Giang Province. (Source: Nguyen Van Kien, September 2017) 362 Fig. 17.7 Rice-fish-poultry system in My Phu Dong Commune, Thoai Son District, An Giang Province. (Source: Nguyen Van Kien, September 2017) 364 Fig. 17.8 Area, yield, and production of freshwater shrimp and fish in An Giang Province. (Source: Statistical Office of An Giang Province (2016)) 364 Fig. 17.9 Freshwater shrimp farming in Vinh Thanh Trung Commune, Chau Phu District, An Giang Province. (Source: Nguyen Van Kien) 365 Fig. 18.1 Area, yield, and production of rice in Vietnam, 1980–2017. (Source: FAOSTAT) 377 Fig. 18.2 Rice value chain in Mekong Delta 378 Fig. 18.3 Trader transporting paddy in Can Tho Province. (Photo: Dao The Anh) 384 Fig. 18.4 Large rice mill in Can Tho Province. (Photo: Dao The Anh) 386 Fig. 19.1 Cross-border rice value chain between Cambodia and Vietnam 400 Fig. 20.1 The Lao Bao International Border Gate between Quang Tri and Savannakhet. (Source: Bùi Thu ̣ y Đào Nguyên, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17356460) 414 Fig. 20.2 Value chain for sticky rice and paddy imported from Laos through Lao Bao Border Gate 418 Fig. 21.1 Nominal farm-gate price of paddy in Lower Mekong Basin countries, 2000–2017 (USD/t). (Source: FAOSTAT) 435