Socio-economic drivers of coexistence of landraces and modern crop varieties in agro-biodiversity rich Yunnan rice fields

Abstract

This paper investigates a situation of coexistence of landraces and modern crop varieties for market-oriented production in the Yunnan rice fields in China. Through a fieldwork survey of an experiment by the government with the introduction of modern varieties in traditional villages, the paper shows that landraces and modern crop varieties can co-exist. The analysis shows that the major features that play a role in the choices made by the individual farmers between modern crop varieties and landraces are not the agronomic conditions, although they certainly play a role, but economic and social drivers. The results of the analysis allows a better understanding of the distinct socio-economic drivers and impacts of each of the production systems. The latter can provide insights for policy strategies aimed at promoting agrobiodiversity rich landscapes in situations of co-existence of heterogeneous socio-technical production systems.