Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development in the Vientiane Plain, Lao PDR

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Abstract

Since the economic renovation of 1986, the city of Vientiane in Laos has seen rapid urban growth. It was expected that suburban villages would develop industry and modern agriculture, whereas they began collecting and selling wild food resources for urban consumers, which have the potential to support rural life in a sustainable way. In this paper we discuss characteristics of marketing channels for wild food resources and the role of marketing of wild food resources in sustainable development, based on interviews with 811 traders in open-air wholesale market in Vientiane. Since 2000 a significant increase in participation in marketing has been observed, although small-scale domestic marketing has taken place since before the economic renovation. Supply of wild food resources by rural traders was seen most commonly in the Xaithani district of Vientiane. A case study of a village in Xaithani showed that selling wild food resources could bring cash incomes comparable to those from wage work. The study suggests that, as long as proper resource management is introduced, the collecting and selling of wild food resources should be considered option in suburban villages in Vientiane for development in the global economy. As such, it should be evaluated for its sustainability in terms of enhancing the economic value of the natural environment.

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