The Gender Dimension of Agricultural Investments in Lao PDR.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K17963
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Saitama University (2022-2023); Seisa University (2021)
• Principal Investigator: HIGASHI SATOMI 埼玉大学, 人文社会科学研究科, 准教授 (70815000)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 海外農業投資 / ジェンダー / 小規模農民 / 出稼ぎ労働 / ラオス / バナナ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Through 3 years of research, including fieldwork in Oudomxay Province, I have found "success stories" such as women investing the income earned from migrating to banana plantations in their own money lending and retail businesses, thereby improving their economic status within their households and villages, while in other cases the migrant work has been an economic "failure" and women are burdened with the burden of domestic labor and as breadwinners. Although it is increasingly recognized that migrant work on banana plantations is a high-risk, high-return means of cash income, families that do not receive the expected income from annual migrant contracts to reside on banana plantations tend to continue working on banana plantations in the form of daily labor. Through day labor, health hazards caused by pesticides and the use of drugs are spreading to the generation of children who have reached school age.

Free Research Field

開発社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究によって、バナナ農園での出稼ぎは、国際労働移動と比較し、合法かつ参入障壁が低く、出身村との行き来が比較的容易で、家族の帯同が可能であることによって、子どもを持つ女性・家族にとって選択されやすいことが明らかになった。出稼ぎ労働が学齢期を終えた子ども世代にも拡大しつつあること、送り出し村が山岳部の僻地に拡大している現状を明らかにし、農薬の管理や安全対策の徹底、麻薬取り締まりの強化などの対策、出稼ぎによる健康面・安全面でのリスクや法制度に関する啓蒙活動が喫緊の課題であることを指摘した。これらの提言を2024年度に国際学会で報告するとともに、ラオス語の報告書にまとめる予定である。