AbstractsGeography &GIS

In the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, maize is grown nationally as the primary source oflivestock feed. It also represents the preferred substitute for rice among people in rural andupland regions. Since 1991, the Vietnamese government has supported the introduction andsubsidization of hybrid maize seeds for domestic production, particularly as a component ofagricultural development policies to improve food security of upland ethnic minoritypopulations. Due in part to subsidies and propaganda, hybrid varieties have been widely adoptedby farmers to replace lower yield traditional and open pollinated varieties. This thesis aims todetermine how upland Hmong households in Ha Giang province, northern Vietnam, are adaptingto the introduction of state-supported hybrid maize seeds. This question is addressed using aconceptual framework built on sustainable livelihoods, food security, and gender analysisliterature. I conducted ethnographic fieldwork in the remotest district of Dong Van primarilyusing conversational and oral history interviews with Hmong householders, and semi-structuredinterviews with agricultural extension officers, state officials, and NGO representatives. I findthat Hmong food systems rely heavily on maize, and Hmong livelihood portfolios are gearedtowards income generation through livestock and maize alcohol. Livelihood outcomes ofadoption include higher yields, yet participants highlight various drawbacks, including limitedstorage stability and increased reliance on cash to afford seeds and associated chemical inputs.Further, the preference for taste of local maize leads some households to resist full adoption ofnew hybrid varieties and direct hybrid maize to livestock feed and alcohol production. I arguethat food security interventions must move beyond conceptualizing food security as a result offood availability alone, but also incorporate cultural acceptability of food, an understanding ofhybrid maize cultivation challenges, and the local seed diversity on which livelihoods and foodsecurity rely. En République socialiste du Vietnam, le maïs est cultivé dans tout le pays comme premièresource d'aliments pour le bétail. Il est aussi l'aliment préféré de substitution du riz parmi lespopulations rurales de montagne. Depuis 1991, le gouvernement vietnamien encouragel'introduction et la subvention de semences de maïs hybride pour la production intérieure, enparticulier dans le cadre de ses politiques de développement agricole pour améliorer la sécuritéalimentaire des minorités ethniques de montagne. En raison en partie des subventions et de lapropagande d'état, les agriculteurs ont largement adopté ces variétés hybrides pour remplacer lesiiivariétés traditionnelles par pollinisation ouverte à moindre rendement. La présente thèse a pourobjet de déterminer la façon dont les ménages Hmong des montagnes de la province de HàGiang, dans le Nord du Vietnam, s'adaptent à l'introduction de ces semences de maïs hybridesubventionnées par l'état. Ce travail utilise un cadre conceptuel construit à partir de la…