Convenor
Natedao Taotawin
Faculty of Liberal Arts, Ubon Ratchatani University
Abstract
The rise of neo-liberalization in urban and rural areas of Southeast Asia has brought about significant changes in many ways, for instance land use, food production, and seed production, etc. Noticeably, reduction of governmental subsidy in agriculture in Thailand to some extent has contributed to increasing role of agri-business and transnational corporations (TNCs) in food and non-food production. As a result, the ways of food and non-food production are dominated and manipulated by agribusiness and TNCs rather than local actors. Moreover, land use and land control has been reformulated in accordance with new crops and new market demand such as rubber trees, eucalyptus, seeds, and cassava. This panel will focus on the rise of neo-liberalization in SEA and its influence on changing land use, land control, labour process, food and non-food production and agrarian transformation. Consequently, three case studies of anthropological studies from Thailand and Vietnam are examined. It is expected to provide insider’s points of view from relevant actors who are engaged in neo-liberalization, change of land use, and agrarian transformation in SEA.