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(1)Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development in the Vientiane Plain, Lao PDR Akiko Ikeguchi1 and Salika Onsy2 1 2. Yokohama National University, Japan. National University of Laos, PDR . 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 markets 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. Keywords: wild food resources, wholesale market, open-air space, marketing, trader, suburb, Vientiane, Laos Introduction In the mountainous territory of Laos, the lowland comprising the Korat plateau has been expected to play an important role in supporting the diet of urban residents through modernized agriculture. The Vientiane Plain, the hinterland of Vientiane, is considered an urban agricultural region, and studies on socioeconomic aspects of villages have been conducted under development policy since the French colonial era [Condominas and Gaudillot 1959; Hasegawa 1981]. Starting with the 1986 Chintanakan Mai, Laos moved a step toward a country of “land-linked” [Kono et al. 2008], and introduced a series of legal reforms to attract foreign investment. From 1988. .

(2) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. . to 2001, a total of 7.1 billion US$ in foreign investment was accepted for 860 projects in Laos, and many projects began in Vientiane city in the areas of tourism, services, and manufacturing [Sisouphanthong and Taillard 2000]. The population in the Vientiane municipality grew from 381,000 in 1980 to 651,000 in 2003, reflecting migration flow mostly from upland areas in the northeastern region. An increase in the urban consumer population is expected to improve living conditions in suburban villages in the plain through marketing of agricultural products in a modernized scheme; irrigation programs, pilot farm trials, and other programs have been introduced in the region. Rural development policy makers tend to regard the suburb region of Vientiane city as it follows the same development path as the other capital cities in Southeast Asia; i.e. expansion of modern agriculture and labor market for industrial sectors. Wild food resource use is often considered as a traditional subsistence activity which is to disappear as urbanization proceeds. However, it should be realized that even though the Vientiane city has experienced high population growth, the purchasing power of it—with a population of only 600,000—is still not comparable to the highly populated cities in neighboring countries. Agricultural and industrial production in Vientiane is clearly in competition with neighboring countries. Kethonsa et al. [2004] showed that there is competition between domestic vegetables and those imported from Thailand, especially in the dry season. Considering that Thailand has already developed commercial production of vegetables, the competitive conditions for local Lao products are likely to continue, although consumers tend to appreciate the freshness and safety of local products. The wage labor market developing in Vientiane was also opened to competition with those of neighboring countries. Nishimura et al. [2008] studied the labor supply to Vientiane’s textile factories, which are rapidly increasing in number, and showed that in suburban villages, most workers are unlikely to continue their employment for more than one year. They argued that wages in factories in Laos are kept low in order to compete with factories in Thailand and Vietnam and the existence of other income options, especially the sale of wild food products, are the main reasons for workers’ unwillingness to commit to long-term wage work. These studies illustrate the instability of modernized job options in the age of global competition, especially in peri-urban area of the city of modest centrality within the Mekong sub-region. On the other hand, we could observe development of another type of economic activity; sales of wild food resources such as bamboo shoots, frog and insects in this area, even after imported food resources became common in the urban marketplaces. Although number of consumer in Vientiane is small, wild food resources can be supplied almost exclusively by villages in Laos, where forest remains and low chemicals are applied to agriculture. We consider that marketing of wild food resources could be one way of local people’s adaptation to Laos’ commercialization, which is rapidly involved in globalizing market. In this paper, we attempt to examine the potential of wild food resource marketing in the Vientiane Plain by describing its spatial structure, linkages between trader and gatherer/ producer, and how they have been developing. According to studies of non-timber forest products, the sale of wild food resources has been regarded as an important income source mainly in.

(3) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. remote mountainous areas in Southeast Asia [de Beer and Mcdermott 1989]. The traders in such areas selling valuable items such as cardamom and benzoin often have a certain amount of capital and travel long distances, some of them even across national borders, to reach foreign markets. On the other hand, the trading of wild food resources for domestic markets has not been recognized as an option for development in suburban areas. Urban domestic marketing by smallscale traders, often female traders in Southeast Asia, must be evaluated for several aspects. First, it has the potential to involve traders of diverse socioeconomic status, most notably female traders with little capital. The activities of female traders are often regarded as disorganized or untrustworthy, due to gender bias [Momsen and Kinnard 1993]. Particularly in socialist countries where urban commercial activities have been strictly controlled by government, their activities are unlikely to be considered as legitimate marketing channels [Das 1984; Freeman 1996]. Identification of their social status and activities is therefore needed to discuss sustainable way of marketing from trader’s point of view. Second, their role in commoditizing a variety of wild food resource should be explored, as it has potential to reinforce value of natural environment such as wetland and forest. Some recent studies of the Vientiane Plain found 51 wild plants, 30 species of aquatic resources, and 31 species of insects from a suburban rural market [Ikeguchi et al. 2007; Saito et al. 2007]. Since wild food resources are more accessible than modernized agriculture for rural people with little capital and enhance the value of biodiversity, marketing these resources may lead to the sustainable development of suburban Vientiane. On the other hand, marketing of wild resources may cause rapid resource depletion, about which many rural people express anxiety. In order to discuss how to achieve sustainable resource use, it is necessary to understand how the marketing channels are developing, with special attention to historical and geographical backgrounds. Previous studies discussed frameworks for describing the geography of marketing channels developed by small-scale traders in Southeast Asia. The first important research question is how the condition of selling space affects participation of small-scale traders and the development of marketing channels. Selling space, which includes formal markets and streets, reflects urban structure, market policy, and consumer behavior. Generally, in a city operating under a socialist regime, private marketing tend to be restricted by the government, but the actual practice of market control differs by time and regions. In Vientiane, there have been significant social changes which conditioned selling space and access to it by traders, which we describe in a historical context in the second chapter. Second, the spatial extent of marketing channels reflects the urban-rural relationship, i.e., the flow of goods, service and people which form the city and its hinterland. As the marketplace grows and is rearranged, production sites generally expand, but where and how they expand depend on the type of commodities, transportation, and traders’ activities [Ikeguchi 2002]. This paper identifies the spatial aspects of marketing channels that are developing between suburban areas and the city. Specifically, we will identify the marketing channels of wild food resources in comparison with the channels of other fresh food commodities. Third, in order to consider the impact of marketing channels on rural production areas, it is necessary to understand the activities of both traders and gatherers/producers. Specialized. .

(4) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. . traders with no farmland may need capital for stable trading, while petty traders with farmland may need little capital, as their participation in trading may be temporary, in order to earn additional cash. The gatherers, on the other hand, may begin by gathering and selling wild food resources on a temporary basis, to supplement shortages of rice in times of drought or flooding, but as their household economic activities change, they may depend more on the sales. Such difference of activities affects transaction relationship of traders and villagers, type of commodity sold, and the way those are gathered. Through a case study of one suburban village, we examine the significance of selling wild food resources in contrast to other economic activities in the village. In the last chapter, we examine the characteristics of marketing channels and the role of marketing in sustainable resource use in the Vientiane Plain. How can the wild food marketing discussed in this study contribute to sustainable development? Is it a minor economic activity, destined to be replaced by other modern activities? In discussing these questions, we would like to recommend an agenda for future studies and policy. Research method A survey was conducted both in wholesale markets and in a rural village in the Vientiane municipality [Fig.1]. In February, 2007, the authors with assistance of students of the Department of Geography at the National University of Laos interviewed all the traders found in the open-air spaces of three marketplaces: Thatluang market, Kuadin market, and Sikhai market in Vientiane city. These are the major markets in downtown Vientiane in terms of the number of sellers and buyers and the volume of transactions. These markets function as both retail and wholesale markets. There are two types of selling spaces in these marketplaces: permanent stalls and open-air spaces. They differ in morphology, management, scale of operation, and type of commodities. The permanent stall occupies a fixed position under the roof and often offers some storage for commodities, scales, etc. Traders pay rent to the marketplace manager on a monthly or annual basis. They commonly sell high-value commodities, such as kitchenware, cloth, processed foods, or fresh foods in large volumes. Selling at a permanent stall requires a large amount of capital and stable supply and demand for the commodities; thus, there is an entry barrier for newly participating traders with small capital. On the other hand, open-air market space is usually called Talat Sonnabot, or “countryside market.” The traders in this space pay the manager for the use of space, cleaning, taxes, etc., on a daily basis. They commonly sell fresh foods in smaller quantities, including farmed or wild food resources. The traders with a small amount of capital can easily participate in sales; rural traders selling wild food resources fall into this category. In this paper, we focus on the traders in open-air spaces in order to understand how rural traders of wild natural resources organize their activities in competition with other small-scale traders. The interviews took place between five a.m. and nine a.m. in the open-air wholesale markets of the three marketplaces..

(5) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. .  . . . .  . 䎯䏈䏊䏈䏑䏇䎟䎤䏏䏗䏌䏗䏘䏇䏈䎡. . . Vientiane municipality. 䎥䏈䏏䏒䏚䎃䎕䎘䎓䏐䎕䎘䎔䎃䎐䎃䎘䎓䎓䏐䎤䏅䏒䏙䏈䎃䎘䎓䎔䏐・Udon Thani. 䎘䎓. 䎳䏕䏒䏙䏌䏑䏆䏈. 䎕䎘. 䎓. 䎘䎓䏎䏐. 䎰䏄䏍䏒䏕䎃䏕䏒䏄䏇.  Figure 1 Study area. In order to examine the role of marketing in rural life, we analyzed household economy data obtained in a suburban village of Vientiane. The chosen village consists of rain-fed paddy, forests, and wetland, a typical landscape of the Vientiane Plain. More than 90% of the villagers are engaged in subsistence farming, although a growing number seek cash income opportunities in both their village and urban districts. We assert that our findings about the trader-farmer relationship may apply to many parts of the Vientiane Plain under the influence of the expanding market force. The Vientiane municipality is comprised of nine districts, of which four (Chanthabouli, Sisattanak, Sikhottabong, and Xaisettha) have major commercial functions; the other five districts (Sangthong, Naxaytong, Xaithani, Hatxayfong, and Pakngum) are largely engaged in subsistence farming. In the following sections of this paper, we refer to the former as “urban districts” or “Vientiane city”, and to the latter as “rural districts.” Socioeconomic change and the development of markets in the Vientiane municipality Although Vientiane is often described as a “rural capital” of land-locked country in mainland Southeast Asia, it was once a powerful part of the Mekong Valley in the 16th century, after Xetthathirat moved the capital of Lan Xang from Luang Prabang to Vientiane [Askew et al. 2007: 47]. As a riverside port city, Vientiane was a node of the large-trade network that extended along the Mekong River from Siam to the South China Sea, until destruction of the city by Siamese.

(6) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. . troops in the 19th century. A significant part of Vientiane’s population, which was estimated at between 100,000 and 150,000, was deported to Siamese territory, and the city ceased to function as a market town [ibid: 69]. During the French colonial era, food supplied by Lao traders on the street was considered inadequate for the French population, and the colonial government encouraged Vietnamese and Chinese traders to work in the city in order to promote commercial activities [ibid:88]. A document from 1902 shows an official marketplace and some Chinese and Vietnamese shops at the center of city [ibid:89]. According to the population census of 1943, the population of Vietnamese and Chinese totaled 13,300, whereas the Lao population was only 9,570. Even after the withdrawal of the U.S. army, Vietnamese traders kept economic power over commerce in Vientiane city. Working out of their residential area, they mainly supplied imported consumer goods to urban residents, comprised mostly of expatriate and Lao elite. th Development of suburban agriculture was not widely recognized until the early 20 century,. except for an area in a bend of the Mekong River, currently in the west part of the Hatxayfong district. Condominas and Gaudillot [1959] reported fertile alluvial soil in this area, as well as a vegetable garden developed before their arrival in 1958. However, this type of commercial farming was limited until recently. In the majority of rural villages, farming was performed principally for the purpose of subsistence, and it was rarely connected with the growth of urban consumption. Such disconnectedness can be understood if we consider the dominance of outsiders, both as consumers and as traders. For certain fresh food components of the traditional Lao diet, market was unlikely to develop without local consumers and traders. Askew et al. repeatedly referred to the notion of “otherness” in Vientiane urbanism, which was held by both researchers and politicians of the colonial era [ibid:145]. The political background and small population of the Vientiane Plain may account for the moderate growth of urban-centered commercial activities, considering that, in many parts of Southeast Asia, small-scale trading is often the predominant job option for those pushed into the city from highly populated rural areas [Armstrong and McGee 1985]. However, another mode of exchange supplemented volatile harvests of the rainfed paddy, through which we will trace the roots of local commercial development from the rural traders’ point of view. Kato et al. [2008] mentioned that the barter system for salt and other food items has a long tradition in the Vientiane Plain, and it still functions in villages to supplement the lack of rice in rural households. Unlike in the mountainous area of Laos, periodic marketing and longdistance trade of high-value forest products have not been seen in this region, where the smallscale exchange system might suffice subsistence farmers. According to traders who started their business during the 1960s, there were only three marketplaces in Vientiane during that time: Talat Sao (morning market), Talat Leng (night market in Chinese-Vietnamese town), and Tonkhankham (located near Chinese town). The traders from suburban Vientiane sold fish, frogs, and lotus seeds to urban residents. During the war of the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of displaced people migrated to Vientiane and its suburbs. This population pressure and the stationing of U.S. forces necessitated the development of a food supply system to urban areas [ibid:147]. After U.S. forces allocated.

(7) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. . Thalat Leng Thongkhankham. Sikhai. Thalat Sao. Sangthong. Thatluang Kuadin. Xaithani Pakngum. Naxaytong. 15. . . 13. 䎯䏈䏊䏈䏑䏇䎥䏈䏉䏒䏕䏈䎃䎔䎜䎚䎘䎔䎜䎚䎙䎃䎐䎃䎔䎜䎛䎙䎔䎜䎛䎚䎃䎐䎃䎔䎜䎜䎚. Sikhottabong Chanthabouli Sisattanak. Xaisettha Hatxayfong. 䎔䎓. 䎘. 䎓. 䎔䎓䏎䏐. 䎔䎜䎜䎛䎃䎐䎃䎕䎓䎓䎖䎰䏄䏍䏒䏕䎃䏕䏒䏄䏇. Figure 2 Established years of marketplace in Vientiane municipality  (By interview to marketplace managers) . an annual budget of 50 million US$ for infrastructure building in Vientiane, the construction and service industries provided urban and per-urban residents with job opportunities. The bus service from suburban villages to downtown, which had run since the end of 1950s, stimulated the growth of the fresh food supply for the increased number of consumers. After the socialist revolution of 1975, traders from rural areas were prohibited from doing business in Talat Sao and Talat Leng, and they moved to several bus stations, one of which is the present location of Thatluang market. Unlike Vietnam, the neighboring socialist country, regulation of the commercial activities of rural traders on the streets was uncommon in Vientiane1. After the economic renovation, Chintanakan Mai, in 1986, as the labor market gradually grew in Vientiane city, the trend of migration from rural areas to Vientiane became apparent, although the numbers were not comparable to those during the war [Sisouphanthong and Taillard 2000:50 –51]. More remarkable than the population growth was the consumption behavior of urban Lao residents. As is clearly shown by the increased number of cars on the roads, a wide variety of consumer goods appeared in shops and marketplaces in town. In these shops and marketplaces, durable consumer goods were mainly dealt by Vietnamese or Chinese groups, but fresh foods,.

(8) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. . including vegetables, fish, and meat, were sold mostly by Lao traders. Figure 2 shows the distribution of marketplaces in the Vientiane municipality as of 2005. Among the nine districts, the number of marketplaces was largest in Chanthabouli. Near CBD (Central Business District), several markets were established before 1975 and function as both major wholesale and retail markets. In this district, another group of marketplaces was found at the border of Xaithani and Chanthabouli. This area was residential area for students and employees of National University of Laos, as well as many households commuting to and from CBD. In rural districts, markets were distributed along highways 13 and 15, especially in lowland districts such as Xaithani, Hatxayfong, and the eastern part of Naxaytong. The markets in these districts were established mainly after Chintanakan Mai. In the areas along the highways, the number of manufacturing factories increased after Chintanakan Mai, and the wage workers’ households joined the group of consumers2. Of the old markets in these districts, those at Hatxayfong were located in areas of large vegetable production and also functioned as wholesale markets. The markets at the intersection of the Nam Ngum River and highway 15 supplied foods and goods to households engaged in military services, as the military bases were concentrated in the southwestern part of Xaithani. There were few marketplaces in Sangthong and Pakngum, indicating that the majority of residents in these districts were subsistence farmers. Urban wholesale markets and spatial organization of marketing channels Location and structure of marketplace In the capitals of Southeast Asian countries, migrants from rural areas are often engaged with small-scale business such as street trading and contribute to urban population growth. However, in Vientiane city, although there was an increase of markets, street traders and street markets were rarely seen, even after the population began growing in 20003. Interviews showed that some existing markets were once spontaneously formed on the streets, but these spontaneous markets soon came under the management of districts or the state. Then, after Chintanakan Mai, they became private enterprises. In the center of Vientiane city, four large markets operated as major wholesale markets in the early morning: Thongkhankham market, Sikhai market, Kuadin market, and Thatluang market. After the open-air spaces in Talat Sao and Talat Leng were closed in the 1970s, traders from suburban districts started to sell at bus stops or other open-air spaces, which later developed into new markets. The traders of western districts, e.g., Sangthong, Naxaytong, and Sikhottabong, moved to Thongkhankham market and, later, to Sikhai market. The traders of eastern districts, e.g., Xaisettha, Hatxayfong, Xaithani, and Pakngum, moved to Thatluang market and Kuadin market. In this paper, we describe three of these wholesale markets: Kuadin, Sikhai, and Thatluang. 1) Kuadin market.

(9) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 2 Kuadin market was adjacent to Talat Sao, and the total selling area was 32,810m . The area. was marshland before the trading started, but as the number of traders increased after the closing of Talat Sao, the selling space was prepared on reclaimed marshland. The operation of Kuadin market was put up for sale in 1990, and a Lao manager signed a six-year contract. In 1996 another Lao manager, backed by Chinese investments, signed a 20-year contract. As of 2007, the management headquarters had 81 staff, 63 security guards, and 200 porters. Traders numbered around 800, of which 600 had permanent stalls. The open-air traders paid the Sisattanak district 4,000–5,000 kip per day for cleaning, security, selling space, umbrellas, and taxes. The market gates opened at 4 a.m., and the traders competed daily for spaces. At 8 a.m., the traders moved out, and the open-air space became a parking area. Although sales time was strictly managed, all traders could have a stall in the open-air space on a first-come, first-served basis. 2) Thatluang market Thatluang market was located near Thatluang temple in Xaisettha, and the total sales area was 10,325m2. The area was a station for long-distance buses from the southern provinces until 2000. The market was managed by national government until 1991, when a Lao manager gained a contract until 2015. There were 28 staff in the management office and 142 porters. In the market, there were 88 permanent stalls and about 370 open-air traders. The traders in the openair space paid 5,000–6,500 kip per day for the same items as in Kuadin. Some of the open-air space was available for both trading and parking without time restrictions, which often caused chaotic situation, especially in the mornings. 3) Sikhai market Sikhai market was located in Sikhottabong district, along the Mekong River. The market had two separate sections. One was mainly for retailing, and permanent stalls occupied the majority of space, although there was a small open-air space for rural traders. Another was mainly for wholesale, with a total area of 8,400m2, including large wholesale stalls and open-air space for rural middlemen. Because it was located near the harbors of the Mekong River, vegetables and fruits from Thailand were commonly seen. The market was established in 1975 and in 1997, management body was changed from district to a Chinese-Lao couple. After signing a 28-year contract, they began to construct buildings for the wholesale section. The traders in the open-air space paid 3,000–5,000 kip per day, depending on the area and equipment. As we can see from the previous section, wholesale markets in Vientiane municipality have some features in common. They have permanent or semi-permanent stalls at one end and, at another end, open-air space for traders from rural areas. The permanent stalls usually operate from late morning to the evening. Vietnamese traders are prominent among those selling cloth, kitchenware, and household appliances in the permanent stalls. In the open-air space, traders operate only in the early morning or the late afternoon. Early-morning operation is usually. .

(10) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. 10. for both wholesaling and retailing, while the late afternoon is generally for retail only. Large markets in Vientiane city have developed for both wholesale and retail, while those in rural districts are for retail. The traders of permanent/semi-permanent stalls in rural markets travel to the wholesale markets in Vientiane city, or they make arrangements by telephone, asking wholesalers to transfer the commodities by hired tuktuk, a motorized, three-wheeled cart. The open-air spaces in the wholesale markets include many traders from rural districts. They buy vegetables or wild food resources, such as river fish and plants, in their village or neighboring villages, then bring them to the market. Small-scale traders carrying basins and baskets with various rural products arrive from suburban villages between 6 and 8 a.m. by bus or mini-bus4. These traders operate both wholesale and retail areas in the open-air space of market. These wholesale markets were operated by national or district governments until the 1990s. After the changeover from government to private sector, the user fees for open-air space increased from 1,500 to 5,500 kip; the new price included security and cleaning fees. Traders in Thatluang markets complained about the increase, and some traders moved to newly established markets with lower use fees. In spite of the higher fees, however, the location and scale of the major wholesale markets still offer advantages for many traders who want to sell quickly and purchase meats and other food at low prices, whether for their home consumption or for retailing in their villages. Attributes of traders in the open-air space of the wholesale markets Table 1 shows ages and gender of traders in Kuadin market, Thatluang market, and Sikhai market. Of 811 traders interviewed, 83% were female, and 17% were male. The male-to-female ratio was higher in Kuadin market, especially among the traders wholesaling vegetables in bulk. The majority (26%) of traders were age 30–39, followed by traders in their 40s and 20s. There were few teenage traders, which suggest that trading is a job chosen after their children had grown, so that they can direct their time from childcare to trading5. About 2% of the traders. Table 1 Attributes of of traders inin wholesale markets inin Vientiane city (2007) Table 1 Attributes traders wholesale markets Vientiane city (2007) Female. Male Total Age TL KD SK Total (%) TL KD SK Total 0-19 3 8 1 12 1 0 4 0 4 20-29 46 88 9 143 18 6 31 0 37 30-39 56 135 21 212 26 9 30 8 47 40-49 63 92 17 172 21 7 23 5 35 50-59 20 56 3 79 10 0 3 0 3 60-69 4 5 0 9 1 1 1 1 3 70-79 4 2 0 6 1 1 0 0 1 N.A. 37 6 0 43 5 4 1 0 5 Total 233 392 51 676 83 28 93 14 135 TL:That Luang market, KD: Kuadin market, SK:Sikhai market (By interview by the authors). Total (%) 0 5 6 4 0 0 0 1 17. Total 16 180 259 207 82 12 7 48 811.

(11) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 11. Tableof 2 Year of participation trading byby traders in wholesale markets in Vientiane in cityVientiane city Table 2 Year participation inintrading traders in wholesale markets Year TL KD SK Total Total (%) ~1969 5 5 3 13 2 1970-1974 1 10 1 12 1 1975-1979 5 13 1 19 2 1980-1984 5 6 1 12 1 1985-1989 16 31 5 52 6 1990-1994 28 37 8 73 9 1995-1999 42 73 13 128 16 2000-2004 105 159 18 282 35 2005䌾 57 148 15 220 27 N.A. 0 2 0 2 0 Total 264 484 65 813 100 TL:That Luang market, KD: Kuadin market, SK:Sikhai market (By interview by the authors). participated in market trading before 1970, while most started after 2000 [Table 2]. The traders who had been in business since the early 1990s, soon after Chintanakan Mai, comprised only 9%. According to the marketplace managers, it was likely that only after 1995, when foreign and domestic investment became visible in Vientiane and the suburbs, did the number of traders increase rapidly in the market. This phenomenon was also observed by managers of some retail markets with open-air space. However, after 2000, as the number of markets with open-air space increased, the number of traders in wholesale markets decreased. In Thongkhankham market, the number has decreased by about half since the late 1990s, and in Thatluang market, the manager observed a decrease of approximately 20%. On the other hand, one retail market in Sisatanak district has seen an increase of traders since 2000, and another observed an increase from 20 to 130 traders from 1996 to 2005. Some market managers cited a comparatively low market fee as the reason for the increase. They claim that the number of traders rapidly increased after the late 1990s, and the subsequent increase of markets gave the newly participating traders a choice of open-air space. Table 3 shows the place of residence of traders in the three markets. Of the traders in open-air spaces in the three markets, 91% came from Vientiane municipality. Of the rest, 4% came from Tourakhom district. The residential pattern shows a concentration of traders in urban districts and two rural districts: Xaithani and Naxaytong. There were more traders in Tourakhom district, at the north of Xaithani, than in other rural districts of Vientiane municipality, which suggests the significance of highway 15 for trading in the city. The traders specializing in trading were mostly from urban districts. The traders from Chanthabouli, Sikhottabong, and Sisattanak had no farmland [Table 4]. On the other hand, about half of the traders in rural districts owned farmland. The size of farmland was often larger than 0.6ha, and those with 2ha were not rare in Hatsayfong and Xaithani. Rural traders generally keep their paddy field for subsistence purposes. Some successful traders purchase additional farmland and employ agricultural labor. Marketing channels Traders in the open-air space of wholesale markets choose commodities based on geographical.

(12) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. 12. TableTable 3 Residence of traders in the wholesale markets (2007) 3 Residence of traders in the wholesale marketsininVientiane Vientiane city city (2007) Province Vientiane Municipality urban. rural. Vientiane Municipality total Vientiane. Xiangkhuang Luangprabang Pakse Others total. District. TL. KD. SK. Total. Chanthabouli Sisattanak Sikhottabong Xaisettha Sangthong Naxaytong Xaithani Hatxayfong Pakngum. 1 1 4 180 0 1 20 35 2 244 12 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 17 3 264. 24 53 79 128 0 9 47 96 1 437 21 8 1 2 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 3 0 41 6 484. 1 0 27 6 15 1 2 9 0 61 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 63. 26 54 110 314 15 11 69 140 3 742 33 9 1 3 2 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 60 9 811. Thoulakhom Phonhong Vang Vieng Vieng Kham Sanakharm Sing Paek Khoang Longsarn N.A. Paklay Pakse Savanh N.A.. Grand total (By interview by the authors). Tableownership 4 Farmland ownership of traders wholesale markets in Vientiane (2007) Table 4 Farmland of traders inin wholesale markets incity Vientiane city (2007). area (ha) Chanthabouly Sikhottabong 0 22 88 0.1-0.5 0 8 0.6-1.0 1 6 1.1-1.5 0 2 1.6-2.0 0 4 2.1-2.5 1 1 2.6-3.0 0 2 3.1-3.5 0 0 3.6-4.0 0 0 4.1-4.5 0 0 4.6-5.0 0 0 5.1-5.5 0 0 5.6-6.0 0 0 6.1-6.5 0 0 6.6-7.0 0 1 n.a. 2 2 Total 26 114 (By interview by the authors). Sisattanak 43 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 51. Hatsayfong 67 25 26 6 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 3 138. Xaisettha 198 37 44 2 9 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 7 305. Xaithani 33 7 14 1 4 2 7 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 72. Naxaithong 5 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 14. Sangtong 4 2 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15. Pakngum 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3. conditions, which form complex marketing channels. There was a great variety of fresh foods in the open-air space in Vientiane, and we divided the traders into three categories according to the commodities they sold: farmed products, both farmed products and wild food resources, and wild food resources only. Figure 3 shows the number of traders for each group of commodities by their residential district. The traders from the four urban districts mostly sold only farmed products,.

(13) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. Sangthong. 13. Xaithani PakNgum Naxaytong. 15.  13. Sikhottabong. 䎯䏈䏊䏈䏑䏇. Xaysettha. Chanthabouli. 䎖䎓䎃䏓䏈䏕䏖䏒䏑䏖. Hadxaifong. Sisattanak. 䎩䏄䏕䏐䏈䏇䎃䏓䏕䏒䏇䏘䏆䏗䏖. 䎔䎓. 䎘. 䎓. 䎔䎓䏎䏐. 䎩䏄䏕䏐䏈䏇䎃䏓䏕䏒䏇䏘䏆䏗䏖䎃䏄䏑䏇䎃䏚䏌䏏䏇䎃䏉䏒䏒䏇䎃䏕䏈䏖䏒䏘䏕䏆䏈䏖䎺䏌䏏䏇䎃䏉䏒䏒䏇䎃䏕䏈䏖䏒䏘䏕䏆䏈䏖䎦䏒䏐䏐䏒䏇䏌䏗䏜䎃䏗䏜䏓䏈䎃䏘䏑䏎䏑䏒䏚䏑. Figure 3 Number of traders in Vientiane wholesale markets by type of commodity (2007)  (By interview by the authors)  such as leafy vegetables and fruit vegetables, which were commonly grown in the village by the Mekong River. The proportion of traders selling wild food resources was greater in Xaysettha districts: a total of 20%. The most common wild food products they sold were plants such as Tiliacora triandra (yanang), Syzygium gratum (phak samek), and Careya arborea (phak kadong). They were sold together with other farmed vegetables, because they were essential ingredients or garnishes for popular Lao dishes such as keng nor mai (bamboo-shoot soup) and marinated meat or fish laap. Of the rural districts, Xaithani district had the greatest proportion of traders selling wild food products (33%), and 23% sold both farmed products and wild food products. The farmed products included garden-grown vegetables, such as red peppers, cucumbers, long beans, and mushrooms6. The wild food products included a variety of plants and animals, such as edible wild flowers, wild mushrooms, wild honey, insects, frogs, fish, snails, etc. Only few traders in the wholesale markets came from the two remote districts, Sangthong and Pakngum. The traders from Sangthong district sold only farmed vegetables, and they were from the villages along the Mekong River. According to our survey of the villages in Sangthong district, however, some traders traveled to several villages and purchased wild food products. They said that they seldom sold their commodities in the wholesale markets unless they obtained enough volume to cover.

(14) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. 14. the market fee. We saw one of those traders selling at the bus station’s morning market, and she mentioned that some of her regular customers were retailers in urban districts. In Pakngum district, we also found several traders purchasing wild food products from the villages, and the villagers reported that some of them commuted to markets in Thailand, crossing the Mekong River. They said that the high cost of transportation prevented them from traveling to the wholesale markets in Vientiane city. Table 5 shows how the traders obtained their commodities on the day of survey. Many traders combined different methods of purchasing; for example, long beans from their own gardens and tomatoes purchased from middlemen. In the table, each choice made by a trader is counted separately7. For the traders from urban districts, purchase from middlemen was the most common choice: 48%, 51%, 64%, and 46% in Chantabouli, Sikhottabong, Sisattanak, and Xaisettha, respectively. In the case of vegetables, these traders either purchased from middlemen who brought the products to the traders’ stalls or visited other market to find cheaper products. Several traders purchased from middlemen from Thailand. The purchase of products from Thailand was more common in the permanent stalls in Kuadin market and Thatluang market, especially for vegetables in the dry season. Table 5 Mode of commodity acquisition by traders in open-air space of wholesale markets in Vientiane (2007) Trader's resident Own Own (district) harvest villager Chanthabouly 4 2 Sisattanak 7 3 Sikhottabong 15 24 Xaisettha 29 69 Sangthong 0 4 Nasaythong 1 4 Xaithani 8 30 Hatsayfong 13 85 Pakngum 0 1 Salakham 0 0 Total 77 222 (By interview by the authors). Other villagers. 6 10 19 103 7 1 27 27 1 1 202. Middleman( Laos) %. 14 39 70 178 6 5 27 48 1 0 388. 48 64 51 46 35 45 29 27 33 0 43. Middleman( Thailand) Unknown. 3 2 7 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 20. 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3. Total. 29 61 136 383 17 11 94 177 3 1 912. In Sikhottabong and Hatsayfong, the districts along the Mekong River, the number of commodity acquired from their own harvest were greater than other districts. In these districts, a vegetable supply area had been developed, where farmers grew products to sell in Kuadin market and Hatsayfong market. There, farmers grew mainly leafy vegetables such as coriander and lettuce. Another major vegetable supply area was in Xaisettha, near the Thatluang wetland, where farmers grew mainly fruit vegetables such as eggplant and tomato. The producers from this area commonly sold their farm products by themselves in Thatluang market and Kuadin market. For the traders from rural districts, the most common source of commodities was the producers/ gatherers in their villages. Few traders from Xaithani district obtained any of their commodities by themselves or from family members. Most commonly, traders purchased both farmed products.

(15) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 15. and wild food resources from producers in their villages in Nasaytong and Xaithani districts. In more remote districts, such as Sangthong, supplies from their own villages were not sufficient for traders to get profit after paying the high cost of transportation to Vientiane. These traders usually purchased from several villages along their routes. This type of purchasing behavior was also seen in the northern part of Xaithani district. Figure 4 summarizes marketing channels developed in the open-air space of wholesale markets in Vientiane city. It should be noted that marketing channels of wild food resources developed in the same open-air space as those of farmed products. In addition, these channels were developed mostly by traders of rural districts. No traders from urban districts were observed traveling to rural village for purchase. This implies that although marketing channels for wild food resources were in competition with channels for other types of fresh food, they still provided job opportunities for small-scale rural traders. In the next section, we examine in more detail traders’ activity and its impact on rural life through a case study of one village in Xaithani district. Specifically, we focus on the traders’ strategies and constraints, as well as sales of wild natural resources in the rural economy. Outside the suburban area Middlema. Producer Rural districts of Vientiane capital Middlema. Producer. Middleman/retailer Urban districts of Vientiane capital Middlema. Producer. Middlema Retailer. Consumer Figure 4 Marketing channels to open-air space of wholesale markets in Vientiane city (2007) Figure 4 Marketing channels(Interview of wholesale markets in Vientiane city (2007) (Itot open-air i b space by th authors) the th ). (Interview by the authors).

(16) Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. 16. Traders’ activity and rural households: a case study of Dong Khwaai village, Xaithani district Strategies and constraints of traders This chapter focuses on one village located within the supply area of wild food resources to examine the relationship between traders’ activities and the rural economy. Dong Khwaai village is located at 20km east of the city of Vientiane. As of 2005, the area of the village was 2,807ha, and the population was 1,319 (261 households). An unpaved road connects to a paved road, leading from the village to Vientiane, about 8km west. The main transportation from the village to Vientiane is a mini-bus, or Lot song thaew, which carries a maximum of 18–20 people. The earliest mini-bus leaves the village at 6:30 a.m. and arrives at Thatluang market at 7:40–8:00 a.m. The time required becomes longer when the road is flooded during the rainy season. In Dong Khwaai village, there were 12 traders who regularly went to market in Vientiane [Table 6]. Except for one trader selling in Kuadin market, the traders sold in Thatluang market every morning. In the rainy season, when fish are abundant, a few additional, temporary traders brought their harvests to the market. Among the regular traders, one trader sold only her husband’s catch, but the others purchased fish and other commodities from people in their village. The commodities they sold included wild food resources, processed products, farmed vegetables, and charcoal, all produced in the village territory [see Nonaka and Ikeguchi 2006 for details].. Table 6 Attributes and start of transaction of traders of Dong Khuwaai village, Xaithani district (2007) no. Started Farm Initial capital (ha) 1 1965 2.0 3000 2 1985 3.0 1000 3 1985 5.6 30,000 4. 1988. 3.5. 5 6 7 8. 1994 1997 1997 2000. 3.0 4.6 2.0 2.1. 9. 2003. 2.0. 10 11. 2004 2005. 3.0 1.9. 12. 2006. 2.0. Minimum quantity needed for a day's selling Sold rice 200,000kip of commodity* Gathered and sold wild 100,000kip-worth of Gathered and sold wild 5kg of frog Husband's income, purchase 5-6kg of fish、12kg 120,000 by credit bambooshoots 300,000 Gathered and sold wild 5-6kg of commodity 250,000 Gathered and sold wild 300,000kip-worth of na Gathered and sold wild 5kg of fish 250,000 Gathered and sold wild 2-3kg of commodity Gathered and sold wild 200,000-300,000kip-worth of None resources commodity 700,000 Gathered and sold wild 500,000kip-worth of None Gathered and sold wild 4-5kg frog and 6-7kg fish Sold pig, income from shop, 100,000-200,000kip-worth of 1,500,000 purchase by credit commodity Means to make initial capital. na: not available * "200,000kip of commodity" means a total purchasing price for the day's commodity (By interview by the authors).

(17) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 17. Of the 12 traders, 8 started their business after the 1990s, some years after Chintanakan Mai, which took place in 1986. According to the traders, the regular service of Lot song thaew from the village to Vientiane city started in 1985. Before that, they had taken their commodities on foot to the neighboring village, about 1km from Dong Khuwaai, to get transportation to the market. This indicates that the development of transportation was not a primary incentive for those started marketing, but it reflected the increase of Lao consumers in Vientiane city. Later, transportation by private sector supported subsequent increase of traders. The trader with the village’s longest career as a middleman started her business in 1978, but she had sold her first harvest in 1965, when she was 12 years old. At that time, trading throughout the year was not common practice, and there were few marketplaces. During the rainy season, she collected bamboo shoots in the morning, then traveled to Talat Leng in Vientiane on Wansin, a Buddhist holiday. On that day, she could excuse herself from farming, giving herself time for trading. Gathering and selling wild resources, such as bamboo shoots, fish, and frogs, was a common means of raising initial capital with which to start purchasing these resources from villagers. Two traders mentioned that they bought products on credit from their relatives during the early stages of their careers, which helped them to accumulate enough capital [no. 6, no. 12]. One trader said that her initial capital came from her 11 children, who worked as gatherers of wild resources, with the older children taking care of the babies [no. 4]. Another trader mentioned her husband’s fishing as an important source of capital for trading [no.2]. These cases indicated that, in addition to their own harvests, kin relationships were an important resource in the early stages of their business, although they saved the profit and then used it to buy products from their relatives and other villagers. Only one trader said that her income from selling rice was a source of initial capital [no.1], which suggested that land ownership was not an essential condition for starting trading. As is often seen in rain-fed paddy producing villages, the ownership of large amounts of land does not in itself guarantee a large harvest, since the condition of the land and availability of labor greatly affect rice production. The traders’ landholdings, including farms, forests, and wetlands, ranged from 1.9ha to 5.6ha. The traders were not totally dependent on trading for their living. They still held paddy fields, an essential property in subsistence economies. The unstable supply of wild resource commodities, whose availability varies greatly with climate, was unlikely to allow them to be fulltime traders. Instead, they chose to stabilize rice production for family consumption by employing agricultural workers. Except for one trader [no. 11], all of them employed workers to transplant rice. All traders reported that competition among them became higher after 2000, when the number of traders participated in marketing increased. When the earliest trader started her business in 1965, the major commodities were lotus seeds, bamboo shoots, frogs, and snakehead fish; selling other kinds of live fish was not common. Another trader, who started trading in 1985, mentioned that crab and wild plants from paddy fields were not marketable commodities until 2000. The variety of wild food resources for sale increased after 2000, when the demand for valuable.

(18) 18. Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. products such as fish, shrimp, and frogs increased. Some traders in our survey waited for the gatherers of wild food resources at the edge of the settlement, on the path from the forest to the houses, in order to purchase the commodities before other traders. For high-value commodities such as fish, frogs, and shrimp, visiting the gatherers’ houses became common among the traders. They did not refuse to purchase any of the gatherers’ lower-value commodities, because the same people provided high-value commodities on other occasions. In order to reduce the business risk associated with commodities of varying profitability, they tried to secure some products of higher value, even in small quantities. Traders needed to secure the minimum quantity of commodities to make a profit after paying transportation cost and market fees. If they did not have enough quantity, they stayed home and waited to make the trip. Transportation cost from Dong Khwaai village to the city was 30,000 kip roundtrip, plus an additional fee if traders had large bags of bamboo shoots, charcoal, etc. In the markets, they were charged 5,000 to 6,000 kip per day for the space, cleaning fee, tax, etc. The minimum quantity of commodity they need to purchase to make a trip, which was most commonly reported by traders, was about 100,000 kip per day in purchased price. The mean value of the actually purchased ranged from 200,000 kip to 300,000 kip. Half of the traders reported the minimum requirement in type of commodity, noting the importance of snakehead fish, frogs, and bamboo shoots in rainy season, all of which bring high profits. For example, trader no. 9 purchased frogs for 15,000 kip per kg from a villager, and sold them in market for 20,000 kip on a day during the rainy season. She also bought products of lower market value, such as crab (buying for 2,000 kip/kg, selling for 3,000 kip/kg). From these products, she made a total profit of about 150,000 kip in one day. There was a rapid rise in the price of wild fish and frogs after 2000. One reason is that in the market in Vientiane, wild fish and plants are considered healthy delicacies, compared with farmed resources, of which the supply is now increasing. In the market in Vientiane, more vegetables are now supplied by remote areas, including Thailand and Vietnam, but the traders from suburban districts could keep their competitive edge thanks to the wild food resources they supply. In the following section, we will examine how villagers arranged their household economies in response to the activity of traders in Dong Khwaai village. The role of marketing wild food resources in the village economy In Dong Khwaai village, 99% of the population is ethnic Lao, and 95% of the households own their farmland and cultivate rain-fed paddy mainly for their own consumption. Oral history tells us that the villagers have processed salt to exchange for rice and vegetables since the settlement of the village in the 1700s. Barter of shrimp and salted fish for rice with neighboring villages had been practiced by some villagers since at least the early 1900s. However, most people agree that selling wild resources to traders became common practice only after the 1990s. Table 7 shows cash income from wild resources in comparison with farming and wage work. In the village, 24.7% of households sold rice in 2005, but the average cash income from rice per household was the lowest of all income sources. The villagers do not aim to produce rice for.

(19) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 19. Table 7 Income source of Dong Khuwaai village, Xaithani district (2005) (N=255) Type of commodity. Wild natural resources Fisheries resources Bamboo shoots and mushrooms Insects Charcoal and firewood Wild leaves Salt Farming and wage work Wage work Animal husbandary Vegetable from garden Rice. Total cash income of village. Engaged households. kip/month*. Number. %. Average cash income per household kip/month*. 56,701,727 36,679,000 19,051,400 14,886,000 2,789,000 3,095,000. 203 197 120 59 39 30. 79.6 77.3 47.1 23.1 15.3 11.8. 279,319 186,188 158,762 252,305 71,513 103,167. 54,637,642 17,347,807 2,056,000 3,347,826. 186 149 7 63. 72.9 58.4 2.7 24.7. 300,207 116,428 293,714 57,721. * The monthly income was calculated for the months people were actually engaged in the activities. (By interview by the authors). cash, but they sell rice if enough remains after meeting the self-consumption. Garden vegetables include chili peppers, long beans, and cucumbers. Gardens benefit the household; however, there is a limit to how many family members can engage in garden work. The major reason why only limited number of households can be engaged in garden work is the lack of access to water. The villagers usually set up their garden in their rice field during dry season, and only if the garden is close enough to a well or the river villagers can grow marketable quantities of vegetables. Two other activities, animal husbandry and wage work, are more reliable sources of income than wild natural resources. Cattle and buffalo are especially important property, which can be sold to pay for medical needs, weddings, home repairs, the purchase of machinery, and so on. Recently, opportunities for wage work have rapidly increased; however, the major place of work is not Vientiane city or Thailand. Among 344 persons engaged in wage work, 48% (166 persons) work in Dong Khwaai village in agriculture, such as transplanting and harvesting of rice or wood sawing; 26% (91 persons) work in other villages in Vientiane municipality, and 14% (47 persons) work in Thailand. Although the village is accessible to the labor market in Vientiane city and some cities in Thailand, the wage amounts are comparable, or sometimes lower than, the monthly income from wild resources [Nishimura et al. 2008]. In terms of accessibility, wild food resources are still a reliable source of income for villagers. Fish and other aquatic resources are a common property, as mentioned earlier, from which 79.6% of households obtained cash income in 2005. The most active season is August to October, when water from the Mekong River rises to four or five meters. During this season, large areas are inundated and provide fishing grounds for various fishing methods [Ikeguchi and Nonaka 2008]. The diversity of fishing methods enables the villagers catch certain aquatic resources even in dry.

(20) 20. Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. season. Bamboo shoots and mushrooms are gathered mainly in May to July, and from October to March in the case of insect. Charcoal and firewood production are major activities in the dry season, but due to the recent increasing demand in urban areas, some households produce them in the wet season as well. Both parents and children participate in different gathering activities by season. As we can see, marketing of wild food resources provides village people with a reliable source of income throughout the year. However, it also increases harvest pressure on existing resources. For instance, there were some technological changes in the way frogs and fish are caught after people began harvesting for sales. Before 1990, the most common means of catching frogs was by hand, using a torch in the evenings. After 1990, two technologies became common. One was the frog trap, and the other was the hook and line. Villagers set 30–40 tools for the former and 50– 200 tools for the latter over large wetland areas. According to some villagers, the number of tools used has increased, and catching grounds have extended. Such technological changes have also occurred in other fishing activities. On the other hand, there have been some attempts for resource conservation in the village. The village designated a small river as a fish conservation area in 1975 and prohibits fishing during the rainy season8. This seasonal sanctuary has more significant role after marketing of fish increased. They also accepted state regulations of the use of some fishing gears and hunting some species of animals. The effectiveness of these measures needs to be examined in future studies.. Expanding market channels and sustainable rural development The Vientiane Plain, a hinterland of the capital of Laos, has long been considered as a rice growing region to support the growing urban population. Economic renovation of the country was thought to bring modernization and intensification of agriculture to produce high-value products, which is commonly seen in suburban areas in other capital cities in Southeast Asia. Actually observed, however, was not only supply of garden-grown vegetable from suburb, but also the supply of wild food resources such as frog, cricket, and mushrooms with urban consumers. Wild food marketing has a potential to give multiple option for cash income of both trader and gatherers in rural village, but what spatial structure and trader-gatherer linkage enable sustainable use of wild food resources has not been paid full attention. In this chapter, we would like to discuss spatial structure of wild food marketing channel, and its role in sustainable rural development of the Vientiane Plain. Compared with the large capital cities of neighboring countries with high population densities in their hinterlands, population flow into Vientiane city was large enough to form so many informal work places, such as street markets. An increase of small-scale traders was seen only after the late 1990s. Although more suburban people started to look for jobs in the city after 2000, there has not been serious population pressure, at least in the rural districts of Vientiane. The majority of people in rural districts still secure their food from subsistence activities, and.

(21) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 21. engagement with wage work or commercial activities play a supplementary role. Another relevant aspect of regional history is how a long “disconnected” urban-rural relationship, which was shaped by urban policy and lasted until Chintanakan Mai, conditioned the space for trading activity in the city. The relocation of a substantial number of the urban population since the 19th century, accompanied by the domination by foreign population after the French occupation, allowed little opportunity for the transaction of wild food resources specific to the Lao diet, except for lotus seeds, fish, and frogs, which were also popular among the Chinese and Vietnamese. Under the socialist urban policy from 1975 to 1986, although food sale in Talat Sao was prohibited, control of commercial activities was not as strict as in Vietnamese cities, and traders could continue their business by moving to bus stops or other markets. Therefore, it is considered that the small number of traders before 1990’s was attributed not to the socialist trade policy, but primarily to the low purchasing power of Lao consumers in Vientiane city. After 1990’s, development of transportation from rural districts and increase of marketplace with openair space, both of which were promoted by participation of private sector, supported subsequent increase of small scale traders from rural districts. Although open-air space in the marketplace is commonly seen in other countries, the one in Vientiane city is unique as the city lacks street markets, and open-air space is the only selling space which is provided in low user fee for smallscale traders. The role of open-air space in marketplaces in Vientiane city in sustainable development can be examined from several viewpoints. First, it provides opportunities to newly participating small-scale traders from rural districts, most of whom are female traders with small capital. The survey results showed that larger-scale trading involved more male traders, a phenomenon that has also been reported in other cities in Southeast Asia, such as Jakarta and Hanoi [Murrey 1991; Ikeguchi 2002]. Further studies are needed to understand the social background of this phenomenon, which implies that commercial activity is considered “woman’s job” as long as it is small in scale. Second, it seems that these small-scale traders from rural districts keep their competitive status by selling wild food products that fetch high prices, as well as by the flexible nature of their business; open-air space in the marketplace is low cost and available for use on a daily basis. The supply of wild food products fluctuates greatly according to season, labor availability, and social events such as Buddhist holidays. The traders often stay in their village until they have enough commodities to cover the cost of transportation and market fees. Such flexible behavior of traders is possible because they keep their paddy fields, the basis of subsistence life, rather than being full-time trader. Third, marketing channels developing in the suburban rural districts have commoditized various wild food resources, which potentially increases their value. A case study in a village in Xaithani district suggested that rice and vegetable production, which the government aims to increase, have not grown large enough to support the rural household, even with the urban economic growth since Chintanakan Mai. What actually happened was that wild natural resources became a reliable income source for the majority of households in the village..

(22) 22. Ikeguchi, A. and Onsy, S.. Especially after 2000, when competition among traders became high, various types of wild food resources became commoditized. Considering the lack of stability of both wage work in factories and modern agricultural production in competition with Thailand and Vietnam, the marketing of wild food resources should be considered an important option for sustainable rural development. Here, some issues should be addressed in order to consider the role of marketing in longterm sustainability. One of these issues is how an equitable relationship between traders and gatherers/producers can be maintained. It is often considered that traders are exploitative, and they hinder the profit and wealth of farmers. Such inquiry needs understanding of regional difference which conditions transaction relationships. Regarding the relationship between a trader and producers or gatherers from two remote areas or different ethnic groups – a common type of relationship in non-timber forest products trade in mountainous areas – the exploitation of profit by a trader is more likely to occur. On the other hand, the transaction relationships that have developed in suburbs of Vientiane after the 1990s are based on relationships with people in the same village or neighboring villages. Loss of trust relationship affects not only trader’ s business, but also their social life in the village. Also, the farmers and gatherers have better access to information of market price in the city. Exploitative behavior of traders is more likely to be sanctioned by the villagers, and traders try to keep trust relationship with villagers. Thus, price gap between city and the suburb villages should be carefully examined from standpoint not only of farmer/gatherer, but also of trader. In case of Dong Khwaai village, the farmers and gatherers had access to information of market price in Vientiane city through their relatives, neighbors and trip by themselves. Debt relationship between a trader and a farmer/gatherer, which is often found in exploitative relationship, was not observed in the village. Still, there were some cases that the villagers view traders with suspicion. To obtain the minimum quantity of products, taking into account the increasing transportation and market operation costs, the traders scramble for highly profitable commodities, while buying every product the villagers bring in order to maintain the transaction relationship. As a result, the traders offer a lower buying price, while the villagers, who have access to price information in the market in Vientiane, see the growing gap between market price and buying price in the village. Besides, some successful traders accumulated capital in form of land and pond, which is becoming high-priced real estate especially in suburban areas. In the village where majority of people are subsistence farmers, it could be one important factor which leads to distrust of traders by villagers. Another issue is how to maintain wild food resources for sustainable use. As we mentioned in the case of frog harvesting, marketing has promoted technological change. Frogs that were caught by hand in the 1970s are now caught by traps set over larger areas, suggesting a trend of resource depletion. More problematic is the damage to the habitats of wild organisms, due to contamination by chemicals, drastic changes in hydrological conditions, and deforestation. In the village we surveyed, a significant area of farmland has been sold to urban dwellers whose plan for land use is unknown. The ongoing sale of land, observed especially in suburban Vientiane, should be carefully examined for its impact on wild food resources, in view of protecting those resources for sustainable rural development..

(23) Marketing channels for wild food resources and their role in sustainable rural development. 23. Conclusion This paper described marketing channels developed between major wholesale markets in Vientiane city and rural districts. It identified four types of marketing channels for farmed products and wild food resources in open-air space in markets. One of them is the marketing channel for wild food resources developed between Vientiane city and rural districts such as Naxaytong, Hatsayfong, and Xaithani districts. Commoditization of wild food resources through such marketing channels created a significant income source for rural villages. However, further investigation into marketing activities of small-scale traders in rural villages, under pressure from the increasing cost of transportation and marketplace use, as well as the impact of real estate development in suburban villages, is needed to assess future options. In order to pursue sustainable development of this region, multiple income sources should be secured, and conditions which supported these sources should be understood by policy makers. Marketing channels of wild food resources by small-scale traders have survived, even after marketing channels of imported fresh foods developed. One of the conditions to its development is flexible nature of purchase by the village traders; the traders, who also keep their subsistence life, can wait for the commodity when the harvest is low. Such traders are mostly female with small capital, who has not been considered as legitimate actor in commercial development. Therefore, the environment supporting their activities should be paid careful attention. One of them is open-air space in the marketplace, and another is the habitat for wild food resources. These two places should be considered as closely linked spaces, which have given opportunity with local people for unique way of adaptation to Laos’ commercialization. Acknowledgements We are grateful to National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute of Laos (NAFRI), Department of Geography, National University of Laos (NUOL), and people of Dong Khwaai village for their kind support. This study was partly funded by Kakenhi (1825101201, 2032012701) and Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN). Note 1 Except that Pathet Lao checked buses and luggage when traders entered the city. 2 Some marketplace along the highway attracted not only consumers around the market, but also those came from Vientiane city. Those from the city come to the market by luxury cars, and their main purpose is to purchase fresh wild food such as insects, wild mushrooms, etc. Such touristic consumer behavior may reflect growth of middle class in Vientiane city. 3 The authors observed some peddlers on streets in the city, but they usually sold alone, pulling a wagon loaded with vegetable and fish. 4 In Vientiane city, vegetables from distant production areas arrive at large wholesale markets in the city by truck at 4–5 a.m..

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