Socio-economic drivers of coexistence of landraces and modern crop varieties in agro-biodiversity rich Yunnan rice fields

This paper investigates a situation of coexistence of landraces and modern crop varieties for market-oriented production in the Yunnan rice fields in China. Through a fieldwork survey of an experiment by the government with the introduction of modem varieties in traditional villages, the paper shows that landraces and modem crop varieties can co-exist. The analysis shows that the major features that play a role in the choices made by the individual farmers between modern crop varieties and landraces are not the agronomic conditions, although they certainly play a role, but economic and social drivers. The results of the analysis allows a better understanding of the distinct socio-economic drivers and impacts of each of the production systems. The latter can provide insights for policy strategies aimed at promoting agrobiodiversity rich landscapes in situations of coexistence of heterogeneous socio-technical production systems.