Beyond the boom-bust cycle: An interdisciplinary framework for analysing crop booms

Jean-Christophe Castella, Juliet Lu, Cecilie Friis*, Thilde Bech Bruun, Robert Cole, Victoria Junquera, Miles Kenney-Lazar, Sango Mahanty, Christine Ornetsmüller, Pin Pravalprukskul, Isabelle Vagneron

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)
    26 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The expansion of commercial agriculture is one of the primary drivers of livelihood and land-use changes in the world. Globalisation and other factors have intensified this expansion to the point where booms in single cash crops overtake entire regions before going bust, a pattern that is particularly pervasive in resource frontiers. Using case studies across the Mekong Region, a place which serves as a harbinger for crop booms globally, we propose a new analytical framework for understanding and governing crop booms. We combine multiple theoretical approaches to study crop booms and draw on insights from case study work conducted across temporal and spatial scales. The framework consists of three components: 1) the nested nature of crop boom-bust trajectories, 2) the cyclical spatial and temporal patterns of crop booms, and 3) the variegated pathways and impacts of agrarian change. The framework presents new insights into the processes of agricultural intensification in frontier spaces. As such, it facilitates a better understanding of the drivers, characteristics and impacts of crop booms for researchers and decision-makers alike with the intention of supporting efforts to develop more sustainable pathways in the region and beyond.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number102651
    JournalGlobal Environmental Change
    Volume80
    Number of pages18
    ISSN0959-3780
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2023

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2023 The Author(s)

    Keywords

    • Conceptual framework
    • Crop boom cycles
    • Governance
    • Mekong Region
    • Nested scales
    • Variegated pathways

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