Rapid globalization and road development have affected rural livelihoods in montane mainland Southeast Asia. This study investigated livelihood dynamics and strategies over a 20-year period in four villages, based on criteria such as ethnic groups, livelihoods and accessibility. The study took place in Sone District, Houaphan Province, Laos, near the border with Vietnam. Results showed that livelihoods changed substantially over the 20 years. Local people maintained a level of subsistence agriculture and reclaimed new paddy fields. Although the influence of global markets increased throughout the period, change accelerated with the large-scale paving of roads. Local people started to collect and commercialize new non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and traditional tree crops, as well as cultivating new cash crops and wild plants. They used their opportunities flexibly even after a sharp drop in the price of some cash crops. To adapt to globalization influences, these people combined their various livelihood activities. Het daeng, a species of mushroom (Russula sp.), contributed the most as an income source and other NTFPs contributed to both total household income and income diversity, especially in villages with poor accessibility, which were more sensitive to price fluctuations in commercial commodities than those with better accessibility. Livestock were also important to local people for both income stability and asset enhancement. Their ability to adapt flexibly mainly came from goods provided by agricultural and forest ecosystems. These are important for progressive income diversification in this area.

Demands for rice is increasing in West Africa, however, average yields are low, especially in the rainfed systems where the majority of the rice is cultivated. To understand the causes of low yield and appropriate managements for farmers, we conducted farmers’ interviews and a yield survey regarding sowing dates in Central Benin during 2015–2016. The interview results showed that rice yields positively corresponded with the seasonal rainfall, however, large yield variations were seen between farmers. We found that low-yield farmers (LYF, < 2 t ha^-1) significantly reduced their rice areas in comparison to high-yield farmers (HYF, ≥ 2 t ha^-1), especially after a dry cropping season. LYFs sowed rice and other crops at a significantly later date than HYFs. The yield survey results showed that sowing rice 3–6 weeks earlier than the average sowing date significantly increased yields for both farmer groups, due to higher soil moistures and terminal drought escape. The low yield in the LYF field was explained by low soil moisture content, delayed heading, reduced number of spikelets (m^-2) and low filled grain percentage. Cultivating rice on fields with high soil moisture is a prerequisite for high and stable yields in the rainfed systems. However, as yields of around 2 t ha^-1 were achieved on the LYF field by early sowing, the optimization of sowing dates could be considered as an effective method for increasing production and rice areas in the rainfed systems.

The export of Cambodian milled rice to the international market has been increasing in volume remarkably. Consumer demands for rice in terms of cooking and eating quality are different from country to county. To contribute to the promotion of Cambodian rice exports, evidence-based information about rice quality is very important. This study aims to compare the quality of eight rice samples including six different indica lowland rice varieties from different producers/suppliers in Cambodia. Some sensing equipment analyzers such as a grain scanner (image-processing device), a rice taste analyzer for white rice, and a taste analyzer unit for cooked rice that measures freshness, hardness, and stickiness using a near-infrared transmission sensor were employed with conventional chemical analyses. The percentage of head rice as analyzed by the grain scanner was over 70% in all samples, and they were evaluated as being a higher grade according to the Cambodian standard (≧ 60%). Although the analyzers were developed originally for temperate japonica, short-grain rice varieties, the taste mark detected by the analyzer for white rice showed a negative relationship with the protein and amylose content in white rice. The taste value detected by the analyzer unit for cooked rice showed a highly negative relationship with the nitrogen concentration in white rice and a highly positive relationship with the carbon/nitrogen concentration ratio—the C/N ratio—in white rice and the stickiness/hardness ratio in cooked rice.

Expanding tractor use was expected to strengthen agriculture and improve welfare in rural African areas. However, there were various discussions on introducing tractors to African agriculture. Although some studies pointed out that introducing tractors caused increases in agricultural productivity and farmer’s income, others indicated that the costs of using or maintaining tractors were expensive for local farmers and caused them economic burdens. This study aimed to grasp the dynamics of the tractor-hiring service in rural Tanzanian areas. Data related to hiring tractor services and farmer management were collected through interviews with local farmers and tractor owners in one of Tanzania’s rice-producing areas for 17 years. The results showed an increase in the number of tractors and decrease in the study area’s tractor-hiring charges. Additionally, the cost for rice cultivation also decreased. Furthermore, among some farmers, increases in the average farm size per household as well as the average income were noted. However, other farmers did not increase their farm sizes and did not receive benefits from sufficiently promoting tractorization.