purchasers, and in fact, all personal contact between the representatives of the
Hmong processing and marketing network and private companies was organized
by staff from the Uplands Program.
The central role of the Uplands Program in establishing this complex, multistakeholder partnership structure; however, raises questions over the long-term
sustainability of the network and the replicability of this approach in other marginal
areas of northern Thailand and the wider region, as the trade of local fresh litchi
through the hypermarket chain is likely to continue after the withdrawal of the
researchers, a fact confirmed in a statement by one of the group leaders at a meeting
of the network. Moreover, the success of one farmer in terms of exporting highquality fresh litchi through the Thai export company in 2011 will probably enhance
the motivation levels of other orchard owners who wish to comply with the Global
GAP standards and so be eligible for exporting their fresh produce.
9.5.3 Conclusions
Our study of the litchi processing and marketing network in northern Thailand
suggests that public investments in agricultural research aimed at sustainable land
use and rural development in the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia will need
to move from the financing of piecemeal research and technology developments, to
building long-term interactive knowledge partnerships and innovation networks
that include farmers, scientists, extension services, NGOs, industries and actors in
other knowledge domains. Such multi-stakeholder partnerships will need to build
on the comparative advantages of each stakeholder group and provide spaces for
negotiating research priorities and research processes in a more equitable way, and
with the awareness that there are possible trade-offs between the interests of various
actors that need to be balanced as part of the process.
Acknowledgments We would like to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for
funding this research project under the Collaborative Research Program entitled ‘Sustainable Land
Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia’ (The Uplands Program –
SFB 564). Also the co-funding of the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) is acknowledged. We are grateful for the helpful comments of Manfred Zeller and Ulfert Focken, Gary
Morrison for reading through the English, and Peter Elstner for helping with the layout. We are
particularly indebted to the farmers and other local stakeholders who participated in the project, for
their active involvement during the research activities.
Open Access. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Non-commercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
360
A. Neef et al.
Hmong processing and marketing network and private companies was organized
by staff from the Uplands Program.
The central role of the Uplands Program in establishing this complex, multistakeholder partnership structure; however, raises questions over the long-term
sustainability of the network and the replicability of this approach in other marginal
areas of northern Thailand and the wider region, as the trade of local fresh litchi
through the hypermarket chain is likely to continue after the withdrawal of the
researchers, a fact confirmed in a statement by one of the group leaders at a meeting
of the network. Moreover, the success of one farmer in terms of exporting highquality fresh litchi through the Thai export company in 2011 will probably enhance
the motivation levels of other orchard owners who wish to comply with the Global
GAP standards and so be eligible for exporting their fresh produce.
9.5.3 Conclusions
Our study of the litchi processing and marketing network in northern Thailand
suggests that public investments in agricultural research aimed at sustainable land
use and rural development in the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia will need
to move from the financing of piecemeal research and technology developments, to
building long-term interactive knowledge partnerships and innovation networks
that include farmers, scientists, extension services, NGOs, industries and actors in
other knowledge domains. Such multi-stakeholder partnerships will need to build
on the comparative advantages of each stakeholder group and provide spaces for
negotiating research priorities and research processes in a more equitable way, and
with the awareness that there are possible trade-offs between the interests of various
actors that need to be balanced as part of the process.
Acknowledgments We would like to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for
funding this research project under the Collaborative Research Program entitled ‘Sustainable Land
Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia’ (The Uplands Program –
SFB 564). Also the co-funding of the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) is acknowledged. We are grateful for the helpful comments of Manfred Zeller and Ulfert Focken, Gary
Morrison for reading through the English, and Peter Elstner for helping with the layout. We are
particularly indebted to the farmers and other local stakeholders who participated in the project, for
their active involvement during the research activities.
Open Access. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Non-commercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
360
A. Neef et al.