Agent Orange and Rural Development in Post-war Vietnam
Local dramaOur approachPuzzlesNotesI Rural life in changing VietnamTransformation of Vietnam and its farmersWar and societyGeneva Accord and the aftermathState and societyFarmers in “changing” VietnamThe problem: farmers’ perception of risksNotesDevelopment, agriculture, and farmersRole of agriculture in Vietnam’s economic developmentPost-Do/ Moi developmentDoi Moi: changing policiesThe night before Doi MoiThe search for a way outDoi Moi and beyondAgriculture in Vietnam: a closer lookCollectivization of agriculture before 1975 - socialist or wartime demands?Collectivization in Vietnam after 1975: continuation and resistanceA shift from the cooperatives to the farming householdMixed blessings: commercialization of agricultureNotesAgent Orange and its impact on Vietnamese farmers: A distant legacyRural Vietnam, the war, and Agent OrangeWar and Agent OrangeAgent Orange after the warFamilies of Agent Orange victimsLivelihoodWhere they live mattersAgent Orange “victims” as they see themselvesFinancing disabled childrenTime as a scarce and unstable resourceSocial stigmaHopeA threat too far: confrontations with Agent OrangeAgent Orange victims are “rare” incidentsAgent Orange as a distant legacyNotesFarmers in Post-Dö/ Moi VietnamPhu Cat, Binh Dinh Province, VietnamPhu Cat: a farming countryNui Ba MountainsLand and the farmers: farming as a way of lifeAdditional resources: the “Auction” landAdditional resources: the forestlandGuard against the uncertainties or fear of lossesStarting “way of life”Exceptions to the rule or new breedsPhu Cat: home of AO victims and agrochemicalsWar legacyChemicals and health: muted guardEvidence of risksFarmers in Phu Cat: a summaryNotesII Farmers’ choices and behaviourHealth and elusive risksHealth and risksElusive healthElusive risksRisks in division of labourLost risksRisks as presentedRisks in life: Phu Cat’s farmersAgent Orange impacts as isolated incidentsAgent Orange as an irrelevant lessonAgent Orange as irrelevant evidenceNotesHealth and the farmers: Whose responsibility counts?Health for the peopleHealth by the peopleResponsibility as an individual sees itFarmers’ responsibility“Individualized” responsibility as practisedFarmers as decision-makersCost of choicesDecision-makers in action: Phu Cat’s farmersDecision-makers in action: Agent Orange victims’ familiesA Missing linkNotesFarmers’ logic: Loss aversionRisks as they see themMaking sense: loss aversionLosses as they see them: the Agent Orange victims’familiesLosses as they see them: the farmersLosses as they see them: Pre-Doi Moi farmersChanges for enduring farmersNotesSeed for action, seed for changeHealth: paternalistic and public responsibilitySeed for actionSeedbed for actionSeed for action: reversing the recipeNotesBibliography
