Abstract
In response to the mounting pressure for the control of illicit drugs, the govemment of Lao PDR has implemented policies to eliminate the production of opium by upland farmers by the year 2000. This study suggests that the substitution of opium as a cash crop is only pos sible if specific alternative uses to women's labor are found. This study shows that wonwn's almost exclusive participation in small livestock makes it a viable alternative. Unlike the gender-specific market benefits accruing from opium cultivation, women's involvement in livestock production has the potential to restructure gender relations by giving women subs tantial control over the economic resources generated. However, women's productivity is constrained by their lack of access to extension senices, credit and labor-saving techno logy. The delivery of improved technology and management systems directly to women would have far-reaching implications not only for productivity, efficiency and family wel fare, but also for the empowerment of women in the Hmong patriarchal household and community.
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