Upland agricultural systems are rapidly transitioning from traditional shifting cultivation to more commercialized agriculture, i.e. annual cash crop cultivation – a trend widely observed in the uplands of Northern Lao P.D.R. and with consequences to household livelihood strategies at the village-level. The main objective of this study was to compare village and household socioeconomic standings of two upland agricultural systems varying in degree of commercialization in Northern Lao P.D.R.: i) Navene, a village with a relatively recent introduction (2010) of the cash crop, fodder maize, where it is cultivated extensively with no added external inputs or mechanization and ii) Ko Ngiaw, where cultivation was introduced in 2004 and fodder maize is now successively cultivated on ploughed upland fields with herbicide application. Participatory mapping, household surveys (during planting and harvesting), farmer activity books and ranking exercises were conducted to collect data on village and household resources, crop production (upland rice, paddy rice and maize), labour productivity (maize) and general perspectives on commercial agriculture. We show both infrastructure development and accessibility (market access, support and services) are important underlying drivers of the commercialization of agriculture in upland areas. This leads to a transition of upland livelihoods towards market–orientation, with implications to household demographics, socioeconomic standings and income portfolios. Results capture how market integration progressively decouples livelihood strategies from the ‘land’, exposing households to market volatilizations, indebtedness and socio-cultural losses. Food security is no longer perceived from a ‘producer’s’ standpoint but from a ‘consumer’s’ as commercialized upland households are more dependent on markets for their food supply. We conclude that proper services, support and access to i.e. markets or non-farm employment in conjunction with infrastructure development should be prioritized if upland households are to transition towards commercialized agriculture equally and with minimal risk to their livelihood security.

旱地农业系统正在迅速从传统的轮作种植过渡到更商业化的农业，即年度经济作物种植-在老挝北部山区普遍观察到这一趋势，并影响了村庄一级的家庭生计策略。这项研究的主要目的是比较北老挝北部两个商业化程度不同的旱地农业系统的村庄和家庭社会经济状况：i）Navene，一个相对较新引入的经济作物（2010年），饲料玉米，它在没有附加外部投入或机械化的情况下进行了广泛的种植，并且ii）克涅贾（Ko Ngiaw）（于2004年开始种植），如今已在除草剂耕作的旱地田地上连续种植了饲料玉米。参与式映射 进行了家庭调查（在种植和收割期间），农民活动手册和排名练习，以收集有关村庄和家庭资源，农作物产量（旱稻，水稻和玉米），劳动生产率（玉米）以及对商业农业的一般看法的数据。我们证明基础设施的发展和可及性（市场准入，支持和服务）是高地地区农业商业化的重要基础。这导致高地生计向市场导向的转变，对家庭人口统计，社会经济地位和收入组合产生了影响。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“ 进行了农民活动书和排名练习，以收集有关村庄和家庭资源，作物产量（旱稻，水稻和玉米），劳动生产率（玉米）以及关于商业农业的一般观点的数据。我们表明基础设施的发展和可及性（市场准入，支持和服务）是高地地区农业商业化的重要基础。这导致高地生计向市场导向的转变，对家庭人口统计，社会经济地位和收入组合产生了影响。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“ 进行了农民活动书和排名练习，以收集有关村庄和家庭资源，作物产量（旱稻，水稻和玉米），劳动生产率（玉米）以及关于商业农业的一般观点的数据。我们表明基础设施的发展和可及性（市场准入，支持和服务）是高地地区农业商业化的重要基础。这导致高地生计向市场导向的转变，对家庭人口统计，社会经济地位和收入组合产生了影响。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“ 劳动生产率（玉米）和对商业农业的一般看法。我们证明基础设施的发展和可及性（市场准入，支持和服务）是高地地区农业商业化的重要基础。这导致高地生计向市场导向的转变，对家庭人口统计，社会经济地位和收入组合产生影响。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“ 劳动生产率（玉米）和对商业农业的一般看法。我们证明基础设施的发展和可及性（市场准入，支持和服务）是高地地区农业商业化的重要基础。这导致高地生计向市场导向的转变，对家庭人口统计，社会经济地位和收入组合产生了影响。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“ 社会经济地位和收入组合。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“ 社会经济地位和收入组合。结果表明，市场整合如何逐步将生计策略与“土地”，使家庭面临市场动荡，债务和社会文化损失。不再从“生产者”的角度看待粮食安全，而是从“消费者”的角度看待，因为商业化的旱地家庭更加依赖于市场来供应食物。我们得出的结论是，如果高地家庭要平等地向商业化农业过渡，并且其生计安全风险降至最低，则应优先考虑提供适当的服务，支持和获得市场或非农业就业以及基础设施发展的机会。