Over the past two decades, the Mekong region has experienced significant transformation of its agricultural sector from subsistence farming to export crops driven by the expansion of agricultural land and of irrigation, plus intensification thanks to mechanization and the use of chemical inputs. In the context of agrarian transition, maintaining “organic by default” rice farming systems that do not rely on chemical inputs, is challenging.

Based on a case study in Preah Vihear, the organic province of Cambodia, this paper examines whether organic rice certification can maintain “organic by default” practices in a context of unprecedented agricultural intensification.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The role of organic rice was analyzed in five co-existing rice-based farming systems.

• Organic rice is threatened by intensified production in lowland areas.

• Other lock-in factors in upland areas jeopardize the cultivation of “organic by default” rice.

• Organic certification is complex, hence the progressive abandonment of organic rice.