Organic Crops or Energy Crops? Options for Rural Development in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Using the cases of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the Lao PDR) and Cambodia, this chapter compares the two options for the development of organic agriculture and biofuel with respect to a set of development goals—the focus of which includes not only the narrow economic benefit to the farmers, but also their impact on health, poverty reduction, the environment, and sustainable development overall. There is considerable interest in both these farming enterprises in the two countries, and the public and private sectors are already engaged in a range of activities related to them.