Abstract
Everyday farmers in upland Laos negotiate and strategize a sea of constraints to try to feed their families. Through the use of ranking, participant observation, and semi‐structured interviews, this article examines farmer decision‐making environments in Northern Lao PDR where the political ecology of the country greatly undermines development efforts on every level. Government agendas limit farmer access to land while development projects and corruption exploit upland resources. Laos' historically embedded system of patronage and socio‐ethnic hierarchy benefit the rich at the expense of the rural, ethnic minority poor. Work culture, ethnic background, gender, and stakeholder interests influence crop preferences and farming patterns. Farmers consider geography, physical environment, lack of infrastructure, and market access. Though a state‐sanctioned agricultural transition from subsistence to cash crop farming is under way, the state's commitment to this development scheme is in question.