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Production, Consumption, and Culture of Upland Rice in Swiddens: a Case Study of a campesino Community in Panama

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Abstract

Although livelihoods in rural Panama have changed significantly in recent times, and purchasing rice has become common, swidden rice cultivation has continued. I explore small-scale farmers’ preferences regarding swidden rice production and consumption in a campesino community through semi-structured interviews with 55 households and participant observation of food production and consumption. The rice farmers cultivated an average of 6,217 m2 of swidden and harvested 344 kg of unhulled rice per year. With decreasing rice production and poor economic efficiency, people enjoy the particular taste of swidden rice, arroz nuevo, and colored rice, which symbolizes the cultural identity, tradition, and dignity of rural life.

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Notes

  1. In this study, a “landholder” is an individual who has a land title or possessory title. However, in cases where land was divided among children or sold to others without registration but the villagers recognize the new owner, she/he is also referred to as “landholder” despite lacking legal ownership.

  2. It is believed that some people have gracia (grace), and if they aid in planting, the harvest will be fruitful; hence, such a person is often invited to the planting.

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Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to all the families in San Pedro for their great support and patience. I also thank Lic. María Domínguez for her support throughout the fieldwork, and I thank Dr. Makoto Inoue and Dr. Shuichi Oyama for the advice on how to develop my research. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP14J11204, JP16J40080.

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  1. Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Natsuho Fujisawa

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Fujisawa, N. Production, Consumption, and Culture of Upland Rice in Swiddens: a Case Study of a campesino Community in Panama. Hum Ecol 47, 541–552 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-019-00091-x

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