Abstract
In this paper we argue that the most critical factor that shapes the character and trajectory of the sugarcane sector in China
is neither land nor labour, individually, but rather the interactions of social dynamics around land and labour, and specifi-
cally migrant labour. We argue that not only that the political economy of land and labour together drive agrarian trans-
formation in the sugarcane sector, but more precisely that it is the process of how the labour regime shapes land politics,
and how land politics shapes the labour regime, that is the central driving force. Furthermore, this mutual reshaping of
land and labour regimes is multi-sited, occurring simultaneously within China and Myanmar, and in the China–Myanmar
corridor. Our hunch is that the dynamics we observe here have broader resonance worldwide, especially in major farmer–
farmworker land/labour flows along transnational corridors.
is neither land nor labour, individually, but rather the interactions of social dynamics around land and labour, and specifi-
cally migrant labour. We argue that not only that the political economy of land and labour together drive agrarian trans-
formation in the sugarcane sector, but more precisely that it is the process of how the labour regime shapes land politics,
and how land politics shapes the labour regime, that is the central driving force. Furthermore, this mutual reshaping of
land and labour regimes is multi-sited, occurring simultaneously within China and Myanmar, and in the China–Myanmar
corridor. Our hunch is that the dynamics we observe here have broader resonance worldwide, especially in major farmer–
farmworker land/labour flows along transnational corridors.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Agriculture and Human Values |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 14 Mar 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2025.