Organic agriculture, labour exchange, and social networks: a case study of smallholder farming in Bhutan

Abstract

We examine the informal exchange of labour in farming villages with the successful adoption of labour-intensive farming practices. Previous studies have characterised the network pattern of labour exchange to relate such cooperative behaviour to the community’s social structure. We use network patterns from the literature and recreate the internal network structure of the labour exchange in selected Bhutanese villages to determine the type of social enforcement mechanisms used. Results show that labour exchange networks in these villages are characterised by a high prevalence of triad closure as an underlying social structure. These are completely connected structures within the labour exchange network in which any two farmers exchanging labour have a common farmer with whom both share labour. The results from our random graph modelling imply that villages with well-functioning labour exchange institutions may be most suitable for being promoted as “organic villages” as they can adapt to the high labour requirement that comes with organic farming. Future research should analyse how villages with different network structures produce different farm outcomes and how the village and farm-specific attributes affect their social enforcement mechanisms.