The majority of rural people across the Mekong tend to refer to themselves as rice farmers (e.g., Luco,
1997) and rural livelihoods have historically been portrayed in state-led development as rice-based farming systems. While rice farming has particular resonance within the rural culture of the region, in many cases the low value of rice production and its limited contribution to household economies is such that it could instead be argued many people are fishers who farm, rather than farmers who fish