Cinnamon and Control: Navigating State Surveillance in the Vietnamese Uplands

Abstract

Upland northern Vietnam, home to over 11 million ethnic minority individuals, has become a highly productive cultivation region for a range of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), increasingly being sold as cash crops.1 In these uplands, Hmong and Yao ethnic minority groups draw on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to build sustainable livelihoods as best they can, while adapting to state market integration policies and an ongoing agricultural transition (Turner et al. 2015). One such NTFP, cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia), which fetches very high prices on the global market, is increasingly being grown by minority farmers in Vietnam’s northern upland Yên Bái province. In 2021, the province sold 7,000 tons of cinnamon bark, earning approximately US$20 million. Cinnamon cultivator incomes can reach US$10,000-$50,000; extremely significant sums for former semi-subsistence farmers.

Surprisingly then, only a handful of studies have focused on the complexities of cinnamon cultivation in Vietnam. To address this gap, this paper, informed by concepts from political ecology and livelihood studies, examines the livelihood strategies of marginalized ethnic minority cinnamon cultivators who are navigating complex policy programs and provincial economic goals. Drawing from 10 months of field research and 206 interviews employing qualitative methods, I explore the interface of state policies, forestry programs, positioning of state officials in the cinnamon commodity chains, and the collusion of narratives surrounding the lucrative commodity. I also reflect on my personal experiences conducting field research in a non-touristic province, navigating surveillance levels, and interacting with numerous state officials.