Conservation agriculture and gendered livelihoods in Northwestern Cambodia: decision-making, space and access Daniel Sumner 1 • Maria Elisa Christie 1 • Ste ´phane Boulakia 2 Accepted: 23 June 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract Smallholder farmers in Rattanakmondol District, Battambang Province, Cambodia face challenges related to soil erosion, declining yields, climate change, and unsus- tainable tillage-based farming practices in their efforts to increase food production within maize-based systems. In 2010, research for development programs began introduc- ing agricultural production systems based on conservation agriculture (CA) to smallholder farmers located in four communities within Rattanakmondol District as a pathway for addressing these issues. Understanding gendered prac- tices and perspectives is integral to adapting CA tech- nologies to the needs of local communities. This research identifies how gender differences regarding farmers’ access to assets, practices, and engagement in intra-household negotiations could constrain or facilitate the dissemination of CA. Our mixed-methods approach includes focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, famer field visits, and a household survey. Gender differences in access to key productive assets may affect men’s and women’s individual ability to adapt CA. Farmers perceive the practices and technologies of CA as labor-saving, with the potential to reduce men’s and women’s labor burden in land-preparation activities. However, when considered in relation to the full array of productive and reproductive livelihood activities, CA can disproportionately affect men’s and women’s labor. Decisions about agricultural livelihoods were not always made jointly, with socio-cul- tural norms and responsibilities structuring an individual’s ability to participate in intra-household negotiations. While gender differences in power relations affect intra-house- hold decision-making, men and women household mem- bers collectively negotiate the transition to CA-based production systems. Keywords Gender Á Livelihoods Á Conservation agriculture Á Decision-making Á Cambodia Abbreviations CA Conservation agriculture CIRAD Centre de Coope ´ration International en Recherche pour le De ´veloppement DMC Direct-seeding mulch based cropping systems FGD Focus group discussion FPE Feminist political ecology KHR Cambodian Riel KR Khmer Rouge MAFF Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fishers MFI Micro-finance institution OIRED Office of International Research, Education and Development PADAC Projet d’Appui a ` la Diversification Agricole du Cambodge SANREM IL Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Innovation Lab & Daniel Sumner dmsumner@vt.edu Maria Elisa Christie mechristie@vt.edu Ste ´phane Boulakia stephane.boulakia@cirad.fr 1 Office of International Research, Education and Development, Virginia Tech, 526 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA 2 Centre de Coope ´ration International en Recherche Agronomique pour le De ´veloppement, El Aceituno - Carrera 5a n° 29-32 Officina 282, Centro Commercial la Quinta, Ibague, Colombia 123 Agric Hum Values DOI 10.1007/s10460-016-9718-z