Outlook on AGRICULTURE Vol 41, No 2, 2012, pp 117–124 doi: 10.5367/oa.2012.0085 117 Role of livelihood capital in shaping the farming strategies and outcomes of smallholder rubber producers in southern Thailand Onanong Longpichai, Sylvain Roger Perret and Ganesh Prasad Shivakoti Abstract: This paper assesses the role of livelihood capital in shaping farming strategies and determining farming outcomes for smallholder rubber producers in southern Thailand. The authors find a positive relationship between the access level of livelihood capital and levels of diversification. The diversification and integration of rubber-based farming systems result in higher production and farm income. Specialization in rubber monoculture derives from an overall low endowment of livelihood capital, which generates poor farming outcomes. The paper assesses the relative efficiency of farms’ ability to maximize income and production using data envelopment analysis. Diversified, integrated rubber farming systems confirm higher techno-economic efficiency scores, thus supporting the need for further policy and support measures. Diversification and crop integration should be supported as a pathway for sustaining farmers’ livelihood. Keywords: livelihood capital; farming strategies; farming outcomes; rubber producers; Thailand Onanong Longpichai (corresponding author) is with the School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), Asian Institute of Technology, PO Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand. E-mail: l_onanong@yahoo.com. Sylvain Roger Perret is with SERD, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand, and Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), UMR-G Eau, 34398 Montpellier, France. Ganesh Prasad Shivakoti is with SERD, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand. Sustainability has been a popular concept, but there are varying views about what is required in order to ensure sustainability in a given situation. For agriculture, diversification is a differentiated form of agricultural development which is recognized for its role in spurring sustainable growth in the rural sector. The extent of the sustainability effects and gains in the better utilization of resources in a diversified sector is more visible compared with mono-crop production systems (Barghouti et al , 2004). Increased diversity of crop or animal species is a strategy frequently associated with sustainability (Hansen, 1996). However, the capability of farm households to adopt diversification strategies depends on their levels of accessibility to the various types of capital necessary for pursuing diversifying activities (Dercon and Krishnan, 1996; Hussein and Nelson, 1998). Land, capital goods and labour are considered as forms of capital; but in order to assess sustainability, a much broader