WOMEN AND ETHNIC MINORITY FARMERS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA. Over 70 percent of the populations of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos live in rural areas. Harsh climatic conditions, which are further aggravated by climate change, teamed with poor infrastructure, restrict farming systems and market opportunities. For women and ethnic minority smallholders, the resilience of their livelihoods is often especially restricted by limited resources, inadequate access to information and channels, social, cultural and language barriers, and constrained participation in decision-making at various levels.