Kongkaew Vonusak, who rents his land to a Chinese banana company stands outside his house in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 26, 2017. Kongkaew Vonusak smiles when he recalls the arrival of Chinese investors in his tranquil village in northern Laos in 2014. With them came easy money, he said. The Chinese offered villagers up to $720 per hectare to rent their land, much of it fallow for years, said Kongkaew, 59, the village chief. They wanted to grow bananas on it. In impoverished Laos, the offer was generous. “They told us the price and asked us if we were happy. We said okay”. Elsewhere, riverside land with good access roads fetched at least double that sum. Three years later, the Chinese-driven banana boom has left few locals untouched, but not everyone is smiling. Experts say the Chinese have brought jobs and higher wages to northern Laos, but have also drenched plantations with pesticides and other chemicals. Last year, the Lao government banned the opening of new banana plantations after a state-backed institute reported that the intensive use of chemicals had sickened workers and polluted water sources. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A woman waits to deliver her harvest at a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker walks through a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A woman puts leftover bananas in a cart next to a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A man prepares pesticide before spaying it at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 24, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker pushes bananas along a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 24, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker pauses while harvesting bananas at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker pauses to drink water while harvesting at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker drives through a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





The daughter of a banana plantation worker swings outside her home at a plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 26, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A banana plantation worker cries as he sits inside his shack during a day off at a plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 26, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A banana plantation worker holds food in her hand during a day off at a plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 26, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker waits to deliver his harvest at a packing line inside a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A worker plunges bananas into a chemical bath at a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo, Laos April 24, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





Workers wash bananas in a packing line inside a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo, Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





Workers select bananas in a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo, Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





Children play next to a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





Zhang Jianjun, 40, co-owner of the Lei Lin banana plantation sits outside his house at a plantation in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 24, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A packing area is seen after a job at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 26, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





On Keo Wa, 25, carries her 9-month-old baby while working at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 24, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)





A woman waits to deliver her harvest in a packing line at a banana plantation operated by a Chinese company in the province of Bokeo in Laos April 25, 2017. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)