Developing Improved Farming and Marketing

Systems in Rainfed Regions of Southern Lao PDR

Pheng Sengxua

Len Wade

Project Background

• Southern Laos identified for risk of hunger & poverty

• Government recognises an economy in transition

• Constraints to production, market risk, labour, …

• Potential with rice, livestock, diversification …

• Multidisciplinary team for strategic & adaptive research

• ACIAR Project CSE/2009/004 – AUD $5.16 m

Rainfed upland and lowland in southern Laos

Project Objectives

• Diagnose and integrated assessment of farming & marketing systems

• Optimisation, testing and adaptation of crop and livestock technologies and marketing/extension approaches

• Sharing of knowledge and pilot scaling out of varieties, crop and livestock technologies and marketing approaches

• Alleviation of constraints posed by drought and uncontrolled flooding

Project Strategy• Transect: lowland to upland, commodity to subsistence

• Systems research at 4 Research Hubs & associated districts

- Lowland Savannakhet (SVK)

- Transitional lowland/upland SVK

- Upland SVK

- Lowland Champassak (CPK)

• Adaptive on-farm research at 300 farms in 24 villages

• Scaling out in partnership with various groups

Project location

Research Themes

Socio-economic Consultation with DAFO

• Discussed district statistics, plans• Discussed key agro-ecological zones in

the district• Selected 3 representative villages for

each zone

Study the effect of supplementary water, fertilizer on rainfed lowland rice productivity

Multi-location lowland rice variety testing

Amendment of sandy soil with clays (Bentonite and organic matter)

Thasano station

Phonngam station

Trained PAFO and DAFO staffs on Experimental layout and data collection

Post rice crop in dry season

Multi-location test of lowland, aerobic and perennial rice varieties

Lowland

Perennial

Aerobic rice

GAP

Nutrient management in lowland rice field

Livestock and Forages Component

Germplasm evaluation

Establishment of forage plantation in farmers’ filed

Farmer participatory trials of WST in DS

To demonstrate WST (e.g. alternate wetting and drying or AWD) at the farmers’ fields in Savannakhet and Champassak;

To quantify the amount of water saved and water use efficiency by using AWD

Photos by Ben Samson

Testing aerobic and submergence rice

varieties

Flooded tolerant variety Aerobic rice variety

Pond water monitoring

Knowledge sharing

Conclusion• Develop and demonstrate technology for

farmers

• Cooperate with ADB-IFAD project to investigate the farming technologies in that project areas

• Participatory research of rainfed lowland and upland farmers

Conclusion (cont)

• Impact of the project results: on livelihood, income and on sustainability of farming systems

• Improving capacity building of NAFRI, PAFO and DAFO (Master and PhD)

Conclusion (cont)• Adaptation of flooded and drought rice varieties

• Understanding the interaction of water x fertilizer x rice variety

• Found new forage varieties and technology for increasing livestock production and marketing option for farmers

Thank you for your attention