SRI International Network and Resources Center

LAOS SRI ARCHIVES

SRI Activity Archives (2002-2011)

(for more recent information, see main Laos page)

2011 Activities

• Dry Season Rice Production Increased with SRI Methods in Sayaboury Province

  A May 12 article in Lao Voices reports that 281 ha of the 3,000+ ha planted with rice in Sayaboury province this dry season used SRI methods. According to Saypheth Chanthalangsy, head of the Plantation Division in Sayaboury province's Agriculture and Forestry Service, the province exceeded its annual plan to plant rice with conventional methods by 20 per cent and that of growing rice with SRI methods by 30 percent.

• Vientiane Times Article on Rice Exports in Laos in Cites Government Support for SRI

  An article in the Vientiane Times and Lao Voices cites government hopes that farmers will grow 400,000-500,000 tons of rice a year for export by 2015. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry representatives, who say exports will focus on traditional top grade rice varieties such as black rice, kaynoi, takhiet, CR 203 and thaddokkham, have instructed the agriculture and forestry sector in each province to promote SRI in irrigated areas since 2008.

  SRI has reportedly been especially beneficial in the northern provinces Luang Prabang and Xayaboury. According to a report from the Livelihood Improvement Project for the Rural Poor in Laos with Increase of Rice Production, some farmers who planted rice with SRI methods produced about 9 tons per hectare, while the traditional method only produces 3-4 tonnes. SRI cropped areas have increased from 1,437 hectares in the 2008-2009 dry season to 2,550 hectares in the wet season, and from 3,625 hectares in the 2009-2010 dry season to 5,000 hectares in the wet season. At a recent meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sitaheng Rasphone reported that SRI methods will be further encouraged in other provinces, especially in irrigated areas. The project is run by the Department of Irrigation and supported by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.

2010

• Japanese Funding for Extension of SRI Demonstration/Training

  Implementation of Phase 2 of a project to demonstrate SRI methods with funding from JICA, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, began October 15, according to a report in the Vientiane Times. This three-year project is being implemented by the Provincial Agricultural and Forestry Office (PAFO) in Luangprabang Province as a model for SRI expansion in other provinces. The target area is 18 to 36 villages in 6 districts (an estimated 600 to 900 households). Project implementation is assisted by a Japanese NGO, Pro-net 21, which has supported evaluations and demonstrations of SRI in Laos and also collaboration on SRI use among Lao organizations. (See 2007-2009 Pro-net 21 activities below).

  Phase 1 was implemented by the Department of Irrigation, 2007-2010, with area doubling between wet season 2008-09 (1,437 ha) and wet season 2009-1010 (2,625 ha). Based on Phase 1 results, it is expected that paddy yields can be raised from their current 3.5-4.0 t/ha to 5.0-6.0 t/ha with some farmers who use all the recommended methods as recommended achieving 8.0-9.0 t/ha.

  A Project Inception Workshop was held October 21-22, 2010, focusing on assistant extension staff in Luangprabang Province. Fifty persons participated in the workshop (right). These staff are mostly young and usually stay in the villages for carrying out extension and monitoring activity. The PAFO is committed to giving them a preference for permanent appointments as government staff if successful in extending SRI in the villages for which they are responsible, so they have incentives to take this work seriously, according to the Pro-net 21 representative in Laos, Kazuyuki Shimazaki.

• Attapeu Province: Dry Season Rice Plantation Practiced on Over 1,000 ha

  According to a June 2, 2010, article by the KPL Lao News Agency, recent dry season rice cultivated on over 1,000 ha in five districts of Attapeu province yielded 4,409 tons of rice. Mr. Sayphon Nammavongsa, Head of the Plantation Division, Agriculture and Forestry Service for Attapeu province, said that SRI practices used on 86 ha yielded 450 tons of rice with an average of 5.24 tons per hectare as opposed to traditional techniques which averaged only 4.2 tons per hectare. A July 29 article relayed that in Gnord-ou district in the northernmost province of Phongsaly, SRI practices were used on 11.9 of 2,400 ha recently transplanted at the onset of the rainy season.

• Department of Irrigation Encourages Farmers in Laos to Plant 5,000 ha with SRI Methods

  According to a March 5, 2010, article in the Vientiane Times, the Department of Irrigation (DOI) this year plans to encourage farmers around the country to plant 5,000 hectares of rice SRI method methods. Agricultural officials from Vientiane and various provinces around the country met in Vientiane on March 4 to discuss how to best promote SRI to village groups and expand its use in Laos. DOI Director General, Dr. Khamphad Sourinphoumyhe listed specific SRI methods being promoted as planting 7-10 day old rice seedlings, spacing seedlings at least 30cm apart, using good water management, rigorous weeding and improving soil quality using tools and, later in the cycle, organic fertilizers. Khamphad said farmers who use SRI can reduce the amount of seed required from 60kg to 6 kg/ha, increase their yields by 50-100 percent, reduce water usage by 30-50 percent, lower capital expenses by 10-30 percent and increase income levels by 100-300 percent.

  The DOI first introduced the method in 2007 and the number of farmers using the method continues to increase every year. In 2008 the department encouraged farmers to use the new method to plant more than 100 hectares of wet season rice, and 1,470 hectares of dry season rice. In 2009, farmers planted more than 2,550 hectares of wet season rice using SRI and about 3,600 hectares of dry season rice. To reach the 2010 target, Khamphad called on the Agriculture Ministry to establish a committee responsible for overseeing expansion of SRI from the central to the local level and to promote the new method to communities around the country. Farmers in Luang Prabang and Xayaboury provinces have had particular success with the method, regularly producing yields of nine tons/ha, he said. SRI gives a high output of rice, usually between 6-8 tonnes a hectare,according to a report from the DOI.

2009 Activities

• Farmers in Northern Provinces Turn to "Single Seedling Technique"

  According to a July 29, 2009, article in the Vientiane Times, farmers in the northern provinces of Laos are increasingly turning to the "single seedling technique," which is also known as rice intensification system (or elsewhere as SRI). The article reports that the System of Rice Intensification Extension Project last year joined provincial and district authorities in Luang Prabang province to encourage farmers to take up the technique. A senior official of the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department, Ms. Soudalath Bouaraphahe, said the project initially targeted farmers growing about 200 hectares of rice in Nambak, Ngoy and Luang Prabang districts. She added that the provincial authorities plan to encourage the farmers to plant 500 hectares of rice using the technique, which can provide six tons per hectare.

  Mr. Souvanny Chouangthavy, head of the provincial agriculture section said that Xayaboury province authorities encouraged farmers to plant about 1,700 square meters of rice using the technique in Paklai district in 2006 and this area has increased to over 400 hectares in all 10 districts of the province. The benefits of the technique are attracting the interest of more and more farmers every year. Mr. Souvanny noted that the method is best suited for use in flat areas with irrigation channels and is considered beneficial because growth times are reduced, with seedlings ready for transplanting in 13-15 days (30cm by 30cm spacing), compared to about 30 days using traditional methods. Farmers who use SRI reportedly can save money because they spend less buying seedlings; the method also raises productivity in the use of land, labor and water. The Vientiane time article also notes that the "single seedling technique" is being promoted around the capital and in Huaphan, Xieng Khuang, Luang Prabang, Xayaboury and Vientiane provinces.

• SRI Project Steering Committee Formed

  Kazuyuki Shimazaki, representative of Pro-net 21, a Japanese NGO that works in Laos, has reported on the first meeting of the Project Steering Committee (PSC), February 17-18, 2009. The PSC was set up to guide a new 'SRI Extension Project,' formally titled the Livelihood Improvement Project for the Rural Poor in Lao PDR with Increase of Rice Production by Adopting Low-Input Rice Farming Technology (SRI, System of Rice Intensification). The project was launched December 29, 2007 when a MOU was signed between Pro-net 21 and the Department of Irrigation (DOI), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Lao PDR in collaboration with the JICA partnership program. Here is some background on the project:

  Project activities cover three areas:
  (i) Tha Ngone Irrigation Scheme in Vientiane capital district,
  (ii) Houay Yang Noi Irrigation Scheme in Sayaboury province, and
  (iii) Nam Pa Irrigation Scheme in Luangprabang province.
  The project's extension activities in the 2008-09 dry season are focusing on a target area of 42.7 ha with 103 participating households. At the same time, the Government of Lao PDR has begun promoting SRI according to Instruction No. 1145 of the Agriculture and Forestry Minister on "Increasing Rice Production through Promoting SRI Practice," issued in September 2008.

  Regarding this instruction, the daily newspaper LAO PHATTANA reported (September 26, 2008) that:

  • The Agriculture and Forestry Minister instructs all Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices (PAFOs) in Lao PDR to increase rice production in irrigation project areas through promotion of SRI practice.
  • SRI trials have been previously implemented for four crop seasons by a Japanese NGO (Pro-net 21) in collaboration with DOI as the executing agency and the PAFOs of Vientiane, Sayaboury and Luangprabang as counterparts.
  • The results of these SRI trials have showed the possibilities of (a) increasing rice yields, (b) saving rice seeds, (c) saving water, and (4) saving irrigation fees (electricity charges) through SRI practice.
  • Thus it is important to introduce such new rice farming technology (SRI) in irrigation project areas.
  • It is instructed that SRI area should be extended as much as possible in irrigation project areas during the next dry season.
  • For promoting SRI practice, each WUA (water users association) should be the implementation body, and the DOI should be responsible for rice seeds and SRI technical training to farmers; participating farmers should be responsible for labor and inputs (fertilizers).
  • The PAFO irrigation staff should be responsible for monitoring the water management of each irrigation project areas.

  During the dry season (2008-09) the total SRI area will reach more than 1,277 ha ,with with more than 4,168 households in five northern provinces of Lao PDR under the Northern Community-Managed Irrigation Sector Project financed by ADB and implemented under the DOI/MAFF as well as PAFOs.

  The first Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting was chaired by the Deputy Director General of DOI/MAF, Mr. Thanousay, and was participated in by a total of more than 40 persons, including Mr. Yusaku Toya, the representative of Pro-net 21 from Tokyo; 5 PSC members; representatives of the government staff; extension staff; model farmers of the three irrigation projects of the Project; representatives of other organizations such as National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Services (NAFES), the JICA Laos office, and JICA experts. International NGOs represented included Japanese Volunteer Corps (JVC), Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO), Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), World Vision and Oxfam Australia. (Oxfam Australia began introducing SRI in Laos in 2001 - see 2007 Oxfam Australia report).

  In the meeting, there was considerable agreement among the presenters on their positive experiences with SRI, though there were some difficulties reported like burden of weeding and attacks by golden ails during the young-seedling stage. The reports confirmed attractive incentives (advantages) with SRI such as: i) saving seeds, ii) reducing amount of inputs such as fertilizers, and iii) increase of yield. All affirmed that they will continue SRI practice in the next crop season.

  Shimazaki concluded his report on the PSC meeting noting that it is expected that SRI extension activities will be increased as components of various projects in Lao PDR from now on. Whatever SRI extension activities are implemented, the sustainability of the methods will be determined by the farmers themselves. Working with the Department of Irrigation/MAF, Pro-net 21 will try to extend SRI practice in irrigation project areas focusing on irrigated forms of SRI. Possibly other organizations and programs in Laos will work on 'rainfed SRI' which has been successful in neighboring countries of Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

2007-2008

• Northern Community Managed Irrigation Sector Project to Promote SRI in 2008
  

  The Northern Community Managed Irrigation Sector Project plans to encourage about 300 farming families in northern provinces to use SRI in the rainy season. This system is being implemented in the provinces of Xieng Khuang, Huaphan, Luang Prabang, Xayaboury and Vientiane because these provinces have suitable land for planting and sufficient irrigated water supplies. During June 2008, project staff demonstrated the new planting technique for four families who cooperatively farm about 4.5 rai in Phatthana village, Naxaithong district, Vientiane. The demonstration was attended by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Department of Irrigation Director General, Dr. Khamphad Sourinphoumy, as well as agricultural staff and farmers from six nearby villages. Dr. Khamphad urged farmers at the ceremony to expand the use of the System of Rice Intensification and gave examples of farming families in northern provinces who participated in the project and benefited from using the system. He relayed that this method of cultivation uses less water, seeds, fertilizer and insecticide and yields 5-8 tonnes per hectare as opposed to traditional cultivation, which yields 3-4 tonnes per hectare. Almost 60 families have used the SRI methods on farming land totaling 118,570 square meters during this year's dry season. The project has been operating since 2006 (see article in the Vientiane Times.)

• SRI Can Double Yield According to Director of Irrigation

  At a workshop held March 28 in Vientiane, at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Khamphad Sourinphoumy said that SRI evaluations in three provinces had shown SRI yields to be 6-8 tons/ha compared with more typical yields of 3-4 tons/ha with traditional methods. The Irrigation Department trials were assisted by Pro-Net 21, a Japanese NGO, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Shuichi Sato, Nippon Koei team leader in Eastern Indonesia, also reported to the workshop on SRI performance in this neighboring Southeast Asian country.

• OXFAM/Australia Reports on SRI Experience 2002-2007

  Sengthong Vongsakid, agronomist working with the Oxfam/Australia program in Laos, has compiled a report summarizing results from SRI trials on farmers' fields starting in 2001, when a yield differential of only 16.5% was recorded. The next year, the yield increase was 81-107%, and since then, the yield advantage has ranged between 50 and 100%, with reduced use of water and little or no requirement for purchased inputs. Some Lao farmers have been adapting SRI concepts to rainfed farming systems, which are very widespread in Laos. The report assesses adaptations being made in the original SRI recommendations and ways in which knowledge of SRI is being disseminated in this country.

  An October 10, 2007, article in the Vientiane Times reported on SRI results stemming from training efforts five years ago by Oxfam Australia (CAA) that are now starting to spread. According to the article, Lao farmers using SRI are now getting more than doubled yield with less inputs with no additional labor requirements. This effort will be further supported by a program being launched now by Oxfam America to spread SRI opportunities within the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia.

2002-2004 ACTIVITIES

• SRI Evaluation Conducted for FAO

  In March 2004, an evaluation of SRI in Laos was conducted by Dr. John Schiller as part of a review for FAO of SRI in Southeast Asia, carried out with Dr. Max Whitten. Dr. Schiller (JS) was visiting Laos for another purpose and took advantage of his presence in Laos to investigate SRI-related activities and to assess the potential of SRI for rice production in Laos. Discussions were held with Lao and international scientists associated with the Swiss funded Lao-IRRI Project and the National Rice Research Program of Laos, also with Lao and international technical advisors in the National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Service on 22-23 March. A site-visit was also made thereafter to an Oxfam-CAA (Community Aid Abroad) farmer-participatory SRI site in Feung district of Vientiane province, where discussions were held with farmers participating in the SRI activities, together with officials of the Feung District Agriculture and Forestry Services Office. [see report]

• SRI Experience in Laos Presented at International Conference in China

  Community Aid Abroad/Oxfam was the first NGO to take up SRI in this country. This is described in a presentation at the International Conference on Assessments of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) held in Sanya, China, April 1-4, 2002. Its first season results with a few farmers were not very good, only 20% increases in yield on average, though there was a four-fold improvement in the seed:harvest ratio. CAA continues to expand experimentation with farmers, preparing an extension bulletin on SRI in Lao.

• National SRI Workshop Sponsored by IRRI and National Agricultural Research Center
  

  In April 2002, the IRRI program in Laos sponsored a national workshop on SRI with the National Agricultural Research Center, to initiate evaluation of these methods, given the government's urgent request to raise rice yields but not in a chemical-dependent way, given financial constraints and environmental concerns. The first season's results were mixed: three sets of trials gave SRI yields lower than standard methods; one trial showed no difference; and two showed improvements with SRI, in the 6-7 t/ha range, compared with average yields of 3 t/ha.