LAOS
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Progress and Activities
2012 Updates
- The Lao government has received a US$23 million grant from the Asian Development Bank to carry out the Northern Rural Infrastructure Sector Project from 2011-2017. The proposed poverty reduction and infrastructure project, which will target irrigation systems and roads, will be undertaken in 11 districts of the four northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, Oudomxay, and Phongsaly. The population of this area is 760,000 people, a third of whom are considered to be living in poverty. At the project's first national steering committee meeting in Vientiane during January, 2012, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Ty Phommasak advocated introducing the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in conjunction with the infrastructure efforts. The Vientiane Times article about the ADB project noted that "Luang Prabang province is leading the way in using the innovative SRI method, and farmers there are very enthusiastic and supportive of the new technique after profiting from increased yields. Some farmers who have used this system have produced 6 to 7 tonnes of rice per hectare, while the traditional method only produces 3 to 4 tonnes. Some families who plant in fertile soil with good irrigation have harvested up to 9 tonnes per hectare."
2011
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
For 2002-2009 SRI activities in Laos, see LAOS ARCHIVES
Reports and Articles
- Syvongxay, Khamphone. 2012. ADB backs agricultural development in north. Lao Voices website. February 6.(source: Vientiane Times) [Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Ty Phommasak suggests using Asian Development Grant funds for SRI]
- Syvongxay, Khamphone. 2011. Luang Prabang farmers lead way in rice intensification.Vientiane Times, May 23. [Reposted on the EC-FAO Food Security Programme website]
- 2011. Sayaboury: dry season rice production increased. Lao Voices website. May 12. [Source: KPL Lao News Agency]
- 2011. Rice farmers eye larger export crop. Lao Voices website. March 16. [source: Vientiane Times]
- 2010. Gnord-ou grows main rice crop on 2,400 ha. Lao Voices (source: KPL Lao News Agency). July 29.
- 2010. Let's paint the future of Laos with the people. JICA website. January 24. (in Japanese) [The promotion of SRI (System of Rice Intensification) in Laos by Pro-Net21 was featured in "JICA’s World" (January 2010) with the special feature of "NGO and JICA - Wish to offer the power of cooperation"]
- LV. 2010. Attapeu: dry season rice plantation practiced on over 1,000 ha. Lao voices (source: KPL Lao News Agency). June 2.
- 2010. Rice farmers look to reap rewards of new technique.The Vientiane Times, issue 54, March 5. [retrieved March 5, 2010, as repost from the Samakomlao blog - access through Vientiane Times requires subscription]
- 2009 (July 29). Single seedlings technique benefiting rice farmers in northern provinces, In The Vientiane Times (online), issue 173, July 29. (retrieved July 29, 2009 - access by subscription]
- Synvongxay, Khamphone. 2008. New rice system produces higher yields. The Vientiane Times (online), issue 153, July 1.
- Phouthonesy, E. 2008. New rice cultivation method proves fruitful. The Vientiane Times (online), issue 078, April 1.
- Synvongxay, Khamphone. 2009. Single seeding method boosts yields.The Vientiane Times, Issue 41, February 18.
- Vongsakid, S. 2007. Report on SRI Development Work of Oxfam Australia (OAus). (5p. pdf) [Report by the Agriculture Program Officer in Laos, Oxfam Australia (OAus)].
- Vaenkeo, S. 2007. Savannakhet farmers learn new rice growing techniques. The Vientiane Times. issue 238, October. 10.
- AusAid. 2004.. Rice Revolution: A new organic method of growing rice is ensuring farmers in Laos have enough rice to last the year, Aid Close Up: Stories and People series. AusAid website. October. [More info on SRI in Laos can be found on the Oxfam International website.]
- Schiller, J. 2004. System of Rice Production - Suitability for Lowland Rice Production in the Lao PDR. March. (pdf) [Report on the potential of SRI in the Lao PDR and based on FAO-supported input]
- Vongsakid, S. 2002. Farmer Experimentation with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Laos. Paper presented at the International Conference on Assessments of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), April 1-4, in Sanya, China. [presented on behalf of Oxfam, Community Action Aid]
PowerPoint Presentations
- 2009. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Experience under DOI Projects in Lao PDR. Presented by Vansay Sayasouk, Department of Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry at the AIT/WBI SE Asia Regional SRI Workshop: Knowledge Exchange on SRI: Producing More with Less Water, held June 23-24, 2009, at AIT, Thailand. 38 slides.
