The differences between social classes are very pronounced, with an extraction of surplus value based on unequal exchange of rice and work. Although only Ho farmers practice that type of agriculture, not all the Ho villages on the left bank of the Nam Ou make use of the environment in that way. Rice is still grown in association with other crops on slash-and-burn fields, but the fallow period is now much shorter years , clearing is family-oriented and not grouped together on the village level, with plot allotment being limited to the length of the crop.
Poppy farming plays an important role in family livelihood, although it is regressing; this entails a change in the work calendar, with clearing in March instead of December, the period for sowing poppy. In the other northern villages, the system has changed Baudran In those Ho villages in the north-western part of the district, 28 farming on burnt fields has practically disappeared. Paddy farming, requiring less labour during the period when poppy is sown, has allowed families to extend the narcotic crop Baudran Contrary to generally accepted ideas UNDCP , shifting cultivation limits opium production more than paddy farming, due to the conflicting schedule for the workforce at the time of clearing which corresponds to the poppy-sowing period.
In nearly half the villages, families do either shifting cultivation on Imperata grassy fallow, if they have buffalo for traction, or slash-and-burn on ligneous fallow when production means are strictly manual Baudran It is possible to compare the farming and land practices of the Ho tribes in the north or on the left bank of the Nam Ou and the Phounoy tribes in the south-west.
The diversity observed in the farming systems in the Phongsaly District does not match the ethnolinguistic zoning: therefore, the ethnic group is not a decisive criteria of farming diversity typology in the region. Differences in market access depending on those distances induce substantial differences among the villages, as well as a more pronounced social differentiation in the villages nearby Laffort Location is a key criteria in typology, but is not sufficient to explain the differences observed among the remote villages.
For example, on the left bank of the Nam Ou, the specificities of farming on Imperata fallow in Ho villages can be understood through the historical migration to zones in altitude, by that population with a previously constituted technical corpus in the rice farming plains of southern China bubalin traction and associated farm tools.
With demographic growth, the Phounoy villages in the south-west split up to found new settlements on the left bank, but the village domains were bordered by Ho village domains already set up earlier. Lacking the necessary land resources, Phounoy migrants were unable to reproduce the original land system, prevalent on the right bank. In the district, this differentiation does not systematically match up with ethnic zoning.
Private ownership of production means and free enterprise became new principles for prosperous development. In , the seventh Congress reinforced that position with quantified objectives 31 and based the policy for eradicating poverty on three pillars: economic growth, socio-cultural development and environmental protection Lao PDR Rural development plays a central role in that policy.
It must substantially generate raw materials favouring both the supply of the domestic market, growth of exports, and the emergence of a national agro-industrial fabric MAF These rough figures convey the social and economic importance of upland agriculture in Lao PDR.
In , the government had decided to eliminate shifting cultivation by the year Keonuchan ; in , the objective was postponed until MAF , before being brought back down to Lao PDR This policy of banning slash-and-burn agriculture falls into a historical, as well as regional, logic: it can be observed in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China and Indonesia Durand ; De Koninck ; Rossi ; Zaifu ; Mellac et al. Furthermore, the poverty of families who practice shifting cultivation drives them to grow opium, a source of addiction and therefore increased poverty UNDCP ; Lao PDR The vicious circle is complete and poverty is self-maintained Dasgupta et al.
Is it that easy? Five of them were settled along the road going from Phongsaly to Boun Neua, on an abrupt ridge. Seven other villages have been eliminated by the authorities since ; the families concerned joined neighbouring villages, along the roadside, or emigrated to towns Phongsaly, Oudomsay, Luang Namtha, Vientiane.
All in all, families have been displaced. Between and , the first experience with sugar cane concerned four villages, along the roadside, and ended in failure 34 for the families who were obliged to farm a minimal surface area per active worker Ducourtieux The programme plans for the town of Phongsaly and 14 rural villages to plant ha between now and , at a minimum mandatory rate of 0.
In those villages, clearing is to be banned as from or The mandatory tea crop is rounded out by fruit trees in three another villages and by the galanga Zingiberaceae in 17 villages. Villages in the forest zone are, for the time being, fairly unconcerned by these programmes. For lack of financial means, support to farmers for implementing the programmes is limited to planning and very basic technical training. Farmers are contracting debts with the public Agricultural Promotion Bank or private merchants to buy the mandatory crop seedlings that they have to plant.
Clearing will be banned there in The forest reserves are taken out of rotation, then the surface area of fallow land available for swidden cultivation regressed. The age of the fallow upon slashing dropped from 10 to 3 years. The Yapong families compensate the saturation of the available workforce by a new and massive use of herbicides: the consumption of weed-killer per ton of rice produced is 20 times higher in Yapong than in Samlang.
The product, of Chinese origin, is poorly identified and used, which does not fail to pose public health and environmental problems. Although in Samlang a workday brings in the equivalent of 1. Production per family is dropping, which increases problems of shortages.
Still rare in Samlang—0. It could even be an aim sought to urge farmers to convert to alternative crops that provide income to farmers in the region. All the components of family income in Yapong are on average lower than those in Samlang see Fig. They can no longer capitalise in livestock.
There were head of bovids in Yapong in , and there are only 85 left in When in fact tea farming offers the lowest level of all the farm activities see Fig. That speculation cannot be a credible alternative to swidden cultivation for reaching the political aim of poverty eradication. Taking into account the sizeable family difference between the two villages, the difference speaks for itself: EUR per person in Yapong compared to EUR in Samlang.
The average income is halved in roadside villages in comparison to forest villages. Although a large fraction of the population is impoverished see Fig. The size of the village, the natural environment, the length of the rotation, the farming techniques and results are within the average of villages in the forest zone.
For the easy-to-reach zone, we selected Yapong, which participates in all the activities developed by the local services 41 and is therefore, for that reason, a characteristic example of the easy-to-reach zone. The size of the village, the natural environment, the length of the rotation, the farming techniques and results are within the average of villages in the easy-to-reach zone. Farmer income was similar.
The effect of some factors is easy to identify and quantify, like land allocation for swidden cultivation. However, for many farmer activities, there may be multiple and combined causes for the differences. The villages are nearby and in a comparable natural environment: the soil and climatic effects do not explain the differences.
But, the farming systems in the forest zone are not permanently set and the easy-to-reach zone ones are not subject only to the administrative pressure. The relative and progressive opening up of the landlocked region, 42 the progressive development of cross-border exchanges with China and Vietnam, as well as co-operation projects in the region also contribute to the differentiated evolution of farming systems.
Instead of contributing to eradicating poverty, they drastically increase it. Many development programmes conducted in the field are counterproductive in relation to the main political goal, which is poverty eradication. That reform must be founded on the principle that the farmers are the solution and not the cause of the poverty problems; on that account, farmers should be involved in choices concerning orientations to be taken and in the definition of development actions, so that the programmes take into account their elaborate environmental management, resulting from know-how acquired generation after generation.
That experience has enabled them to use natural resources sustainably, whereas underestimating that know-how generally has effects just the opposite from the goals set. Decentralisation 45 entrusts the provinces and districts with new responsibilities. To reach the national policy goals, those services must be capable of defining the development programmes with the farmers. They are called on to rapidly become an active interface of adaptation in state intervention with local conditions.
Nori, O. Victor, S. Van Gansberghe ed. MOA, B. NAFRI, et al. ZHOU, Shou-qing, et al. The other pests only have an anecdotal impact in the farming environment. If that control fails, weeds do indeed have a drastic effect on the crop, hence they are ranked as the number one constraint by farmers. The family will be able to limit risk by multiplying plots in complementary conditions.
Voir la notice dans le catalogue OpenEdition. Navigation — Plan du site. Olivier Ducourtieux. Keywords: agriculture , Laos , slash-and-burn , shifting cultivation , swidden agriculture , farmer know-how , forest , deforestation , environment , cash crop , agricultural policy , rural development , land use , farming systems. Economic Study of a Small Region: Phongsaly. A Zoned Agricultural Production System.
Adaptation to Environmental Variations and Uncertainties. Average Economic Performance in a Hard Context. Shifting Cultivation: The Source of all Evil. Pests and diseases happily make themselves a permanent home as their preferred food source is guaranteed. With monocultures like these, increasing levels of chemical fertilizers and pesticides become necessary to keep yields high while keeping bugs and disease at bay.
Life in the soil thrives on variety, and beneficial insects and pollinators are attracted to the variety above ground, too. Reach out to our Organic Crop Consultants! With hubs across the U. Skip to content. What is crop rotation?
Why does it matter? Crop rotation helps return nutrients to the soil without synthetic inputs. Want help planning your crop rotation? Learn More.
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