Enhancing Food Security in the Upper Catchments of Northern Laos
Abstract
A short fallow period, intensified cultivation, soil erosion, water losses, and the decline of forest cover have all contributed to the decrease in farm productivity for upland farms in northern Lao PDR. This project produced and validated a number of technologies for different upland ecosystems, including 28 rice varieties. The yield advantage of improved rice varieties over local variety ranged from 200 to 1500 kg/ha for paddy rice. One of the key features of the project was the participatory rice seed production initiative. The project produced 17 tons of seed from around 53 upland varieties. It distributed 15 tons of 28 upland rice variety seeds to about 800 farmers.
The project also had a substantial impact on building national capacities. The research team trained 321 National Agricultural Research Extension System (NARES) staff members to help strengthen their research capacities.
Citation
Anon. Enhancing Food Security in the Upper Catchments of Northern Laos. The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, Sri Lanka (2013) 3 pp.
Links