FACT SHEET
Rice-based Systems Research program:
food security in Lao PDR, Cambodia
& Bangladesh
Food security in Cambodia and Laos depends on the success of the rice-based farming
system. Smallholder farmers in the least productive rice-producing areas struggle to grow
enough for household consumption and income. Bangladesh similarly struggles to support
adequate livelihoods from small farms with rice-based systems.
Many farmers relying on these systems cultivate small areas of land, without access to new crop varieties and
technologies that can boost production. Low productivity and shrinking farm size has seen some parts of Laos,
Cambodia and Bangladesh facing cycles of hunger and poverty.
The risks facing poor farmers in these areas are complex—rising fuel prices, increased input costs, and the impacts of
a changing climate and the seasonal uncertainty that follows.
Smallholders in these areas have not benefited from productivity gains delivered elsewhere. In Cambodia rice yields
lag up to 50 per cent behind comparable systems in other parts of South-East Asia. Similar yield gaps are also found
in the uplands of Laos and the poorest parts of Bangladesh. As a result surpluses are not realised, and markets have
not developed, or are localised and not linked to broader value chains.
The program
ACIAR developed this Rice-based Systems Research program to address the range and scale of these issues. The
Australian Government provided funding to ACIAR as part of the Food Security through Rural Development initiative.
ACIAR has designed and implemented a multidisciplinary program of research. It includes:
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raising productivity in rice-based systems
creating linkages with markets and input chains
developing policies to increase implementation of research results.
The projects operate from the small to large scale, including:
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households and villages
districts and provinces
countries and regions.
A whole-of-system approach
The Rice-based Systems Research program uses a whole-of-system approach to examine rice in conjunction with
livestock, grain legumes and a range of different crops. Existing technologies are delivering improvements in crop
productivity in the short term, creating a platform for market access based on higher commodity prices.
The core strategies of the program are to:
1. intensify crops in rice-based production systems by increasing the number of crops grown on the same land each
year following the main rice crop
2. boost yields by improving the efficiency of water and nutrient use
3. improve livestock production by integrating animals more effectively with rice-based farming systems
4. strengthen policy settings by improving understanding of the linkages with, and impacts on, food security
5. build capacity of individuals and institutions by establishing effective collaborative relationships and facilitating
knowledge sharing.
The program comprises five large-scale farm-productivity projects, together with a suite of smaller policy-focused
projects.
1. Developing improved farming and marketing systems in rainfed regions of southern Lao PDR, with
components to:
 better understand farming and marketing systems
 develop new technologies and marketing approaches
 share and scale-out knowledge and technologies
 supplement irrigation by smarter water use
2. Improved rice germplasm for Cambodia and Australia, with components to:
 survey germplasm needs and design a dissemination strategy
 understand sensory quality and build technical capacity
 demonstrate commercially viable direct-seeded practices
 develop and disseminate improved rice varieties
3. Improved rice establishment and productivity in Cambodia and Australia, with components to:
 assess current and potential rice establishment methods
 assemble a spatial database to better target establishment options
 identify strategies to improve rice establishment and weed management
 evaluate new practices to raise productivity by 25%
 build capacity of Cambodian participating organisations
 investigate future problems with rice establishment
4. Improved irrigation water management to increase rice productivity in Cambodia.
5. Introduction of short-duration pulses into rice-based cropping systems in western Bangladesh
6. Policy projects
(a) Agricultural policies affecting rice-based farming systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia and
Lao PDR
(b) Developing agricultural policies for rice-based farming systems in Lao PDR and Cambodia
(c) Policy constraints in rice-based farming systems in Bangladesh
Farmer involvement
The research program is underway across provinces of Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Farmer participation is a
key element of project delivery. In Savannakhet and Champassak provinces in Laos the research is engaging
approximately 300 farms in ten villages, including the poor upland districts of Sepon and Phim. These farmers interact
with research-station trials that examine whole-of-system approaches, drawing on the interconnections
of diversified mixed-farming systems.
The research feeds into a diagnosis and integrated assessment of farming and marketing systems, producing
recommendations on best-bet management options matched to farm types. New technologies are then tested by
farmers in on-farm experiments, including linkages to livestock production.
The approach in Laos is similar to projects in Cambodia and Bangladesh. These include demonstrations of
commercially viable direct-seeded technologies and practices in Cambodia, and in western Bangladesh the role of
short-duration pulses, such as lentils and mungbean, as a means of delivering improved soil nutrition and additional
dietary protein. Training to build the capacity of partner-country scientists is included in each project, focusing on local
needs and available technologies.
International linkages
The program aims to work with a range of initiatives from donors and researchers active in the Mekong region and in
Bangladesh. Some of the identified options for program linkages are the AusAID-funded Cambodia Agriculture Value
Chain (CAVAC) program; the International Fund for Agricultural Development / Asian Development Bank program in
southern Laos; and the Gates Foundation / USAID Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia operating in Bangladesh.
Project teams from the ACIAR program, together with relevant stakeholders from beyond the program, work closely
with each other to enable further dissemination and uptake.
Further information
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
38 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park Bruce ACT Australia
GPO Box 1571 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
P: +61
E:
2 6217 0500 F: +61 2 6217 0501
aciar@aciar.gov.au
aciar.gov.au