Welcome
Welcome to the third edition of ACIAR's Rice-based Systems Research (RSR) eNews. You are receiving this
newsletter because you are a member of a project team within this program or because your work is closely
related. This quarterly email will help keep you and your colleagues connected.
From ACIAR
Dear Colleagues
Project annual reports were due by 30 May, and will be used as the basis for developing the RSR Progress Report
2013; the third in our program series. We anticipate that the progress report will be published in August following
sign-off of final reports for all RSR projects. Secondly, the RSR program has formed a small sub-committee to
steer the planning and preparations for our final workshop in Cambodia scheduled for April 2014. Dr Mike Nunn,
ACIAR’s Regional Program Manager for Animal Health, has been appointed as Chair, together with myself, Dr
Jason Condon (Lecturer in Soil Science at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales) and Dr Lisa
Robins (consultant to the RSR program since 2011). Finally, look out for an article on the RSR program in the
next edition of ACIAR’s Partners Magazine, and please bring it to the attention of our stakeholders.
Dr Caroline Lemerle. RSR Program Manager (and Research Program Manager, Agricultural Systems Management)
on behalf of the RSR Steering Committee
Headline stories
Our headline stories for this edition feature the outcomes of the two study trips supported under RSR’s small
grants – from the Crops and Livestock Components of Project 1 (Southern Lao PDR). The third and final small
grant was for a workshop on Extension and Knowledge Sharing, which was scheduled for May 2013 in Vientiane,
and will be the subject of a headline story in the next edition of eNews. Next we outline some RSR
communications activities in the pipeline, and then conclude with an overview of the RSR Steering Committee and
the project management responsibilities of its members.
RSR small grants outcome
Study trip #1: Lessons from Cambodia on crop establishment
A one-week study trip to Cambodia for crop scientists from Lao PDR explored laser levelling, direct seeding, water
availability and water management. Lao scientists from RSR Project 1 (Southern Lao PDR) and ACIAR project
(Developing multi-scale climate change adaptation strategies for farming communities in Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Bangladesh and India) visited on-station and on-farm project sites in the Cambodian provinces of Kampong Thom,
Takeo and Kampot associated with RSR Project 3 (Improved establishment and productivity) and Project 4
(Improved irrigation water management).
Twelve delegates (see list below) from NAFRI in Vientiane and from southern Lao PDR (Savannakhet and
Champassak provinces and the districts of Phin and Sukuma) were formally welcomed at the Cambodia
Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI). CARDI scientists provided an overview of current
agricultural production and development, including in different agro-ecological systems. In addition to rice, CARDI
outlined the release of other crop varieties for farmers, notably four mungbean, two tomato and two watermelon
varieties. A tour was conducted of CARDI’s soil, biotech and tissue culture laboratories, as well as its integrated
farming system office (which aims to generate income for farmers all year round through the integration of fruit
trees with rice, fish, pig, poultry and cattle at the farm level). The first day concluded with a visit to AQIP, a rice
seed company established in 2007.
Lao and Cambodian researchers meet at CARDI, Phnom Penh
Inspecting the AQIP rice seed company, Kandal province
The group travelled to Takeo province, where they inspected a plot demonstrating different planting methods of
irrigated rice (transplanting, broadcasting and drum seeding) and different methods of weed control (hand
weeding, use of a rotary weeder, and herbicide application). This was followed by a field site visit demonstrating
new techniques on a larger scale, such as land levelling. The delegation engaged in on-site discussions with DAFO
staff and farmers about the input values of new techniques compared to traditional on-farm practices. Farmers
were looking for a rice yield higher than 4 t/ha before adopting a new technique.
On day three, the study trip focused on post-rice crop farmers in Hung village in Kampot district. A group of
farmers, which included the village commune and water use group, welcomed the delegation. The village has a
water reservoir with a good irrigation system that enables dry season crop production. Peanut, sweet corn,
mungbean and sweet potato are the main crops cultivated in the dry season after the rice is harvested; these
crops require less water than irrigated rice and are chosen mainly due to water availability and market factors.
Farmers reported marketing problems such as the absence of market agreement for their crops, and a need to
sell to a local market at the time of harvest. Peanut is their best crop because it can be stored, allowing the
farmer to sell when prices are higher, but they still lack permanent market options. Farmers monitor the soil
moisture of each crop and irrigate fields at an interval of 5 to 7 days, but lack knowledge of water use efficiency
for each crop.
Specific lessons/outcomes from the study trip are summarised below:
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That CARDI has very good information on the agricultural sector, mainly on research closely related to
economic benefits, and its research is mostly focused on specific crops. In Lao PDR, research is needed on
the relationship between land levelling, water management and crop production. Water management studies
should be a priority, not only for rice but also for other crops. NAFRI research goals need to account for
mechanisation (for land preparation, planting and harvesting at medium-to-large scale) and for weed control.
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Integration of farming systems needs testing for the small-scale farmers, and the selected crop, livestock and
land area requires careful consideration. Integrated farming has the potential to provide surplus food and
income throughout the year.
Visit to AQIP rice seed company: Provided insights about their marketing approach, including their contract
farming agreement with producers and seed demand company. They pack or weigh each bag according to
order; in the wet season most farmers plant a small area of rice, so the company packs about 10-15 kg/bag,
while packing 30 kg/bag for the rice production company. Plastic covers are used to protect seed from insects.
Field visit to Takeo province: Observed testing of weed control method (increasing plant density by
broadcasting 150-200 kg seed/ha compared to herbicide and rotary weeder methods). Most farmers have a
fish pond and store water for dry season rice. This is the only water used for dry season rice as they do not
have a good canal system. The area planted to rice is calculated on the basis of the volume of water stored in
the fish pond. Additionally, they only plant varieties that can be sold to the Vietnamese market. More
research on dry season water harvesting and use is needed in Lao PDR, including with large-scale
demonstration sites that integrate different techniques.
Field visit to Kampot province: A soil bed about one metre wide is prepared for almost all post-rice crops and
is planted with either 4-5 rows of peanut, 2 rows of sweet corn, or 3 rows of mungbean. Water is applied in
between the beds, so as to not let the bed itself flood. Farmers do not all plant the same crop, but plant
according to market demand. Crop choice is also determined by product storage duration and scope for
selling when prices are higher. A water use organisation is needed to control access to community water
sources during the irrigation period. Ideally, post-rice crops should have low water requirements.
One of the most important outcomes from this study visit was the chance it provided for researchers and the
Director-Generals from NAFRI and CARDI to discuss common issues. NAFRI and CARDI anticipate enhanced
cooperation on exchanging research experiences and sharing research results, especially with respect to
water harvesting, water-saving and water use efficiency for dry season crops. CARDI will explore
opportunities for visiting NAFRI in the future.
List of participants
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Dr Bounthong Buahom, Director General, NAFRI
Dr Pheng Sengxua, Vice-Director, Land Classification & Management Unit, NAFRI (Vientiane)
Dr Thavone Inthavone, Director of Agriculture & Forestry Policy Research Centre, NAFRI (Vientiane)
Mr Saysathit Soulinyavongsa, Land Classification & Management Unit, NAFRI (Vientiane)
Mr Somsamay Vongthilath, Irrigation specialist, Farming Systems Unit, NAFRI (Vientiane)
Mr Khammone Thiravong, Provincial Co-ordinator, Crop Section, PAFO (Savannakhet)
Mr Phetsamone, Technical Officer, Crop Section, PAFO (Savannakhet)
Mr Sisavanh Vorlason, Technical Officer, Crop Section, PAFO (Savannakhet)
Mr Vorachith Sihathep, Head of Phone Ngam Seed Multiplication Centre (Pakse)
Mr Khamsouk, Technical Officer, Phone Ngam Seed Multiplication Centre (Pakse)
Mr Vanphoumi, Technical Officer, Crop Section (Phin District)
Mr Phouvieng Songseurm, Technical Officer, Crop Section (Sukuma District)
Study trip # 2: Thai know-how on forage-based livestock systems
A group of eight Laotian delegates from NAFRI and from provincial and district agriculture and forestry offices
(PAFO and DAFO) in Savannakhet and Champassak recently completed a two-week study trip to neighbouring
Thailand. Participants were introduced to advanced techniques in forage technology development, animal
nutrition and feed analysis, and the on-farm application of these technologies. Study trip delegates were selected
for their promising capacity to implement improved forage systems in southern Lao PDR.
The group toured a number of animal nutrition centres, including both on-station and on-farm research activities,
and visited Khonekene University’s Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture.
After almost two-weeks on the road, Lao delegates (see list below) came away with a much better understanding
of Thailand’s forage production systems and, specifically, about their research organisations, programs and
researchers. At the same time, the RSR project was able to strengthen its links with researchers from a former
ACIAR project ‘Improving the reliability of rainfed rice/livestock farming systems in northeast Thailand’.
Specific lessons/outcomes from the study trip are summarised below in terms of forage production, feed
preparation options, smallholder production systems, alternative production systems, experimental management,
and cattle breeding.
Forage production
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Better understanding of Thailand’s animal feed production and forage seed production systems, and about
forage seed quality and standards.
How to maintain forage (native and introduced) collection sites; and to design and implement grass and
fodder-tree research, including data collection and measurement.
Design and implementation of forage collection research plots: for different sites (Nakoneradsasima,
Khonekaen, Sakonnakhone and Moukdahan); for different environments (soil type, temperature, day time,
rainfall, etc); and for one or more species with different adaptation capacities/responses.
Feed preparation options
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How to make grass-hay from pangola grass (Ditaria eraintha); and to self-make completed feed.
How to feed grass (grass silage) to pigs in small pig-farms, and reduce feed costs (grass silage can comprise
about 30% of a pig’s diet); to produce more biogas for farm use; and to sell high quality fertiliser (from pig
manure without significant odours).
Observed a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) utilisation system in a medium enterprise dairy production farm; TMR
use Napier Paksong 1 as basic feed, and can improve milk yield and reduce feed costs.
Smallholder production systems
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Better understanding of problems and changes faced by smallholder dairy producers; shifting from basic feed
concentrate to basic feed with more forage; high labour investment still needed for dairy production and
labour deficiencies need to be met.
Raising sheep is much easier than raising goats in term of management and feeding, especially short-hair
sheep; market demand for both sheep and goats is high.
Observed strong market potential and opportunities for small-scale forage production (by groups of farmers);
wastewater utilisation from a cassava starch factory during the dry season (no chemical fertiliser; no manure
applied) as fresh forage fed directly to animals or stored as silage for later use.
Alternative production systems
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How a cattle-fattening cooperative operates, including roles and regulations (management, technical and
marketing); for smallholder cattle fattening production systems as a cooperative member; in different areas
that utilised planted grass, self-made completed feed, and other feed resources; for cross-bred livestock with
different blood rates from different exotic breeds for fattening (native, Brahman, Charoleir, Thasima, Angus).
Observed a medium enterprise beef production farm; with different cattle breeds (native, red Brahman, white
Brahman and cross breed); for animal feed based on fresh grass utilisation (re-growth period not more than
60 days), complete supplementary feed only for pregnant cows, suckling calves and weaners at about 1 kg
per head per day.
Better appreciated the market opportunity and potential for large-scale forage production, without utilising
chemical fertiliser and applying only cattle manure.
How to achieve water use efficiencies using a self-spraying technique for dry season pumpkin planting
integrated with sweet corn, and using corn stover for animal feed.
Experimental management
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How to design/manage an energy study; energy and protein levels needed for native cattle; utilisation of
yeast cassava, wet-fermented for native and crossbreed cattle (Thasima).
How to design/manage a grazing system for raising bulls from Angus crossbreed cattle, and stall feeding with
fattening bulls from Angus crossbreed cattle (Angus calves have a low birth weight with good live weight gain
after weaning, and are large when mature, which is beneficial for crossing with a small native cow).
Cattle breeding
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Learnings from discussions with Thai cattle breeders about Thailand’s cattle breeding program; information
sharing about exotic cattle breeds, and original Thai and new Thai cattle breeds; implementation of Thailand’s
cattle breeding program was demonstrated and explained at Paksong Cattle Breeding Research Station,
especially the Sahiwal breeding program.
Learned about native cattle breeding program, native bull fattening study, experimental management for
energy and methane study, and different feed resources for TMR study.
List of participants
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Mr Viengsavanh Phimpachanvongsod, Livestock Component, NAFRI
Mr Souksamlane Khampoumee, Technical Assistant, LRC, NAFRI
Mr Toum Keowpaseut, Technical Assistant, LRC, NAFRI
Mr Kongsackda Inthaphouthone, Technical Officer, Livestock Section, Provincial Agriculture and Forestry
Office, Savannakhet
Ms Bangon, District Agriculture and Forestry Office, Phin District, Savannakhet
Ms Phetsakone, District Agriculture and Forestry Office, Outomphone District, Savannakhet
Mr Phetpoumy, District Agriculture and Forestry Office, Nong District, Savannakhet
Ms Oudom, District Agriculture and Forestry Office, Soukhouma District, Champassak
What’s in store for RSR communications
We’re planning to ramp up RSR communications over the program’s final year, in addition to our annual ‘RSR
Progress’ flagship publication series and the quarterly eNews. We want to raise the profile of the RSR program in
the lead up to the Cambodia conference in April 2014. We’re kicking off with a feature article in ACIAR’s Partners
Magazine, as well as on ACIAR’s blogspot.
There are several similar magazines and organisational blogs with project partners that we intend to target, such
as IRRI’s Rice Today and E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation’s ‘The Innovator’ (a collaborative alliance
between Charles Sturt University and NSW Department of Primary Industries).
Written articles will feature a specific RSR project in the context of the RSR program as a whole. Each project will
be the focal point of at least one article before the Cambodia conference. We will also pursue opportunities for
non-print forms of media, such radio programs (e.g. ABC’s Country Hour), YouTube and podcasting. To expand
our impact, we will also contact you with ideas for you to action, like putting a posting on VientianeTimes.com or
CamNews.org, writing a newspaper opinion piece, or making a submission to ‘The Conversation’ forum.
Your annual reports for 2012-13 are anticipated to provide material for these and other communications activities.
The program has some flexibility in considering how to best target communications as the year unfolds, with
options like producing a ‘RSR findings fact sheet’ series on-the-table if resourcing constraints allow.
About the RSR Steering Committee
The RSR initiative supports a portfolio of research and communications activities that span several ACIAR
mainstream research programs. Six Regional Program Managers (RPMs) are represented on the program’s
Steering Committee, together with ACIAR’s Manager of Communications & Public Affairs (Warren Page) and its
Publications Manager (Georgina Hickey).
Administrative support is provided by Janet Williams, while Joanna Hicks (Knowledge Manager) and Samantha
Williams (Communications Officer) are instrumental in the publishing of RSR eNews. Program coordination is led
by Dr Caroline Lemerle. Two independent consultants, Dr Lisa Robins (Robins Consulting) and Dr Bruce Munday
(Clear Connections) provide program coordination and knowledge brokering services.
Four RPMs have management responsibilities for Project 1 (Developing improved farming and marketing
systems in rainfed regions of southern Lao PDR; CSE/2009/004), as it comprises several sub-projects. Dr John
Dixon (Research Program Manager/Senior Advisor, Cropping Systems and Economics; and Principal Regional
Coordinator, South & West Asia and Africa) has lead responsibility, and coordinates with Dr Mike Nunn (Research
Program Manager, Animal Health), Dr Caroline Lemerle (Research Program Manager, Agricultural Systems
Management), and Dr Evan Christen (Research Program Manager, Land & Water Resources).
Dr John Dixon has responsibility for Project 2 (Improved rice germplasm for Cambodia and Australia;
CSE/2009/005), and oversights Project 3 (Improved rice establishment and productivity in Cambodia and
Australia; CSE/2009/037).
Project 4 (Improved irrigation water management to increase rice productivity in Cambodia; LWR/2009/046)
reports to Dr Evan Christen, who formerly led the project for CSIRO Land & Water. Dr Eric Huttner (Research
Program Manager, Crop Improvement and Management) has responsibility for Project 5 (Introduction of short
duration pulses into rice-based cropping systems in western Bangladesh; CIM-2009-038).
In addition to project 1, Dr Caroline Lemerle also has charge of Project 6a/b (Developing agricultural policies for
rice-based farming systems in Lao PDR and Cambodia; ASEM/2009/023) and Project 6c (Policy constraints in
rice based farming systems in Bangladesh; ASEM/2011/005).
Contacts
 Regional Program Managers
caroline.lemerle@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0532
john.dixon@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0531
gamini.keerthisinghe@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0558
mike.nunn@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0540
eric.huttner@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0527
evan.christen@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0561
 Communications
warren.page@aciar.gov.au; Phone: +61 2 6217 0577
georgina.hickey@aciar.gov.au; Phone: +61 2 6217 0534
joanna.hicks@aciar.gov.au; Phone: +61 2 6217 0578
samantha.williams@aciar.gov.au; Phone: +61 2 6217 0557
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Progarm support & Administration
janet.williams@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0575 (PSO, Agricultural Systems Management; and Rice-based Systems
Research Program)
olivia.shanahan@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0529 (PSO, Crop Systems and Economics)
tanya.green@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0542 (PSO, Land and Water Resources)
joy.hardman@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0528 (PSO, Crop Improvement and Management)
catherine.hanley@aciar.gov.au; +61 2 6217 0545 (PSO, Livestock Production Systems)
 Program coordination and knowledge brokering (consultants to ACIAR)
robins.consulting@bigpond.com; +61 407 702 831
bruce.m42@bigpond.com; +61 417 895 249
eNews #2 feedback
The second edition of RSR eNews went to 89 subscribers of whom 51 opened the eNews. For some reason there
were 14 soft bounces (all to yahoo.com and cgiar.org domains). The bounced addresses were re-sent, however
for statistical purposes the eNews appeared to reach only 75 subscribers. 21 recipients clicked on a link and
12 shared the newsletter with a colleague.
Lao PDR
Project 1 – Developing improved farming and marketing systems in rainfed
regions of southern Lao PDR
Field visit to focal villages
An important visit to Southern Lao PDR field sites in February brought together key players at our focal villages to
see our integration and delivery in action. This was also an opportunity to see and discuss associated research, to
meet with the teams on the ground, and to consider how to build on achievements to this point. It was
particularly valuable having the Director General Dr Bounthong Buahom and a Deputy Director Mr Phoumy
Inthapanya from National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) and Dr John Dixon and Dr Mike
Nunn from ACIAR with us. The research team itself was well represented at all levels from farmer, field officers,
Lao-based internationals, NAFRI research officers and lead scientists, including representatives from all
components and typologies. The wide-ranging discussions were relevant to where the project is now, but also
where it may go, should we be offered another project following our External Review in August.
Thanks to Dr Pheng and our teams in the provinces, districts and villages for setting up such a valuable visit. We
were able to visit Phon Thong, Phone Ngam, Phin, Phalanxay and Outomphone in the time available.
Dry season rice on a highly infertile sandy
soil, where we observed symptoms of
some-soil based problem, either
micronutrient deficiency, or more likely
toxicity such as iron. The conclusion was
the site was well-chosen, as it allowed the
soils team to explore nutrient and soil
management for difficult soils, and there
are plenty of these in southern Lao PDR
Questions inevitably emerged concerning how does the project get the message out from here, how to out-scale,
and how to link with partners. There is also the issue of how to add additional evidence and demonstrations to
the mix, at the same time recognising the importance of documenting the work to date so others can learn from
our experience.
The visit concluded with a very useful meeting of the team at the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office in
Savannakhet.
Contact: Dr Len Wade, Charles Sturt University
Study trips
Two study trips supported by the RSR Small Grants took place in February. Lessons from Cambodia on crop
establishment and Thai know-how on forage-based livestock systems are reported in the Headline Stories of this
newsletter.
Cambodia
Project 2 – Improved rice germplasm for Cambodia and Australia
Identifying elite rice germplasm for aerobic and lowland ecosystems in Cambodia
Aerobic rice. By continuous field evaluation under aerobic soil conditions throughout both the wet and dry
seasons in 2011 and 2012 at Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Bati (in
Takeo), and Prey Pdau (in Kampong Speu) stations, a number of lines that out-yield the local reference have
been identified (Table 1). These lines mature in 100-110 days under direct seeded conditions, and can be
cultivated in the wet season in rainfed uplands, and in rainfed lowlands where drought occurs often. They can
also be grown in the dry season with limited irrigation.
Aerobic rice at seedling and maturity stages
Lowland rice. The project has identified a number of 100-day (Table 2) and 110~115-day lines (Table 3) that
out-yield local checks through multilocation trials in 5 provinces (Figure 1). Some of them will be multiplied in the
2013 WS for on-farm adaptive trials for varietal release. Although the identified elite lines with short to medium
duration haven’t been released yet, farmers around the project sites have started to adopt them. Moreover,
project ‘Participatory Conservation, Development, and Sustainable Use of Seeds in Cambodia’ (2011-13),
coordinated by Mr. Kong Kea from the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA), included 10 of the promising
lines in its trials in the 2012 DS in six provinces (Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Battambang,
and Kampong Chhnang), and demonstrated them to the Farmer Schools in the provinces. This project is going to
test another set of 8-10 promising lines in the 2013 WS. Similarly, a Cambodia Agriculture Value Chain (CAVAC)
project ‘Improved Rice Value Chain’ (2013-14) will demonstrate 10 elite lines to farmers in Takeo, Battambang,
and Svay Rieng by conducting one on-station and one on-farm trial in each province in the 2013 WS.
Sites of multilocation trials
One of the identified elite lowland line
Progress in developing new varieties at CARDI
Conventional cross breeding for earliness, quality, drought tolerance, and lodging resistance. More
than 200 newly developed photoperiod insensitive lines targeting dry season are at F3 stage in the 2013 DS.
Another 100 plants selected from F2 populations are photoperiod sensitive, and will be advanced in the 2013 WS.
Conventional backcross breeding to improve drought tolerance of PRD. More than 200 BC3-4F3-8 lines
derived from PRDxCAR3 with PRD as recurrent parent were screened and selected for drought tolerance. Out of
these, 58 lines were evaluated under both aerobic and lowland conditions for selection on agronomic, grain
quality, and drought tolerance in the 2012 WS.
Marker assisted selection (MAS) for sub1 gene introgression into elite local backgrounds.
Commissioning CARDI molecular lab and training CARDI staff in molecular breeding are important components of
the project. CARDI project staff have been trained by IRRI specialists in running MAS; BC populations for this
work have been developed; and the needed equipment like PCR and Gel Documentation System for MAS work
has been purchased. The MAS work will be started once the equipment is installed in CARDI’s lab, supposedly in
July 2013.
Others
A tank designed for screening for submergence tolerance is under construction at CARDI, and will be ready for
project use in the 2013 WS.
A tank under construction at CARDI
Contact: Dr Dule Zhao, IRRI
Project 3 - Improved establishment and productivity in Cambodia and
Australia
Farmer survey
The socio economic team will be collecting information through farmer focus discussion groups (FFG) and a
farmer field survey directed at key areas of rice production such as crop establishment, mechanisation, plant
nutrition, weed control, levelling and extension support.
As per our discussions with the project team, both the FFG and the farmers field survey would collect baseline
information in the provinces/districts best suited to the rice being grown in the early wet season (EWS) and rice
grown in the dry season; both the recession and fully irrigated rice.
The information/data collected would be specific to rice ecosystems and crop production activities as mentioned
above.
Contact: Rajinder Pal Singh, NSW DPI, Wagga Wagga
Weed identification and management training
Joel Janiya (IRRI Los Banos) has undertaken repeated surveys of weed species occurrence at all six Integrated
Crop Experiments (ICE) sites in each of Kampong Thom, Kampot, Takeo and CARDI. These surveys represent an
investigation of the impact of cropping intensity and herbicide use on weed species changes under different
cropping sequences.
Mr Joel Janiya (IRRI) inspecting weed population and species in the Kampot
ICE site
In association with this project CARDI and IRRI have produced a Khmer version
of A Practical field guide to weeds of rice in Asia - Caton, Mortimer, Hill and
Johnson 2012. Available from CARDI or D Johnson IRRI
Contact: David Johnson, IRRI
Information exchange
Field experiment visits occurred in late March 2013 across all three provinces - Takeo, Kampot and Kampong
Thom. Some experiments were affected by disease and others by drought conditions and poor nutrition.
Integrated Cropping Experiment (ICE) located at Bati Research Station, Takeo in late March 2013. Rice blast affected plots
at Bati this season.
Field experiments
Field experiments continue to explore the use of fertilisers, drum seeding, and herbicides.
The photo shows Mr Oum Eng Setha Rice department, GDA discussing the herbicides used
for weed control with the owner of the experimental site where comparisons between the
field experiment and surrounding fields indicated the clear importance of fertilisers and
weed control.
Machinery Training
Som Bunna, Pao Sinath and Jack Desbiolles have undertaken initial field experiments using Rogro and Thai
seeders at CARDI exploring the capability of these machines for direct seeded rice growing in Cambodia.
Scott Justice (ex NAEF: Nepal Agriculture and Environmental Forum now International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center) undertook machinery training with 28 participants from CARDI, General Directorate of
Agriculture (GDA), RUA, Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA, Takeo, Kampot and Kampong Thom
provinces) and International Development Enterprises (iDE Cambodia). Participants undertook assembly and
adjustment of Chinese two wheeled tractors and seed drills. The training included GDA Rice and Agricultural
Engineering Departments; staff from both RUA Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering also attended.
GDA staff intend taking tractors and drills to Takeo to demonstrate and train local farmers.
Both Jack Desbiolles and Scott Justice have interacted with Russey Keo machinery manufacturers on construction
of a Cambo Thai seeder (modified Thai seeder) for Cambodian conditions.
Attempts were made to involve commercial machinery retailers in the training session but none attended. Linkage
between commercial retailers and our collaborators needs strengthening.
Staff from CARDI, GDA, RUA, PDA (Takeo, Kampot and Kampong
Thom provinces) and iDE-Cambodia participating in the
machinery training on use of Chinese two wheeled tractors and
seed drills undertaken by Scott Justice.
Oum Eng Setha (Researcher, Rice Department, GDA) gaining
experience in use of the Chinese two wheeled tractor and the seed
drill
Contact: Jack Desbiolles, UniSA
Project review and planning meeting
A project review and planning meeting was conducted at RUA
campus in late March 2013. This meeting was attended by
staff from our three Cambodian collaborating organisations:
Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute
(CARDI), General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA), and Royal
University of Agriculture (RUA) and also by numerous
enthusiastic undergraduate students from RUA.
Project review and planning meeting
Contact: Geoff Beecher NSW DPI Yanco
Australia
Salinity experiments – Deniliquin
Salinity experiments are continuing in the field and in the glasshouse
Three of the 10 varieties in the Mundiwa trial site (L-R: YRF 209, Doongarah, Amaroo) are showing the effect of salinity on
the plants in the rings where saline water was applied.
Jacqui Mitchell (UQ, and involved in the ACIAR Land & Water Resources project) provided suggestions on
methodology for glasshouse based experiments to allow comparison of total suction – matric and solute on rice
performance and evaluation of rice varieties of common interest as well as sharing data.
Pot trial in the glasshouse at Deniliquin designed to measure transpiration from six Australian rice varieties (Amaroo,
Doongarah, Illbaong, Quest, Reiziq, Sherpa) irrigated with fresh water (front left) and saline water (EC 5 dS/m; front
right) in three replicates.
Contact: Sam North, NSW DPI, Deniliquin
Establishment experiments
A series of experiments was undertaken under aerial, drill and dry sowing conditions across the NSW rice growing
region. In these field experiments we investigated the use of zinc treatments on cut sub soils exposed through
land levelling operations. No response to zinc applications was observed with the exception of a dry sown site
where zinc coated seed resulted in plots with clearly greater plant establishment on under cut soil conditions.
It is considered that the lack of observed response is related to water management. At the two drill sown
experiments the use of delayed permanent water was used. This means that rice plants have a much extended
period to take up zinc compared to conventional permanent water management. At other sites there was a
significant delay between fertiliser treatment applications and permanent water.
Experimental site where permanent water cover was lost in
mid-late November 2013 allowing re-aeration of the soil.
Drill sown rice on moderately cut soil (land levelled/land formed) site
in Benerembah
Contact: Geoff Beecher, NSW DPI Yanco
Project 4 - Improved irrigation water management to increase rice
productivity in Cambodia
Cambodian agricultural weather station pilot network
Automatic weather stations (AWS) providing data live to the web have been installed at the Provincial Department
of Water Resources and Meteorology (PDoWRaM) offices in Takeo, Kampong Thom, Kampot and the CARDI
research station at Phnom Penh. These will assess the temporal changes in evaporative demand and rainfall
during the cropping seasons. Historical weather data has also been collated. Both of these activities will provide
significant benefit to Cambodian researchers and agricultural water managers in the future.
The interest shown by the Department of Meteorology regarding the management of weather data through AWS
that deliver data to the web has seen an additional three weather stations added to the system. Each station has
mobile phone (3G/GPRS) telemetry to automatically export data to a central database to display real time data
and to create an accumulation of historical records for each station. The data can be accessed through
http://weather.irrigateway.net/cambodia/ for the stations that are currently active.
As reference evapotranspiration (ETo) forms the backbone of many water use and modelling studies, the ability to
provide reliable weather and ETo information for use in water management is a key component in planning and
operating irrigation systems right across the globe. This information can be viewed by anyone on a smartphone or
through the web online with information updated every ½ hour.
Contact: John Hornbuckle (CSIRO)
Webpage showing Reference evapotranspiration data from the Cambodia Agricultural Weather Stations (AWS).
Long term groundwater monitoring sites
Recently, two long term groundwater monitoring sites have been established in Toul Sangkor and Ta Ei villages to
monitor groundwater fluctuations seasonally in areas that are using groundwater for rice growing. Temporal
analysis of groundwater levels and water quality will be monitored over a two year period. Fluctuations in water
table height are known to occur throughout the dry season and early wet season when farmers are pumping. This
can result in insufficient availability of groundwater for supplementing rainfall, necessary to get wet season crops
established.
At one of the sites farmers have noted adverse crop effects when using groundwater only, unlike when
groundwater is shandied with rain or river water. Salinity may be an issue as our previous data indicated that
shallow groundwater salinities were up to 1.9 dS m-1 during irrigation pumping periods. These longer term
monitoring sites will provide a picture of the changes in groundwater availability over time and also the effect of
water quality on subsequent yields which will be monitored at the sites.
Contact: Touch Veasna (CARDI) or Wendy Quayle (CSIRO)
Dr Wendy Quayle and farmer Chhim Som measuring groundwater salinity. Two longer term groundwater monitoring sites
have been established to monitor changes in groundwater levels and groundwater salinity over time
Bangladesh
Project 5 - Introduction of short duration pulses into rice-based cropping
systems in western Bangladesh
This project has completed Year 2 of the pulse growing season in Bangladesh. A travelling workshop led by
project leader Prof. William Erskine (Director,
CLIMA) assessed the cropping program of lentil
and pea through a field visit with the project
team during February 2013 in western
Bangladesh (the project area). Dr Eric Huttner
(Research Program Manager, Crop Improvement
and Management, ACIAR) and Ms Simrat Labana
(Assistant Manager, South Asia, ACIAR) joined
for part of this time.
Dr. Eric Huttner, Prof. William Erskine, Dr. Matiur Rahman, Dr. Zainul Abedin (from right to left) speaking to the local media
at a field day on lentil relay-sowing at Atgoria, Pabna, Bangladesh.
Lentil
During the workshop it was evident that the area of lentil cultivation has increased from 158,800 ha (2011-2012)
to 164,700 ha (2012-2013) (Source: Department of Agriculture Extension, Bangladesh).
The project is advocating relay sowing of lentil to maximise the probability of a successful lentil crop between two
rice crops. The technique of relay sowing lentil into standing transplanted rice (i.e. T. rice) 1-2 weeks before its
harvest appeared very promising at all sites. The niche for relay sowing was found to be in late-harvested
transplanted rice crop (i.e. T. amam) to be followed by late transplanted rice (i.e. T. aus rice instead of boro) or
jute where soil moisture is excessive and consequently delays lentil cultivation. Relay sowing dramatically
reduces cultivation costs compared to sole-cropping and allows earlier lentil sowing. A higher seed rate of 50
kg/ha was used for relay sowing compared to sole cropping (30 kg/ha). Cost reductions with relay compared with
conventional sowing were estimated to be 40 to 45% (land preparation cost). Farmers have taken up the
technology and have rapidly expanded the area from last year’s demonstration of 2 ha, which yielded 1.8 t/ha, to
approximately 30 ha in 2012-13 season. This success was highlighted in the local and national print and electronic
media.
Pea
Nationally pea production is lower than that of lentil (FAOSTAT 2010 for Bangladesh - lentil production 71,100 t
and dry peas 12,747 t (no data on green peas)).
The project has two target systems for peas in western Bangladesh:
1. Short-season (65-75 days) large-seeded vegetable peas to be sole-cropped after the harvest of T. aman rice
in late October/early November and before the transplanting of spring irrigated boro rice in early February.
This focus for this system is on boro rice land, however avoiding heavy clay soils.
2. Small/medium-seeded peas, which are marketable as green pods, to be either relay-sown into transplanted
rice (i.e. T. aman rice) in late October/early November, or sole-cropped then to be followed by T. aus rice
transplanted in March. This focus is on areas used for aus rice and/or jute cultivation. As with lentil, relay
sowing has a large cost advantage over conventional land preparation (up to 45% savings) and this will also
attract interest from farmers.
The effect of sowing date on different pea cultivars (to provide data for an APSIM pea model) has been studied at
two locations. Furthermore, preliminary evaluation of cropping for green vegetable and fodder production has
received positive and enthusiastic feedback from the farmers. Farmers are also keen to try relay sowing of pea in
to transplanted rice.
Pre-season visit
At the start of the pulse growing season (Nov. 2012) Dr Imran Malik (research associate from The University of
Western Australia) visited an experimental implementation and establishment site. The main issue of early sowing
of pulses into a rice field is the excess soil moisture; during the visit Dr. Malik captured the soil redox status of
rice fields to assess soil condition during relay sowing of lentil and pea. In the 2012-13 season an experiment has
assessed different day length and temperature effects on pea crops and also on relay cropping into the standing
transplanted rice. Furthermore, cropping pattern experiments such as rice-pea-rice and rice-lentil-rice are in the
field for the second season in collaboration with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute to determine an economically
viable system.
Training course
A course on Disease epidemiology and disease forecasting, funded by the Crawford Fund and ICARDA, was
hosted by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) from 3-10 February 2013. Largely taught by Dr.
Moin Salam and Mr. Bill Macleod (Department of Agriculture and Food WA - DAFWA), the course was added to
the ACIAR project, because Stemphylium blight was identified as a major issue in lentil production, as seen with
the severe epidemic on lentils in 2012. There were 16 participants: comprising 2 from Nepal (Nepal Agric.
Research Council) and 1 from India (Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur) with the remaining 13 from
Bangladesh (9 from BARI; 1 from BRRI; 1 DAE; 1 Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University; 1
from Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University).
Feedback from the course participants was very positive. As follow-up they have formed two working groups on
potato late blight disease and on Stemphylium on lentil to develop, test and apply disease forecasting models in
email dialogue with the trainers. Progress on these models will be monitored.
Capacity Building
Nepal is a major regional lentil producing country with a well developed lentil relay-cropping production system.
Two DAE personnel and two BARI scientists along with IRRI-pulse project coordinator made a study-visit to lentil
production regions in Nepal, a major regional lentil producing country, in March. These scientists will now be
involved in evaluating and testing the relay sowing technique with growers in Bangladesh. The National Grain
Legume Research Program (NGLRP) of Nepal has a well connected outreach activity. Pulses Research Centre
(PRC), Bangladesh, may adopt a modified version of the Nepalese model to strengthen pulses research.
In March two senior scientists also visited the Indian Institute of Pulses Research at Kanpur and the Indian
Agricultural Research Institute at Delhi and the West Bengal lentil growing region to further collaboration and to
observe research activity.
Policy
Project 6b – Developing agricultural policies for rice-based farming systems
in Lao PDR and Cambodia
Developing improved farming and marketing systems in rainfed regions of southern LAO PDR
I. Typology of farm-households and livelihood strategies
Farming systems in southern Laos are not only diverse but dynamic, with households continually adapting to
constraints and opportunities arising from the rapid development occurring within Laos and the wider region.
However, the ability of households to embrace these opportunities varies widely. Some households can readily
adopt new practices while others may struggle to do so and may in fact experience a ‘backwash effect’ as others
progress (e.g. when some households establish commercial crops on communal farming land, depriving other
households of the use of that land).
One objective of this project was to conduct an integrated assessment of the farming and marketing systems in
the region with a view to diagnosing key constraints to improved rural livelihoods. To this end the project aimed
to ‘develop a practical typology of farm households and their crop and livestock productivities, livelihood
strategies, and decision-making.’
The development of the household typology was part of a five phase process describing the socio economic input
to farming systems development within the Project.
A reconnaissance led to the identification of six broad village types or agro-economic zones that form the basis of
the household typology in Savannakhet.
Irrigated lowlands
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Rainfed lowlands with supplementary irrigation, or semi-irrigated lowlands
Rainfed lowlands
Transitional (lowland and upland)
Diversified uplands
Remote uplands
In Champassak, the project districts include the first three village types, but there is still a transition into upland
forested areas that are important for livestock-raising and non-timber forest product (NTFP) collection.
The household survey was conducted in 10 villages in Savannakhet and 6 villages in Champassak Province that
were originally visited as part of the reconnaissance survey. Analysis of the survey data reveal wide variations in
access to resources, the portfolio of activities that households engaged in, resource utilisation in each activity,
and the livelihood outcomes such as self-sufficiency and household income.
Four broad types of household orientation were developed – labour-oriented households, subsistence-oriented
households, semi-commercial (market-oriented) households, and households with diversified livelihoods. Table 1
presents some of the sub-categories of each household type.
Conclusion
(1) The six key agro-economic zones were established across the study were largely based around access to
water and village accessibility. These factors are out of the control of individual farmers.
(2) The survey revealed that there is variation in access to resources within these agro-economic zones. This
includes constraints such as land area, access to water, labour availability, access to physical capital and financial
capital.
(3) Many households have diversified their livelihoods with increases opportunities for non-farm and migration
activities. This provides some buffer to households with limited resources. For others wages and remittances
contribute to working capital for livelihood investments.
(4) Households change livelihood strategies throughout time. Livelihood development is possible through a range
of development strategies including – intensification, agricultural diversification, and livelihood diversification. In
some years households may need to increase off-farm activities to make up shortfalls due to production shocks.
For some households income from remittances can be used to increase capital (land, a tractor, a pump). In other
cases it is likely that households will remain labour-dependent or exit agriculture over time.
II. Economic analysis of lowland rice production
This analysis was based on data collected in several phases of field work over 2011-12 in the irrigated and rainfed
lowland agro-ecological zones, including key informant interviews with district agricultural staff, village group
discussions, household surveys, and household case studies. The analysis was based on data from six villages in
Outomphone, Phalanxai, and Phin Districts in Savannakhet and six villages in Phonthong and Sukhuma Districts in
Champassak. The household survey was carried out with 30 randomly selected households in each village,
making 360 households in all. Case studies were conducted with 13 households in Savannakhet and 18
households in Champassak. Survey and case study data were supplemented with project and historical agronomic
trial results in order to construct model budgets for various input scenarios. Sensitivity analysis, threshold analysis,
and risk analysis were conducted for each scenario.
In general, the data suggest that the majority of households remain largely subsistence-oriented and are willing
to trade-off yields with paddy area to meet household requirements, limiting the incentive for intensification.
Only 11 of the 347 households that were growing paddy rice had not adopted any of the three main technologies
– mechanised land preparation, improved varieties, or inorganic fertiliser.
(a) Mechanisation. Off-farm migration is affecting the availability of household labour and the cost of hiring
labour. Hence mechanisation of rice production is occurring, with 75% of survey households using two-wheel
tractors for land preparation rather than draught animal power. Other forms of mechanisation were less common,
with the first transplanters, drill seeders, and harvesters only beginning to be utilised in the past few years and
only in small areas.
(b) Varieties. The majority of households now grow at least one improved variety, with the area of traditional
cultivars contracting. The adoption of improved varieties has occurred at similar rates among different farm size
classes.
(c) Fertiliser. The use of both organic and inorganic fertilisers has been promoted in Laos for many years.
Recommendations were formulated that required relatively low investment and used nutrients with maximum
efficiency, based on the three fertilisers that are more widely and readily available. The level of use remains well
below recommended rates, reflecting the high cost of purchasing inputs, the limited access to credit, the high
level of production risk, and market uncertainty should a surplus be produced. Households with larger areas
applied lower rates because they required less fertiliser to meet self-sufficiency and lacked the economic incentive
to lift production further.
To help understand the adoption patterns of fertiliser, four scenarios were developed based on household survey
data and field experimental results: no-input, low-input, medium-input and high-input.
The results of the enterprise budgeting and sensitivity analysis suggested that households may be willing to adopt
the medium-input scenario, provided they are satisfied with a return on additional working capital of between 50
and 100%. It is very unlikely that a household would adopt the high-input scenario, given that returns to both
land and labour decline compared to the medium-input case. However, this analysis is based on averages that
ignore both production and market risk. Risk analysis was conducted to assess the stability of the results to
fluctuating paddy prices and uncertain yields.
Superimposing the cumulative distributions of the returns to household labour for each scenario shows that the
low- and medium-input scenarios display first-degree stochastic dominance over the high-input scenario, while
the no-input scenario displays second-order stochastic dominance (that is, assuming risk aversion) over the high-
input scenario. In other words, the high-input scenario does not stand up in the risky environment of the rainfed
lowlands.
In conclusion, the survey evidence shows that households in the rainfed lowlands continue to manage rice
production systems that are largely subsistence-oriented. The adoption of new technologies has been important
in helping households meet self-sufficiency objectives and has enabled some to produce a small surplus. Despite
this, rice production remains an economically marginal activity that is under increasing pressure from rising costs,
particularly for labour. Rural livelihoods in the study area have become increasingly diversified, with households
allocating labour to a range of alternative farm and non-farm activities. However, paddy rice production continues
to be the platform on which these other livelihood activities are based. The development and adoption of
technologies that enable households to achieve self-sufficiency in a labour-efficient manner are important to
improving household welfare.
Contact: Dr Rob Cramb, Agricultural and Resource Economics, UQ
Project 6c - Bangladesh
Policy constraints in rice based farming systems in Bangladesh
Water productivity (WP) is the key to sustaining rice production in Bangladesh. The densely populated and landscarce countries of South Asia have demonstrated increasing reliance on groundwater irrigation for increasing
food production. In no other part of the world do peoples’ livelihoods depend so much on groundwater as in
South Asia. About 55–60 and 60–65 percent of the respective populations in India and Pakistan depend on
groundwater for their livelihoods. This figure for Bangladesh is likely to be at least as high as that of Pakistan. In
contrast, the corresponding figure for China is in the 20–25 percent range.
The depletion and degradation of land and water resources due to agricultural intensification is a global as well as
a South Asian phenomenon. The adverse impact of intensive agriculture on soil quality in parts of Bangladesh is
well documented. Two recent papers focus on the water-saving perspective of agricultural development, implying
a higher crop yield per cubic metre of water use.
The bulk of the research on crop water productivity available thus far has focused almost exclusively on static
cross-sectional analyses. Researchers have measured WP at different locations at a point of time precluding the
possibility of examining any time trends. In contrast, this research provides a spatio-temporal perspective:
 estimating rice crop WP for 21 Bangladesh districts for 37 years to 2004 by defining it as a ratio of crop
output to consumptive water use (CWU)
 exploring WP variations among districts
 investigating causality between WP and agricultural intensification, technological diffusion, and groundwater
irrigation and depth.
In summary the research shows that overall rice water productivity in Bangladesh is relatively low (0.306–0.459
kg/m3 of CWU) both by South Asian and international standards. It is also characterized by significant variation
across districts. This stands in sharp contrast to rice WP in parts of India (0.570-1.540 kg) and by global
standards (0.600-1.600 kg). These very low levels of water productivity offer a significant scope for improvement.
Technological diffusion was the key factor explaining inter-district WP differences. The impact of agricultural
intensification on rabi (dry season) and kharif (wet season) crop WPs was positive and negative respectively.
While rabi and kharif rice WPs increased with time, overall rice WP recorded the strongest growth. Rabi and
overall WPs were lower in salinity and drought prone districts covering 33% of Bangladesh’s net cropped area
(NCA). In districts representing 90% of Bangladesh’s NCA, technological diffusion accounted for WP increases. A
causal relationship existed between WP and groundwater irrigation and depth in 60% of NCA, however despite
significant potential to increase WP, increasing dependence on groundwater appears unsustainable.
The spread of high yielding varieties (HYVs) is a key determinant of rice water productivity. However, the spread
of this technology in the dry season depends critically on the access to irrigation, more specifically groundwater
resources.
This notwithstanding, widespread diffusion of HYVs during kharif season is yet to occur, due to greater risks and
uncertainty associated with variable weather conditions. Technological breakthroughs are yet to take a firmer root
to circumvent these uncertainties. Salinity and drought prone areas require rice varieties that are yet to
experience significant scientific breakthroughs.
One implication for the increasing incidence of rice cultivation is that the process of agricultural production has
become more water dependent. In the dry season, rice and pulses are competing crops. The former is at least
one and half times more water-intensive than pulses. Furthermore, the growing season for pulses is considerably
shorter than for rice. Why then do farmers allocate more land to rabi rice than pulses? There are two likely
reasons for this. First, technological progress in pulses has lagged far behind that in rice. Second and more
importantly, rice is the staple food and gives a high and stable yield during rabi season. Therefore, bringing the
agricultural input prices to their scarcity value in itself might not have resulted in the adverse effect on rabi rice
water productivity. This implies that despite the increased cost and availability of agricultural inputs, farmers
continue to grow rice which has greater impact on water resources
However, the problem lay elsewhere. While few would disagree with the above policy rationalization, what was
really lacking was a proper institutional arrangement underlying the supply and distribution of different inputs that
were essential for irrigation. Uncertainty and disruption in the diesel and power supply for irrigation are quite
common. Rabi HYVs of rice are completely dependent on irrigation and timely application of complementary
inputs such as chemical fertilizers. Given that the dry season evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation in most
districts, but especially in the drier districts, adequacy and timely availability of key inputs is critically important.
However, rice cultivation under rain-fed conditions such as during the kharif season provides a different scenario
where there is considerable uncertainty with the timeliness and adequacy of rainfall. Furthermore, high input
costs relative to return may militate against using supplementary irrigation.
It is debatable whether the present water productivity growth process in Bangladesh is sustainable. This is similar
to the picture elsewhere in the developing world.
This present study has broken new ground by exploring these issues which are not found elsewhere in the
existing literature. Even though developed as a case study of Bangladesh, the findings are likely to be relevant to
developing countries where similar conditions apply and data are available. Bangladesh’s situation may not be
unique, as many developing countries are confronted with the problems of dwindling supply of arable land per
capita, and intense pressure on that land. Bangladesh’s excessive reliance on groundwater has parallels with parts
of other South Asian countries, making this case of particular interest.
Contact: Dr M Alauddin, School of Economics, University of Queensland
Related Projects
Adaptation to climate change in Asia
Farmer engagement in Lao PDR
Farmer engagement and training exercises for the Adaptation to Climate Change in Asia (ACCA) project in Lao
PDR were run between 1 and 6 April. This engagement was coordinated and led by Mr Sipaseuth, Research
Operations Manager for the Research Management Division of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research
Institute (NAFRI).
The farmer engagement was held in ten villages in Outhoumphone and Champhone Districts in Savannakhet
Province and was designed to assist farmers in their preparations for the coming wet season. Over 65 farmers
participated in the engagement process.
Field trials this year will focus on testing mechanical tractor mounted planting tools (known locally as direct
seeders) and the workshops provided farmers with information on land preparation, planting using the direct
seeder, appropriate seeding and fertiliser rates, and weed control methods.
Farmers participated in group discussions and practised using the mechanical seeder.
Depending on the timely delivery of mechanised seeders purchased by the project, up to 81 farming families will
participate in ACCA project field trials testing the direct seeders and demonstrating their application in lowland
rainfed rice growing regions of Lao PDR. Results from this research are expected in late 2013.
Farmers from Nongvang, Nanokkien and Sivilay villages (Champhone District) participate in group discussions on the use
of the direct seeder
Farmers from Phin Neua, Sibounheuang and Nonsavang villages (Outhoumphone District) discuss the direct seeder
Farmers from Sakheun, Toad, Vangmao and Taleo villages (Champhone District) practice using the direct seeder
Farmers from Nongvang, Nanokkien and Sivilay villages practice using the direct seeder
For more information:
Ms Alison Laing, Lao PDR country coordinator: Alison.Laing@csiro.au
Dr Christian Roth, ACCA project leader: Christian.Roth@csiro.au
Dr Thavone Inthavong, in-country lead researcher: i_thavone@yahoo.com
Events and Publications
Events
RSR Program final workshop, Cambodia, April 2014