Suchergebnisse

Data collection for the village baseline study of Pailom village located in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR, took place from 17th -19th Oct, 2014. Focus group discussions were conducted separately for men and women. The village experienced yearly food shortage leading to hunger and malnutrition. Contributory factors included the frequent drought and crop damage from pests and diseases, poor irrigation facilities benefiting only very few farms, high concentration of salt in soil that limits crop diversification in certain areas of arable land, and increasing population that reduces the land area per person. Rice production was the main livelihood in the village but only limited during the wet season because it is mostly rainfall dependant. During the dry season, fields are left to fallow and used for livestock grazing. The government has provided emergency food aid such as rice and corn powder at subsidized cost during food shortage. , Villagers were temporarily migrating to Thailand to work as labourers in factories and in other farms. Few organizations were operating in the village, particularly working on food security and food crisis issues. Information networking for agricultural activities was mainly by individual (farmer to farmer) interaction rather than media. There was poor dissemination of agricultural information or technical support from agriculture extension workers and responsible agencies. Identified priorities in Pailom village include strengthening and promoting agricultural research extension to gather information on fertilizer management, sustainable agricultural production techniques, pest and disease management

This paper develops a conceptual framework with an indicator-based approach to assess Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) and applies it to case study sites in Lao PDR (Ekxang CSV), Cambodia (Rohal Suong CSV), and Vietnam (Tra Hat CSV) in Southeast Asia. The intensification, extensification, diversification, commercialization, alteration of practices, use of common lands, migration strategies that can augment climate resilience, farm income, assets, and food security are assessed based on a composite index of the strategies and key outcome variables. The study demonstrates a method that can be applied widely for assessing climate-smart agriculture strategies and finding possible entry points for climate-smart interventions. The influence of gender in resource control and livelihood strategies is also discussed. It is also evident that the climate-smart interventions can augment different livelihood strategies of farmers and enhance the developmental and climate resilience outcomes. There is a need to prioritize the possible interventions in each case and implement them with the help of donor agencies, local institutions, and government offices.

The Situation Analysis and Needs Assessment is part of the baseline study of CCAFS climate-smart villages in Southeast Asia. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and collection of secondary data were conducted from the village to provincial levels. The Pailom village, one of CCAFS benchmark sites, is located in Champhone district, Savannakhet Province, Laos. Savannakhet province is lowland at the western part and the upland at the eastern part. The province, including Pailom village, frequently experiences drought and crop damage from pests and diseases. Rice production is the main source of people's livelihood. Due to lack of irrigation and low fertile soil, rice yield is low, ranging from 1.5 to 4.5 tons per hectare. The increasing population growth and negative impacts of climate change contribute to the yearly food shortage in the area. The number of migrant workers from the rural area of the province to the cities and neighboring countries, especially Thailand is increasing. There are not many organizations operating in Pailom village and it is equally uncommon to find organizations working on food security and food crisis issues. Information networking for agricultural activities is mainly established between farmers. There is poor dissemination of agricultural information or technical support from agricultural extension workers and responsible agencies. The identified priorities of farmers in Pailom village include strengthening and promoting agricultural research extension to gather information on fertilizer management, sustainable agricultural production techniques, pest and disease management, and adoption of drought and salinity resistant crop varieties and appropriate husbandry techniques.

Bac Lieu Province in Vietnam is mainly agricultural. Rice is the dominant staple food and the main crop in the province. Farmers have changed the farming system from paddy monoculture to diversified agricultural products (cash crops and livestock). Livestock production is in small scale. The province has three ecological zones: rice/fruit and vegetable production in the eastern districts, a mixed rice and rice/shrimp/aquaculture environment in the central districts and an area of saline/acid soil for a wide variety of sea-based product in the western districts. Salinization and shifting land use from cultivation to aquaculture have caused soil degradation in Bac Lieu. Meanwhile, Tra Hat village is in Vinh Loi District in Bac Lieu Province. It is about 25 km distance from Bac Lieu City. Nearly 80% of the total area of 400 ha of the village are paddy fields (316 ha). Livelihood in the village include rice production, livestock, fishpond and garden production. The problems in rice production include the degradation of the traditional rice seed, flooding, lack of freshwater, application of more farm chemicals, and difficult access to market information; for fruits and vegetables, the main problem is the poor market demand; for livestock, the main problems are diseases and lack of market; in fisheries, the main problem is the low catch; and for aquaculture, the main problems are the poor quality of water and the lack of market. Households also earn money from off farm activities and thus can buy other food (meat, egg) at the commune market for daily consumption. Many households in the village are food sufficient. The local production systems are well adapted to the natural seasonal fluctuation in rainfall and flooding regime, but occasional extreme flooding events cause crop damage and food shortage situation, the most recent was in 2011. The main concern is the maintenance of food sufficiency and security, and raising household income. The main challenges are increasing climate shocks, salt-water intrusion, and population growth. Households acknowledged their need to receive support from the government and other organizations to develop their production systems for sustainable and stable income and better living conditions with reduced risks of environmental pollution, natural disasters, and climate variability.

This report summarizes the results of the household baseline survey conducted in Ekxang Climate-Smart Village and six surrounding villages in Phonghong district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR. The survey was implemented with participation of 140 randomly selected households using pre-prepared tablet-based questionnaires. The majority of the households were male-headed. On average, each household had six members and most of the members were between 5 and 60 years old. The household size and labor force in the target region are similar to national average. The main source of food and income of the households were from on-farm agriculture production, which was mostly contributed by cultivation and livestock. Agriculture production was mainly for self-sufficient purpose as most of products were consumed within the household. Farm size mostly ranged between 1 and 5 hectares and households still can expand land for crops from existing pasture or fallow land. Besides their own land, households were also allowed access to communal land for food crops, vegetables, and other products. With the availability of arable land, food production was enough for the household demand throughout the year. Considering a "typical food year", food shortage was only experienced by 3% of the households in June, July and October. Few households experienced food crisis in last five years. Although climate change is widely mentioned by the community, it was not perceived as a main factor that led to changes in farming practices. About 80% of the households changed their crops following market price and preference of consumer and availability of labor over the last 10 years. Rain water was often available for farming during rainy season. During the dry season, due to limited capacity of irrigation system, farmers often use water from ponds and boreholes for surrounding crop fields. Regarding information sources, households received climate and weather information from television and individuals, such as friends, relatives or neighbors. Most of the households owned television (97.9%) and mobile phone (95.7%). Information about extreme events and short term (2-3 days) weather forecast were available, but not the long term weather forecast or early warning of pest and disease outbreak. It seems that government organizations did not pay much attention to providing climate information to farmers as only one out of 129 households reported that they receive the information from government staffs.

Ma village, Vinh Kien commune, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province has been selected to be one of Climate Smart Villages (CSVs) under the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in Southeast Asia. The village baseline survey (VBS) of Ma village, was therefore conducted as part of the baseline effort. This VBS aimed to provide baseline information at the village level about some basic indicators of natural resource utilization, organizational landscapes, and information networks for weather and agricultural information, which can be compared across sites and monitored over time. The study was conducted using the method developed and provided by CCAFS. The study's findings show that Ma Village is rich and diverse in natural resources. There are three main resources of vital importance for the local people livelihoods, namely farmland, forest and water resources. However, improper exploitation and management have caused negative impacts on these resources. As mentioned by farmers, in the past, farmland of the village used to be very fertile, but has now become severely degraded due to overexploitation and improper management. Regarding forest resources: before 1980s, natural forests existed in large areas and consisted of valuable timber and wild animals. Today, much of the forest area has been converted to production forests or to food crop production land. Water resources, including lakes, rivers and streams have been severely polluted with pollutants from processing cassava, wood and also from animal husbandry and crop production. Degradation of water, farmland and forest resources are causing increasing challenges to agricultural production and also to other human activities. Results of farmer group discussions also demonstrate that there are 34 organizations operating in the village. Most of them are governmental. Very few are private or non-governmental organizations. The number of organizations involving in food security accounts for nearly 50%, the figure for those involving food crisis is 41.6% and in natural resources management is 25%. Those organizations working in food security and food crisis focus mainly on providing support (financial, seed and agricultural inputs) to local farmers to implement some production activities. Insufficient attention and input spent for sustainable development by these 34 organizations, especially those working in the area of natural resources management, could be one of the main reasons for the degradation and erosion of natural resources. There was no activity supporting Ma Village to develop production systems which can respond well to climate change. The study findings however show that local people are very flexible and creative, especially in exploitation of information. Among media channels, television is the most popular. Nevertheless, organizations, in particular, extension networks, Farmers' Union, local authorities, etc., also have an important role in information dissemination. Exploitation of information from the internet and mobile phones has also been given attention, but mostly by young people only.

Ekxang village is located in the plains of Phonhong district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR. Since the 1990's, the province has been under rapid infrastructural, economic and social development. Increased access to services including electricity, water, major roads, and education facilitated economic growth in the region. Employment in non-farming activities such as civil servants and factory workers is on the rise, particularly among men. Most of the provincial population (77%) is still dependent on agriculture as their main livelihood activity and rely heavily on natural resources for food security. The main crop produced in Vientiane province is rice (lowland 39.2%, upland 41.5% and plateau 19.3%) with other important crops including tamarind, mango, maize and rubber. Agricultural yields in the region are low but have the potential to increase through the use of supplemental irrigation, new varieties, improved production techniques and the adoption of climate smart technologies. A major threat to agriculture, food security and livelihoods in the region is climate change. The government of Lao PDR recognizes climate change as a barrier to the country's overall development and has adopted several strategies for promoting adaptation and mitigation across various sectors. However, the ability of the country to adapt depends greatly on the capacity of its institutions to plan and implement these strategies. This study suggests that priority interventions to increase agriculture, food security and improve livelihoods in Ekxang CSV and, on a larger scale, Vientiane province, are 1) develop a sustainable water supply for irrigation, 2) diversify and increase production, 3) build the capacity of local organizations/staff, 4) support projects that focus on skills transfer to local staff and students, 5) enhance current local natural resource management initiatives, and 6) strengthen civil society.