From Subsistence to Commercial Rice Production in Laos

Abstract

Rice farming in Laos is the least commercialised within the Lower Mekong. Moreover, Laos has suffered the most from variability in production due to the high incidence of droughts and floods. Nevertheless, as in the region as a whole, there has been a remarkable transformation of rice-based farming systems and supply chains over recent decades. These farming systems have been undergoing a transition from subsistence-based to market-oriented production. Rice production is dominated by the rainfed lowland system and is still predominantly for subsistence production of glutinous rice, with only a small proportion marketed and even less exported. However, the cultivated area and especially the yield of both rainfed and irrigated rice have been increasing, contributing to the achievement of rice self-sufficiency at the national level. Moreover, rural livelihoods have become increasingly diversified as the economy of the region develops and opportunities for off-farm and non-farm employment increase.

Risk Perception and Lowland Rice Farming Change in Savannakhet Province, Southern Laos

“…Initially -after taking over the country in 1975 -the government hoped to modernise and transform Laos' agricultural landscape through adopting socialist forms of collective agriculture and agricultural mechanisation. However, this sort of agricultural organisation was socially and economically problematic and, by the late 1970s, the government decided to abandon collectivisation, with agricultural land tenure reverting to small-scale family-based holdings ( Manivong and Cramb 2020;Evans 1990). However, the government still hoped to modernise farmers and their agricultural practices, and continued to promote mechanised farming.…”

“…Chemical fertiliser use is still quite limited as compared to neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, with just two or three 45 kg sacks of chemical fertiliser3 being typically applied to one-hectare plots. The results have been dramatic, with yields increasing significantly, turning rice-deficient farming families into farmers who sell surplus rice (see, also, Manivong et al 2014).…”

“…Indeed, the amount of rice consumed per capita in Laos, including Savannakhet, is among the highest in the world (Eliste and Santos 2012). Moreover, rural people in Savannakhet still identify their occupation as being 'rice farmers' (xao na in Lao) above and beyond anything else, even if they are increasingly adopting multiple livelihood strategies, and more family members are leaving rural villages to work in other parts of Laos or in Thailand (Manivong and Cramb 2020;Rigg 2005). Still, rice holds a special place for rural Lao farmers, economically, culturally and socially (Manivong et al 2014), and rice farming remains a crucially important part of the livelihood strategies of most families.…”

“…Moreover, rural people in Savannakhet still identify their occupation as being 'rice farmers' (xao na in Lao) above and beyond anything else, even if they are increasingly adopting multiple livelihood strategies, and more family members are leaving rural villages to work in other parts of Laos or in Thailand (Manivong and Cramb 2020;Rigg 2005). Still, rice holds a special place for rural Lao farmers, economically, culturally and socially (Manivong et al 2014), and rice farming remains a crucially important part of the livelihood strategies of most families. According to farmers surveyed in Savannakhet (see below), rice is the main source of income for 91 per cent of rice farmers, whereas it was for 92 per cent of the farmers twenty years ago.…”

Labour, mechanization, market integration, and government policy: Agrarian change and lowland rice cultivation in northeastern Thailand and southern Laos

“…Rice production in Laos has been increasing in recent years, and the government hopes to further increase production (Cramb, 2020; Manivong et al, 2014; Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2010), in order to support export markets and gain more foreign exchange revenue (Vientiane Times, 2018). Crucially, however, accessing international rice markets is reliant on meeting importer quality demands, and since 2015, Laos has been exporting organic rice to China (Manivong & Cramb, 2020), and as already mentioned, exports are increasing each year (Vientiane Times, 2021). This has influenced the Lao government to become increasingly supportive of low‐chemical rice production, as the government now realizes the necessity of doing so to meet market demand (Baird et al, 2021; Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2010).…”