Profitability and opportunity of conservation agriculture in acid savannah grasslands of Laos

Abstract

In north-eastern Laos, the savannah grasslands of the Plain of Jars cover vast areas of potentially cultivable land. However, soil acidity, low inherent fertility, and the absence of alternatives to tillage represent significant constraints to the development of sustainable smallholder agriculture. Our objective was to evaluate the potential for conservation agriculture (CA) to enhance soil productivity and farming system profitability. A three-year rotation of rice/maize/soybean was tested under three fertilization levels and four agricultural systems: one conventional tillage-based (CT) system and three CA systems based on no-tillage with cover crops. After four cropping seasons, our results show that, compared with CT, CA systems led to similar-to-higher grain production, similar-to-higher profits, higher opportunity of livestock system intensification, and higher labour productivity regardless of fertilization levels. While CA represents a relevant alternative to current practices, our results suggest that its contribution to the emergence of a sustainable smallholder agriculture is conditioned by broader institutional transformations, including the enrolment of local manufacturers and traders for deploying no-till implements and seed market channels for cover crops, long-term public support to maintain active research and technical mentoring to farmers, and possibly the integration of ecosystem services in agricultural policy.

Keywords:

• acid tropical soils
• no-till
• cover crops
• soil productivity
• system profitability
• rainfed agriculture
• crop–livestock systems
• smallholders
• two-wheel tractors
• scaling-up conditions

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Department of Agriculture and Forestry of Xieng Khouang Province and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for their commitment in CA experiments, the Sector-based Program in Agroecology (PROSA), the French Development Agency (AFD), the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM), and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their financial support.

Notes

1. Vientiane Times, Feb 13, 2012. ‘The Lao government has given permission for the Vietnam Chemical Group (Vinachem) to excavate and process potassium in Khammuan province.’