Opportunities and constraints for adoption of maize-legume mixed cropping systems in Laos

ABSTRACT

Land use and land cover have rapidly changed in Kham basin, northern Laos, with a rapid expansion of maize cultivated area. While maize monoculture has contributed to reduce rural poverty, many farmers are now confronted to declining yields, indebtedness, rising health and environmental concerns. Interventions at two different stages of the maize boom, i.e. expansion-intensification and distress-diversification phases, allowed capturing the main drivers of change in maize production systems, and assessing opportunities and constraints for the adoption of more sustainable maize-legume mixed systems. The successive innovations in maize cropping systems, i.e. introduction of hybrid seeds, motorized tillage, herbicides, service provision, planters, and mineral fertilizers, were mainly driven by productivity and profitability objectives. Farmers’ interest in maize-legume mixed systems was low during maize expansion-intensification phase. The decline in maize profitability and new market outlets for legumes open new opportunity windows for maize-legume mixed systems. Yet, farmers’ adoption of such systems is limited by (i) local perceptions of legumes as cash crops only, and (ii) farmers’ least effort strategies that includes e.g. heavy herbicide use and livestock free roaming after maize harvest. Large-scale adoption of maize-legume mixed systems requires innovative intervention mechanisms to engage local stakeholders into redesigning their landscapes and value-chains.

KEYWORDS:

• Maize boom
• agricultural systems re-design
• agroecology
• landscape approach
• smallholder farmers
• Lao PDR

Acknowledgments

This research was made possible thanks to the financial support from the French Agency for Development (AFD), and the European Union (EU) through the Global Climate Change Alliance programme.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Pascal Lienhard is agronomist at CIRAD. He has been working in South East Asia and notably in Laos for more than 20 years. He coordinated maize-based conservation agriculture (CA) experiments in Kham district, Xieng Khouang Province from 2004 to 2009.

Guillaume Lestrelin is geographer at CIRAD. He has been working in South East Asia and notably in Laos for more than 15 years. He participated to the study on CA adoption in Xieng Khouang Province in 2009 and the study on land use, land cover, and livelihood changes in Kham district in 2015.

Ianlang Phanthanivong is extentionist at Xieng Khouang Provincial Agricultural and Forestry Office. He was in charge of maize-based CA experiments with farmers in Kham district from 2006 to 2009, and of the land restoration initiative in 2015 and 2016.

Xaisavanh Kiewvongphachan is a GIS specialist. He conducted the land use and land cover changes analysis in Kham district.

Bounma Leudphanane is extentionist at Xieng Khouang Provincial Agricultural and Forestry Office. He has a strong experience in CA cropping systems and supportedmaize-based on-farm experiments in Kham district from 2015 to 2018.

Juliette Lairez is agronomist at CIRAD, specialized in the multi-criteria assessment of innovative cropping systems. She participated to maize-based cropping systems sustainability assessment in 2018.

Hoa Tran Quoc is agronomist at CIRAD. He has been working in South East Asia and notably in Laos for more than 20 years. He has a strong experience on CA systems with cover crops. During the past recent years, he has been working on the design of cover crop-based innovative systems for maize, banana, and coffee in Laos.

Jean-Christophe Castella is geographer at IRD. He has been working in South East Asia and notably in Laos for more than 25 years. He has a strong experience in participatory land use planning and in scenario exploration with farmers. He coordinated the livelihood changes studies conducted in Kham district in 2009 and 2015.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was made possible thanks to the financial support from the French Agency for Development (AFD), and the European Union (EU) through the Global Climate Change Alliance programme.