DMC generates a soil fertility improvement though organo-biological processes. The agronomic efficiency appears to be correlated to the quantity and diversity of the biomass inputs in the cropping system. This insight provides new perspectives for a continuous improvement of the cropping systems

With limited opportunities for agricultural expansion in the lowlands (i.e. most of the lowland areas have already been converted into paddy fields), increasing rice production representsa key challenge for the subsistence farmers of the plain of Jars. Yet, in the quasi-absence of chemical fertilization, the productivity of lowland agriculture is strongly linked to upland cattle breeding and the availability of manure

Constrained by a hilly topography and long distances to the main economic centers of the province, agriculture in the northern part of Kham district has long been dominated by traditional slash-and-burn shifting cultivation. In general, the plots are cropped with glutinous rice during one year, sometimes planted with traditional maize varieties the following year, and left fallowed for 3 to 15 years depending on the distance of the plot to the village and the associated land pressure. In these forested environments, NTFPs are traditionally an important source of food.

Since the mid-2000s, land-use in Kham basin and Nonghet hillsides has come to be dominated by hybrid maize mono-cropping. The rapid expansion of this commercial crop has a tremendous impact on both the local economy and the environment. Maize has not only replaced existing gardens, chilli and fruit tree plantations but it has also expanded at the expense of forests and former fallow land. With the transition towards intensive commercial agriculture, agricultural productivity has increased considerably while rural poverty has receded. Yet, a growing number of farmers are now confronted with land degradation issues (e.g. soil erosion, lowland siltation, weed pressure and chemical pollution), excessive production costs and indebtedness. In this context, the activities promoted by PRONAE have focused on accompanying the ‘maize boom’ and, in particular, mitigating its potentially negative impacts by developing DMC-based maize cropping systems.

Macro aggregates disruption, enhanced soil aeration and mixing of residues into the soil induced changes in microbial communities’ activity and organic C losses.

Adoption of SVC by smallholders in Laos

Adoption of SVC by smallholders in Laos

Proposition of network of Conservation Agriculture in Southwest Asia

Proposition of network of Conservation Agriculture in Southwest Asia. CANSEA is a structured regional organisation aimed at implementing projects of regional interest with regional comparable research designs, harmonized environmental and economic assessment methods and comparable impact indicators.

Since the opening of the country to the market economy in 1986, the Government of Laos (GoL) has invested considerable efforts into modernizing its agriculture. Village land use planning and land registration are being used by the GoL to promote an intensification of agriculture - from extensive subsistence-oriented shifting cultivation, deemed unproductive and poverty-creating, to more intensive and market-oriented cropping systems