ຄັດຫຍໍ້

This policy brief presents the potential of conservation agriculture to overcome soil fertility depletion and land degradation problems due substantially to conventional maize production. It promotes the benefits of conservation agriculture as well as key priorities and options for policy;

In Cambodia’s maize crop, conservation agriculture delivers clear gains in soil health, an improved yield resilience and emerging economic benefits over a short (2-year) implementation span. Soil health, as measured using the Biofunctool, emerges as a valuable sustainability indicator that warrants further promotion. Regardless of the above, productivity and profitability benefits under CA are not immediate, and several prominent adoption challenges exist. With the right policy support, tailored agronomic research, technical innovations (e.g., adaptive machinery) and farmer training, CA could be scaled up to address Cambodia’s dual crises of land degradation and climate vulnerability

– Collaboration between farmer groups, local authorities, and support organizations proved essential to maintaining supply, building trust, and ensuring stable market access. – Establishing a sustainable market and fair pricing through formal contracts proved to be the most significant motivator for farmers to actively produce. – Field-based, hands-on, and peer-to-peer training proved highly effective, improving both technical confidence and productivity, with monthly yields rising from 2 to 3.5 tons

This policy brief, after reviewing agrarian transition, agricultural public policies, actors and organisations supporting Agroecology in Vietnam, presents a rationale to develop agroecology and gives recommendations on different interventions and approaches that could be leveraged by public authorities and other stakeholders to catalyze and bring to scale a full-fledged agroecological transition in Viet Nam.

Crop-Livestock Integration (CLI) through biomass exchanges between crop and livestock enhances the sustainability of mixed farming systems, improving production, autonomy, efficiency and recycling. By analysing the diversity and recent changes in mixed farms and modelling potential CLI pratices changes, we assess the effect of these changes on farm performance and sustainability in Ðiện Biên District, Northwest Vietnam. CLI enables farms to improve animal feed and environmental performances if pressure on land resources remains minimal. High pressure on pasture land may force pasture-dependent farms to cease animal production despite support for forage development. Agroforestry (fruits and forage) could enhance animal feed and farm performance with high-value products, though still its innovative stage. The results show that local authorities must continue to develop innovative models for the production and conservation of forage and crop residues, while also devising additional strategies to support resource-constrained farms. It suggests exploring new forage production systems and biomass management between farms with a broader district-level vision.

Over the past two decades, the Mekong region has experienced significant transformation of its agricultural sector from subsistence farming to export crops driven by the expansion of agricultural land and of irrigation, plus intensification thanks to mechanization and the use of chemical inputs. In the context of agrarian transition, maintaining “organic by default” rice farming systems that do not rely on chemical inputs, is challenging. Based on a case study in Preah Vihear, the organic province of Cambodia, this paper examines whether organic rice certification can maintain “organic by default” practices in a context of unprecedented agricultural intensification.

ການປູກເຂົ້ານາ ປະສົມປະສານກັບການລ້ຽງເປັດ ແລະ ປູກ ພືດລະດູແລ້ງ ໃນນາເຂົ້າ ແມ່ນວິທີການໜຶ່ງ ທີ່ສົ່ງສົ່ ຜົນເຮັດ ໃຫ້ການຜະລິດທີ່ຍືນຍົງ, ເຊີ່ງສາມາດເພີ່ມຜົນຜະລິດເຂົ້ານາ ຈາກການໄດ້ຮັບຝຸ່ນທຳມະຊາດ, ສ້າງລາຍຮັບຈາກການເຮັດ ຫຼາຍກິດຈະກຳໃນພື້ນທີ່ດຍວກັນ ແລະ ມີການປັບປຸງດິນໄປ ພ້ອມ ຈາກການນຳໃຊ້ຝຸ່ນຂຽວຈາກພືດຕະກຸນຖົ່ວ ແລະ ຝຸ່ນຈາກເປັດ. ລະບົບນີ້ຍັງເປັນການຫຼຸດຜ່ອນ ແຮງງານໃນ ການຄວບຄູມຫຍ້າ, ຫຼຸດຜ່ອນສັດຕູພືດ ແລະ ຫຼຸດຜ່ອນ ການນຳໃຊ້ສານເຄມີໃນນາເຂົ້າ ລວມທັງຫຼຸດຜ່ອນຕົ້ນທຶນ ການຜະລິດເຂົ້ານາໄດ້ອີກດ້ວຍ

• In Xieng Khouang (XKH), farmers grow Khao Kai Noi (KKN) rice for self-consumption and surplus are mainly sold at local markets. • The KKN-based farming system exhibits a range of agroecological characteristics on which initiatives such as Geographical Indication (GI) build to promote high-quality rice. • Rice from XKH has a good reputation due to its organoleptic qualities but its sustainable features are not prized by customers. • Knowledge about GI certification is low and the volume of KKN from XKH sold under GI certification is marginal. • The agroecological characteristics of KKN-based farming system and their link to XKH territory have to be promoted to make it a showcase of sustainable food systems in Laos.

This research brief reveals how smart shade design can make Lao tea farms more productive and resilient. Across nine plots in Xieng Khouang, results show that trees shape everything: yield dips close to trunks, but tea quality and soil protection soar under moderate shade. Not all trees are equal, Mak-Kho (Livistonia speciosa) stands out as a top performer. The takeaway: space trees 3-6 m apart and choose service-rich species for better cups and safer soils.

– Soil is involved in 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – In Laos, there are worrying signs of widespread soil degradation threatening national food security. – Yet, there is no systematic monitoring of soil health, making it impossible for concerned governmental institutions to prioritize action. – Soil health is not the same as soil fertility. The heavy use of fertilisers can cause a soil to be rich in Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) but not sustain agricultural production. – Soil fauna is involved in most of soil functions e.g. nutrient cycling, soil structure maintenance, carbon transformations, soil-born pest population regulation… There is a need to go beyond soil properties assessment to assess soil biological functioning – Low-cost and easy-to-use toolkits allowing to assess soil health exist and have been successfully tested in Laos. They should be integrated into a national framework for the monitoring of soil health. – Life comes from the soil, let’s monitor soil health to better protect it!