SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

8 - AgricultureIn Thailand, shifting cultivation often occurs on lands opened up by logging. Rainfed crops are used andyields are high for the first few years because of the nutrients released by the burning or degradationof the forest cover, but soil fertility drops dramatically after a few seasons. 85 This practice is notlimited to subsistence farmers, large scale cash-crop cultivation is also carried out in this fashion andlocal minority groups are often driven out of traditional lands by encroaching outsiders. 86In Viet Nam, there are about 800,000-1,000,000 people practising shifting cultivation, and abouttwo million engaged in semi-shifting cultivation, most of them upland minorities. 87 These farmers,the majority of whom live outside the Mekong Basin in northern Viet Nam, generally operate on asubsistence basis on steep slopes. Serious soil erosion problems and endemic poverty are common.As far and the LMB portion of the country is concerned, such practices are common in the CentralHighlands and rare in the intensively-farmed Mekong Delta region. The situation in the Highlandsis worsening because of large-scale government-sponsored and independent in-migration, which isincreasing population densities and forcing resident ethnic minorities to move into increasinglymarginal forest areas. 88Cambodia experiences similar problems, but the situation is complicated by the fact that many postwarreturnees are unable to use their family land because of minefields or conflicts over tenure and somust clear and plant upland forest areas to make a living. 89 Comprehensive mine clearance is thusrequired before shifting upland cultivation will end and people will return to the lowlands.3.6 LivestockLivestock rearing has traditionally formed animportant part of farm systems, providinghaulage, natural fertilisers, cash income andadditional dietary protein. Dependence uponlivestock is especially high for peopleemploying subsistence production systems,with numerous groups using animals as anintegral part of their livelihood strategies.Livestock, particularly large animals, are alsoan important provider of financial security forpeople in subsistence economies. Buffalo andother animals tend to be the most valuabletradable asset owned by such people and canbe sold to meet emergency financialIntegrated farming is practiced to a greater extent inNortheast Thailand than in other areas of the LMBrequirements or to make major investments. The loss of animals is thus identified as a majordeterminant of poverty. Small animals such as pigs and poultry are raised to provide farmhouseholds with a major source of animal protein.Over recent decades, subsistence-based livestock systems have become increasingly linked to thewider economy and commercialised husbandry has become more common. 90 Intensification ofproduction has increased and the role played by animals has changed from integrated components offarm systems (e.g. buffaloes used primarily for haulage) to discrete output units (e.g. cows grown formeat and milk.) 91 The tables below indicate that livestock production has increased substantiallyduring the 1990s in Cambodia, Viet Nam and Lao PDR. The increases are probably due to the impactof economic reforms in Viet Nam and Lao PDR and increasing political stability in rural areas inCambodia. Livestock production in Thailand, after an initial 20 percent increase in the early 1990s,remained reasonably constant for the rest of the decade. Breakdowns for changes in the populations of167