improved fallow systems in the luang prabang area, lao pdr - Afaci

Improved fallow systems in the Luang Prabang area, Lao PDR – an analysis based on farmer experiencesMethodsData collectionInterviewsData were mainly collected through farmer interviewswith the help of a translator, following a questionnaire.The questions were quite open-ended in order tocapture the farmers' adaptation and experiences withthe introduced system. Simple sketches were drawntogether with the farmers to visualise the plots atdifferent stages. Questions were aimed at finding outsystem design and plot performance before and afterthe implementation. Of particular interest were also thefarmers' opinions on the methods; views on whether thetechniques were worth the extra labour input,performance compared with traditional methods andpros and cons. An outline of the questions asked andtheir succession is presented in Table I.In addition to the interviews, plot visits were made (timeand accessibility permitting) if the plot containedanything remaining of the introduced system.Positions of villages and plots visited were establishedthrough GPS.KalongDuring the interviews the concept kalong was used toquantify plot areas and harvests. A kalong is a twinedbamboo basket, holding about 10 kg rice. that mostupland farmers use in their field work. It takes fivekalongs of rice (50 kg) to plant one hectare. To estimatethe plot area used by a farmer, he was questioned howmany kalongs he used for planting. In the same way,plot production could be determined through the number of kalongs harvested. From this the plotyield can be calculated. The use of kalong as a weight and area unit is a standard method inSCRP's work and helps in getting more accurate data from the farmers, as they normally do notuse kilos and hectares.One kalong of unpeeled Peanut is 5 kg and peeled is 12 kg. For peeled Black beans and Mungbeans one kalong is 14 kg.Crop cutsTable 1. Outline of the question succession.1. Initial experiment design- When?- Description of components- Plot performance2. Earlier plot history- Length of fallow- Description of components- Plot performance3. Plot development- Length of fallow- Description of components- Plot performance4. Farmer’s views- Labour input- Performance compared to normalmethodsPlot components: Crop(s), improvedfallow species, plantation pattern, newgermination, changes.Plot performance: baskets of plantedbaskets of harvested crop, numbers ofweeding, pests, diseases, rain.Another SCRP standard method is to gather yield data through crop cuts. By doing this, yieldscan be measured directly, before the cropping season is over and without the insecurities ofinterviews. In this study, crop cuts were performed only at one rice plot; divided into threesections based on different fallow periods. Over the area nine 2x2-meter squares were marked,harvested and weighed. 200 gram rice samples were taken from each cut and left to dry until nomore change in weight could be observed. From the weight ratio between wet cut and wetsample, and the dry sample weight, dry yields could be determined for each cut (equation 1).Yields of each cut were established, as well as average yields of the plot's different parts and arehere analysed together with the historical yields, determined through interviews.IMPROVED FALLOW SYSTEMS IN THE LUANG PRABANG AREA, LAO PDR - AN ANALYSIS BASED ON FARMEREXPERIENCES.20040940 6