Changes in slash-and-burn agriculture after the introduction of cash crops in the hilly areas of Laos: A case study of Number 10 Village, Xiengngeun District, Luang Prabang Province

Though subsistence-oriented slash-and-burn rice production is still the major land use in the hilly areas of Northern Laos, it is now increasingly problematic, especially in areas adjacent to main roads. Due principally to increased population pressure, the period of fallow has declined and labor requirements for weeding have dramatically increased. In addition, the Lao government considers shifting cultivation to be a major cause of deforestation and has recently initiated a series of policies to restrict it. The main policy now being implemented is the 'land allocation program' which aims to stabilize shifting cultivation and to promote permanent agriculture by allocating a limited area of agricultural land to each household. On the other hand, market-oriented agricultural activities of shifting cultivators, such as cash crop cultivation, collection of forest products, animal husbandry and teak plantation forestry, are now becoming increasingly important since the Lao government adopted a policy to revitalize the market from 1986. As a result, a cash income has become very important in rural and urban areas. Among these activities, cash crop cultivation is now widely adopted in some areas of Northern Laos, influencing local land use and livelihood. This is due in part to the policy of the Lao government ; the government is now promoting intensive agriculture with cash crops as an alternative to slash-and-burn rice production. The present study aims to reveal the in fluence of the introduction of cash crop cultivation on land use in the hilly areas of Laos, with a focus on Number 10 Village, which is located 25 km to the south of Luang Prabang, the largest town in Northern Laos. The main ethnic group is the Khmu. In this village, the upland fields planted with both upland rice and cash crops (Job's tears and paper mulberry) were mapped by means of GPS to describe today's land use. Interviews were also conducted with every household to investigate the household economy and land use history of each field. The conclusions are as follows. In Number 10 Village, the land allocation program was conducted in 1996 and afterwards intensive cultivation of cash crops was promoted by the local government and international organizations as an alternative to slash-and-burn rice production. Due in part to this policy, many households have started cultivating Job's tears and paper mulberry, but it has never been an alternative to slash-and-burn rice production. Job's tears is a cereal crop which is exported to Thailand and Taiwan, and is then processed into beer, sweets and health foods. Although cultivation is usually highly profitable, households cannot rely permanently on it due to large price fluctuations. Paper mulberry is a tree crop, the inner bark of which is exported mainly to Thailand and is processed into paper. It has a rather stable price and is easy to cultivate, but is rarely cultivated intensively because of its low profitability. On the other hand, upland rice cultivation is still the most important land use practice in the village, engaging 88% of households at the scale of 1.13 ha per household. Most households continue production without observing the rules established by the land allocation program. Today, they practice it under the rotation of shorter fallow and an increased cultivation period, which has caused a very significant increase in the labor requirements for weed control. If the rotation is intensified by limiting agricultural land, it cannot be continued. Therefore, many households still continue on land where cultivation is prohibited according to the rules established by the program. Most hous eholds combine subsistence-oriented rice production and market-oriented cash crop cultivation. This combination has important merit for them in that they can mitigate the risks associated with cash crop failure or a fall in the market price due to this subsistence production. It is recommended that the Lao government recognizes the significance of this combination and to some degree accommodates the continu tion of upland rice cultivation. However, the sustainability of this combination in the village is questionable. The labor requirements of upland rice cultivation are increasing, and if the villagers try to increase cash crop production, problems of labor competition may occur. Although cash crop cultivation has brought greater income to households , it has also caused new problems within the village. Firstly, it has caused forest degradation. The most suitable area for Job's tears cultivation is in the proximity of the village. Today, as many households engage in Job's tears cultivation, the problem of land scarcity arises. As a result, several households have cleared some of the mature woods that have been protected by villagers for many years. The government expected cash crop cultivation to be an alternative to upland rice cultivation and, in turn, as a catalyst for forest protection. The result is, however, contrary to the aim of the government. The cash crop stimulated the profit-seeking attitude of farmers and this has resulted in forest degradation. Secondly, it has increased the wealth disparity among households. The rich households have an advantage in cultivating cash crops because they tend to have fields in close proximity to the village. In addition, they can employ labor even if the combination of rice and cash crop cultivation causes a labor shortage. On the other hand, the poor - newly established households in particular - have the least advantage, because they have few fields and trouble in finding labor. A policy to enable the poor to participate in cash crop cultivation is expected.