Rice-based Systems Research: Regional Technical Workshop June 2012 Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

2. Partners
• Faculty of Agriculture – NUOL (staff and
students)
• Agriculture and Forestry Policy Research
Centre – NAFRI
• University of QLD (staff and students)
• Savannakhet and Champasak PAFO
• DAFO staff from project districts

3. MARKET
STUDIES
AGRARIAN
TECHNICAL POLICY
OPTIONS SYSTEMS OPTIONS
ANALYSIS
FARM AND
COMMUNITY
STUDIES

4. Farm and community studies:
Developing a household typology
PHASE 1 -
Consultation
PHASE 2 -
with DAFO staff PHASE 3 - PHASE 5 -
Village PHASE 4 - Case
regarding Household Monitoring and
reconnaissance study analysis
village survey Evaluation
field work
classification
and selection

5. Agro-economic zones in Savannakhet

6. Where would you put the structural
boundaries?
6000
5000
4000
Yield (kg/ha)
3000
2000
1000
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Area (ha)
Self-sufficient line Market orientation

7. Functional typology
Labour Semi Subsistence Market oriented
• Remittance • Intensive lowland • Rice specialists
dependent • Extensive lowland • Cropping
• Farm labourers • Upland/ lowland specialists
--------------------- • Diversified cropping • Livestock
• Farming • Swidden/NTFP/Collector focused
professionals • Agro-forestry
• Livestock keepers
Diversified livelihood

8. Number of households (n=300)
10
20
30
40
60
50
0
Labour
Migration
Labour
Professional
Smallscalelowland
Lowland
Medium Lowland
Transitional
Transitional
Swidden
Subsistence Livestockkeeper
Upland
LowlandNTFP
Rice Market (20%)
Market
Agroforestry
Provisional classification (Savannakhet)
Diversified
Diversified

9. Household rice security status in
lowlands (2010)
SupI SupI IR R TRAN TRAN IR SupI R IR SupI R
100%
Percent of surveyed households
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Nagasor
Oupalath
Hieng
Phonegnanang
Phanomxai
Phontan
GeangXai
Khamsa-e
None Phajao
Boungkeo
Phaling
Khoke Nongbua
Outomphone Phalanxai Phin Phonethong Soukhuma
Both Buy Self-suff Sell

10. WS paddy yields by rice security status
(2010)
6000
5000
4000
Yield (kg/ha)
3000
Constraints
2000 Incentive
1000
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Area (ha)
Both Buy Self-sufficient Sell Self-sufficient line Market orientation

11. Adoption of modern varieties
(Champasak)
35 100%
Cumulatice percent of households (%)
90%
30
80%
Number of households
25 70%
20 60%
50%
15 40%
10 30%
20%
5
10%
0 0%
Year
Phaling Oupalath None Phajao Boungkeo
Khoke Nongbua Hieng Cumulative adoption

12. Fertiliser use in the lowlands (SVK &CPP):
80% of households (n=360)
Top-dress
Basal (64)
(113) No top-dress
Seedbed (49)
(171) Top-dress
No Basal (38)
(58) No top-dress
(20)
Inorganic
Fertiliser Top dress
Grow paddy rice (276) (31)
Basal
(347) No Inorganic (68)
None on No top-dress
(71)
seedbed (37)
(86)
No Basal Top dress
No information
(18) (18)
(19)

13. Rate of fertiliser remains low (kgN/ha)
District/Village Only basal Basal + Top dress Only top dress Total
Outomphone 9.9 12.0 8.8 9.4
Nagasor 13.1 17.7 8.5 11.3
Phonegnanang 5.9 8.2 9.0 7.2
Phalanxai 11.5 13.0 17.8 12.1
Phanomxai 16.8 17.6 19.1 14.4
Phontan 10.0 8.4 15.9 9.7
Phin 9.6 16.3 8.0 2.2
Khamsa-e 7.3 0.6
GeangXai 9.6 16.3 8.4 3.6
Phonethong 8.0 28.0 15.2 15.4
Phaling 6.4 26.3 17.2 19.3
Oupalath 18.1 29.8 23.5 21.8
None Phajao 5.3 6.1 2.4
Soukhuma 11.1 24.9 10.7 13.0
Boungkeo 16.2 32.1 13.5 19.5
Khoke Nongbua 11.3 24.7 16.0 12.9
Hieng 6.3 10.7 4.3 5.7
Grand Total 10.3 21.1 13.1 11.2

14. Cumulative distribution of kgN/ha
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
Prob
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
KgN/ha (Basal + Top-dress)
All paddy Apply N

15. Mechanisation – Land preparation
Own Tractor
District/Village Own Tractor Buffalo Hire Tractor Buffalo/Hire and Buffalo NA
Outomphone 78% 18% 2% 0% 0% 2%
Nagasor 77% 17% 3% 0% 0% 3%
Phonegnanang 80% 20% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Phalanxai 56% 19% 20% 3% 0% 2%
Phanomxai 60% 13% 23% 0% 0% 3%
Phontan 52% 24% 17% 7% 0% 0%
Phin 85% 9% 6% 0% 0% 0%
Khamsa-e 88% 8% 4% 0% 0% 0%
GeangXai 81% 11% 7% 0% 0% 0%
Phonethong 43% 47% 3% 5% 1% 1%
Phaling 59% 21% 10% 7% 0% 3%
Oupalath 45% 45% 0% 7% 3% 0%
None Phajao 24% 76% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Soukhuma 69% 6% 16% 8% 1% 0%
Boungkeo 67% 7% 20% 3% 3% 0%
Khoke Nongbua 67% 7% 13% 13% 0% 0%
Hieng 75% 4% 14% 7% 0% 0%
Total 64% 21% 10% 4% 1% 1%

16. Barriers to market development
Labour Semi Subsistence Market oriented
• Remittance • Intensive lowland • Rice specialists
dependent • Extensive lowland • Cropping
• Farm labourers • Upland/ lowland specialists
--------------------- • Diversified cropping • Livestock
• Farming • Swidden/NTFP/Collector focused
professionals • Agro-forestry
• Livestock keepers
Diversified livelihood

17. Internal and external constraints
Farming system External
• Soil fertility • Price of output
• Water • Price of inputs
• Rice quality • Infrastructure
• Processing
• Taxes and trade restrictions

18. Savannakhet rice production
1.2. Trade in Agricultural sector
Rice production share by district, 2010
20% 18%
18% 17%
16%
14%
Production (Tons)
14%
12%
10%
8% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7%
6%
6% 4%
4% 3%
2%
2% 1% 0.3%
0%
Source: Annual report 2010, PICO of Savannakhet province

19. Location of studies

20. Potential
• The study area has the geographical position advantage for the
expansion of exports to Vietnam as it located on road n. 9 which
links the study area to Quang Tri province via Lao Bao –
Dansavanh cross border ;
• 20 % of rice collected by rice millers in study district is export to
Vietnam
• The study area has approximately 14,000 metric tons of rice
surplus every year. This is an opportunity for farmers to supply
local mills in their own district;
• The horizontal integration between traders can facilitate the
trade negotiation in the market level
– Rice millers group

21. Major constraints
• Seasonality of supply source: it is increasing the difficult to
source the rice in study area
– > 50% of rice is collected outside the study area ;
• Price fluctuation due to production levels and policy decision
– Low production (drought or flood)
– Banned of rice exports
– 1700 kip/kg (2009), 3500 - 4200 kip/kg (2010) and 1800 kip/kg (2011)
• Difficulty to set up quality standards recognized by
international actors due to poor processing facilities in the
rice mill;
– High percentage of broken piece, low percentage of whole grain (35%)
– High humidity of polished rice (> 16%)
• Market fragmentation due to the lack of horizontal linkage in
the supply site (non formal farmer’s organisation)

22. Recommendations
Rice marketing chain
• Strengthening the horizontal linkage in the supply site:
Farmers in the study area should have a formal collective
action in order to facilitate the purchase of rice by
traders, whilst giving them “a bargaining power”;
• Improving the vertical linkage: the vertical linkage can be
leveraged to increase the flow of information to farmers. If the
information transfer between farmers and traders is better
organized and linked, farmers can orient their production to
meet the market demand rather than produces for home-
consumption;
• Improve processing knowledge and facilities to be able to
ensure quality recognized by international standard.

23. Further information