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Teak Production by Shifting Cultivators in Northern Lao P.D.R

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Teak Production by Shifting Cultivators in Northern Lao P.D.R Page 1 of 12 Technical Report No. 9, TR 9 Teak production by shifting cultivators in Northern Lao P.D.R. By Peter Kurt Hansen 1, Houmchitsavath Sodarak 2 and Sianouvong Savathvong Shifting Cultivation Research Sub-programme Lao Swedish Forestry Programme Luang Prabang, Lao P.D.R. July 1997 Key words : Shifting cultivation, Taungya, improved fallows, teak (Tectona grandis), Laos, ABSTRACT Shifting cultivation is the most important farming system in Northern Laos, but population pressure and government regulations are increasingly undermining its productivity and sustainability. Identifying and promoting alternative production systems is a high priority of the Lao Government. However, farmers' adoption of new technologies is often hampered by the predominantly mountainous topography, the undeveloped infrastructure, the limited market demand, the relative poverty of the population, and by other factors. Teak (Tectona grandis ) planting by shifting cultivators is one of the more promising possibilities, and has expanded rapidly since about 1988. Despite the high income potentials and ready adoption by farmers, the benefits of teak planting are limited by the inferior genetic material currently planted, by the inadequate management of farmers' teak plantations, by the competition with agriculture for arable land, and by the inability of farmers to hold on to plantations for 20-30 years. There are also concerns that plantations may be prone to serious pest attacks, excessive erosion, and soil depletion. Teak planting may provide an alternative or supplement to shifting cultivation, but is not likely to have a role in improved fallow systems. 1. INTRODUCTION Shifting cultivation is the dominant cropping system in the uplands and mountains of Lao P.D.R. At least 300.000 families are fully or partially engaged in shifting cultivation, equal to about 1.8 million people or 40 percent of the population. Assuming that each family plants about 1.5 hectares per year, the shifting cultivation area used annually would be around 450.000 hectares. The total area in the shifting cultivation cycle is difficult to assess, but may be 2 - 2.5 million hectares, equal to about 10 percent of the area of Laos. The population of Laos consists of 66 officially recognised ethnic groups, many of which contain several sub- groups (Chazee 1995). The many ethnic groups are often divided into three main categories: Lao Lum (lowlanders), Lao Theung (midlanders) and Lao Sung (highlanders). The Lao Lum consists of the ethnic Lao and other Tai speaking groups and accounts for about 60 percent of the population (NSC 1997b). Although the Page 2 of 12 majority of Lao Lum farmers are engaged in paddy farming, a large proportion are shifting cultivators. The Lao Theung and Lao Sung groups make up 30 and 10 percent of the population, respectively. They are relatively more dependant on shifting cultivation than the Lao Lum groups, but the land-use is very diverse and ethnic stereotypes often prove misleading (Roder et al. 1991, Hansen 1995). Most shifting cultivators remain subsistence producers of upland rice, but commercial production of other crops is expanding in areas with adequate infrastructure and market access. In most places, the fallow periods have become critically short during the past 20-30 years; the main causes being population increase, government restrictions, and competing land-use objectives, as well as the concentration of people around urban centres and in areas with road and river access. Land pressure has increased problems such as soil degradation, weeds and pests, and has therefore usually lead to lower yields and to higher labour requirements. Today, shifting cultivation in Laos is largely based on the cyclical use of young secondary vegetation, although limited swiddening in older forest still takes place in isolated areas. However, over the years, shifting cultivation has considerably reduced the forest area to the detriment of the timber resources and natural habitats. Where shifting cultivation is intense, accelerated erosion and changes in the water discharge may impair the water resources for irrigation, hydropower and domestic use. Because of these environmental and social problems, stabilisation of shifting cultivation is a major priority of the Lao Government. The development strategy (DoF 1997) includes: Land allocation, Promotion of permanent cash cropping, Expansion of the paddy area, Expansion of livestock production Tree planting by farmers Infrastructure development, and Socio-economic development work. Attempts to improve land-use in shifting cultivation areas of Laos have proven difficult because of the mountainous topography, limited infrastructure, low market demand, limited processing facilities and the poverty of most shifting cultivators (Hansen and Sodarak 1997). Furthermore, alternative land-use practices, especially permanent arable cropping, can be equally or more damaging if carried out in the mountainous forest areas. Thus, shifting cultivation partially restores soil fertility during fallow periods, and limits erosion trough minimal tillage, maintenance of a favourable soil structure, and through the distribution of erosion over a large area. From an environmental point of view, shifting cultivation may also be preferable to the types of cash cropping that use large amounts of pesticides. Because of declining productivity and limited alternatives, shifting cultivators are among the poorest and most disadvantaged groups in Laos. Few farmers would opt for shifting cultivation if alternatives were available, and, where this is the case, farmers have readily adopted new technologies. One such option is teak planting, which has spread rapidly among shifting cultivators in many places of Northern Laos, as described and evaluated below. 2. METHODS AND STUDY AREA This paper evaluates shifting cultivators' adoption of teak in Northern Laos, but much of the analysis is relevant to other areas of Lao P.D.R. The Northern Region consists of seven provinces: Phongsaly, Luangnamtha, Bokeo, Udomxai, Houaphan, Luangprabang and Sayabouly. It accounts for 41 percent of the area and 33 percent of the population in Lao P.D.R. It is a predominantly mountainous region with only small areas of basins and larger river valleys. Permanent upland cropping and paddy farming is therefore secondary to shifting cultivation and about 65 percent of the shifting cultivators in Laos live in the North (Souvanthong 1995). Upland rice makes up at least 65 percent of the total rice area in the North, compared to a national average of 31 percent (NSC 1997a). The large proportion of shifting cultivation is partly responsible for the existing forest cover being only about 36 percent, compared with 52 and 58 percent in the Central and Southern Regions, respectively (NOFIP 1992). Improving the agricultural production is particularly difficult in the North because of the small potential for paddy cultivation, the hilly topography, and the limited infrastructure and market access. The ministerial and provincial authorities have prioritised tree planting, particularly of teak, in the development strategy for Northern Laos. The authors of this paper have been engaged in extension of teak planting to shifting cultivators in Luang Prabang Province since 1988. Page 3 of 12 During this time, much of the information presented here was collected through discussions with farmers and staff from the district agricultural and forestry offices. In addition, a village survey was carried out in 14 villages in Nane District of Luang Prabang Province to monitor farmers' perception of teak planting. A survey was also carried out in 16 districts focusing on the plantation activities carried out by farmers, private investors and public agencies. Available statistics from the Department of Forestry were also used. A study of the age and diameter relationship from cut teak logs was carried out to assess the growth of teak and the current cutting regime. 3. HISTORY AND RECENT PLANTING OF TEAK IN LAOS Teak occurs naturally in central and south India, Burma, Northern Thailand, and in two small areas in Laos close to the Western border with Northern Thailand. The ecological distribution covers the semi-arid to moist lowlands below approximately 1000 meters. The teak forests in Laos are believed to be the eastern limit of teak's natural distribution (White 1991). The largest area occurs in Sayabouli Province where there may be 10-20.000 ha of mixed deciduous forest with teak inclusions (Hedegart 1995), although some estimates go as high as 50.000 ha (Rao 1993). Small areas also exist in Bokeo Province, which are possibly the only natural stands on the left side of the Mekong River. However, in most of Northern Laos teak was of little commercial and domestic importance compared to, e.g., Afzelia xylocarpa and Pterocarpus macrocarpus . HISTORY The history of teak planting in Laos may be divided into three periods: the years before the revolution in 1975, the years between 1976 and 1988 when a plan economy was followed, and the years after 1988 when the economy was liberalised. Before 1976, tree planting was very limited, partly because of the ample wood supply from the natural forest. Also, the export opportunities were limited by the political situation, and by the lack of ports and processing facilities. A plantation programme was started around 1950 by the Department of Forests and Water (DFW), mostly using teak planted in the taungya system. The plantations were usually established
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