1. This project is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Agriculture Organization A project implemented by the Asian European Union and Forestry of the United Nations Institute of Technology FINAL REPORT OF THE FPAR 2017 IN LAOS June to December 2017 SUSTAINING AND ENHANCING THE MOMENTUM FOR INNOVATION AND LEARNING AROUND THE SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) IN THE LOWER MEKONG RIVER BASIN Farmer’s Participatory Action Research in the Lao PDR In the wet season from June to December 2017 FINAL REPORT 1 Table of Contents 1. BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................... 3 2. CONTACT DETAILS ............................................................................................................................. 5 3. PRIORITY LIST OF PROBLEMS ....................................................................................................... 8 4. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION ......................................................................................................... 11 5. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF PROJECT STRUCTURE AT A PROVINCIAL LEVEL............. 13 6. OBJECTIVES OF THE FPAR............................................................................................................. 13 7. EXPECTED OUTPUTS FROM FPAR ............................................................................................... 14 8. ORGANIZING AND FUNDING BODY ............................................................................................. 14 9. DATES, LOCATION AND SCHEDULE ............................................................................................ 14 10. PARTICIPANT AND ORGANIZATION ........................................................................................... 15 11. PREPARATION FOR FPAR ............................................................................................................... 15 2 1. BACKGROUND The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT, www.ait.asia) is leading a European Union-financed project entitled “Sustaining and Enhancing the Momentum for Innovation and Learning around the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in the Lower Mekong River Basin (SRI-LMB: http://www.sri-lmb.ait.asia/), The project is implemented, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Oxfam America, SRI-Rice Cornell University in USA, the University of Queensland in Australia, government ministries and national universities of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand - AIT has been implementing a “more intelligent pathway” for cultivating healthy and profitable rice under climate change scenario. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is an emerging alternative set of principles and methods to conventional rice cultivation techniques that instills a social dimension to farming to produce healthy and profitable crops using less water and less seed, and through skillful management of plants, soils, water, nutrients, pests and labour. The Project is being implemented in food-insecure rainfed rice production areas of the Lower Mekong River Basin countries. The objective is to develop location-specific practices using the principles of SRI and Farmer Field School platforms by initiating and facilitating farmers’ participatory action research. Documenting the results and sharing them with the immediate farming community and communities at large through an inclusive participatory process from local to national and regional level represents the core modus operandi of the project. The government policies within the context of sustainable agriculture development and climate- resilient, food-secure rainfed smallholder systems have been taken into consideration while designing the project activities. Evidence-based policy options for a better set of policies are being generated through a participatory consultation process working closely with all relevant stakeholders, including policy-makers in the country. Within the context of the project, a series of activities were undertaken in Lao PDR (in three selected provinces: Vientiane, Khammouan and Savannakhet) since June 2014. These included the scoping of problem identification, Baseline Survey, focused group discussion to collect information on the challenge and opportunities faced by cultivated rice farmers, trainers and farmers. This was conducted in December 2014 in three selected provinces. A number of 3 constraint related to rice crop management were identified in this process among others are: the need to develop knowledge and capacity of farmers to improve rice productivity with sufficiency quality by using appropriated technique, technology, and input production focusing on conservation of natural resources base, enhancing and sustaining soil fertility, and enhancing water management, using local wisdom and resources availabilities is foreseen as the key approach to address the small holder farmers. This is also important to address the challenge of providing alternative sources of making income for rain-fed farmers, and especially for the landless farmers, women and young farmers without leaving their home town. These locally identified challenges were utilized to develop learning curricula in the Central Farmer’s Participatory Action Research (CFPAR) process so as to develop capacity of the Farmer Trainers to work with the communities to develop location-specific technology beginning January 2015. The CFPAR activities were implemented in the three provinces during the dry season rice production in year 2015 and were aimed at boosting capacity of farmer trainers to initiate design of experiment while involving other farmers from their communities in initiating science-based action research. These research/demonstration activities, so called Farmer’s Participatory Action Research (FPAR), focus on development of location-specific technologies and best management practices under ambit of SRI. These FPAR activities started during the wet-season 2015 and continued in 2016 led by Farmer Trainers working with other farmers in their communities. A next and final cycle of FPAR activities was planned for implementation during 2017 wet season. The FPAR 2017 activities were conducted in 82 sites with the intervention design including data gathering from farmer control plots around the FPAR demonstration plots. 4 2. CONTACT DETAILS AT REGIONAL LEVEL: The regional coordination unit of the project is hosted by the Asian Center of Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (ACISAI), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Ground Floor, Administrative Building, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand. The National Coordinator of the Project in Lao PDR is hosted by the Department of Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives (DAEC), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), and staffed by the Project Management Unit (PMU) Coordinator and National Training Expert. Name: Dr. Abha Mishra Designation: Regional/PMU Coordinator Address: ACISAI Center, Gr. Floor, Outreach Building AIT, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand Phone: +66-2-524-582 Email: [email protected] Name: Mr. Ashwin Mysore Designation: Action Research Coordinator Address: ACISAI Center, Gr. Floor, Outreach Building AIT, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand Phone: +66-2-524-5827 Email: [email protected] Name: Mr. Jan Willem Ketelaar Designation: Action Research Expert, and point person from FAO for SRI- LMB Address: FAO IPM, FAO-RAP Office, Vientiane, LAO Email: [email protected] AT NATIONAL LEVEL: Name: Mr Viengxay PHOTAKOUN Designation: Project Management Unit Coordinator Address: Department of Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives, Lao PDR Phone: +856-20-55521454 Email: [email protected] Name: Mr. Kongsy Xayavong Designation: National Training Expert Address: Department of Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives 5 Email: [email protected] Phone: +856-20-22883747 AT LOCAL LEVEL Vientiane Province Name: Miss. Keo Uodone Sixomxuean Designation: Provincial Project Coordinator Address: Provincial Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives, Vientiane Province Email: [email protected] Phones: mobile: +856-20-55291571; +856-20- 99997220 Khammouan Province Name: Ms. Khampheuth Vonlattana Designation Provincial Project Coordinator Address: Provincial Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives, Khammouan Province Email: [email protected] Phones: Office: +856-51-496005; mobile: +856-20-58804699 Savannakhet Province Name: Mr Chanlakhone Xayalath Designation Provincial Project Coordinator Address: Provincial Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives, Savannakhet Province Email: [email protected] Phones: Office: +856-41-496005; mobile: +856-20-22437771 PROJECT PARTNERS AND THEIR KEY STAFFS FAO Name: Mr. Jan Willem Ketelaar Designation: Action Research Expert, and point person from FAO for SRI-LMB Address: FAO IPM, FAO-RAP Office, Bangkok, Thailand Email: [email protected] Name: Ms. Vornthalom Chanthavong Designation: Programme Development Officer Address: FAO IPM, Vientiane, Lao PDR E-mail: [email protected] 6 OXFAM Name: Ms. Keo Keneka Designation: Policy and Communication officer Address: Oxfam Regional Office for the East Asia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Email: [email protected] PROJECT ADVISORS Name: Prof. Norman T. Uphoff Designation: Advisor (Project Associate) Address: SRI-RICE Cornell University, USA Email: [email protected] Name: Prof. Maxwell J. Whitten Designation: Advisor (Project Associate) Address: University of Queensland, Australia