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Socio-Economic Impact at Household Level of Livestock Production and Commercialisation Activities Funded by SDC in Lao PDR

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Socio-Economic Impact at Household Level of Livestock Production and Commercialisation Activities Funded by SDC in Lao PDR Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC Swiss Cooperation Office for the Mekong Region, Vientiane Socio-Economic Impact At Household Level Of Livestock Production And Commercialisation Activities Funded By SDC In Lao PDR November – December 2013 Photo by Adrian Gnaegi Steven Watkins, Senior Rural Livelihood Development Specialist, and Team Leader Phetsakhone Somphongbouthakanh, Gender Advisor Aloun Phonvisay, Deputy Director of Livestock Research Center, NAFRI Perrine Fournier, Rural Livelihood Development Specialist Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................... i Executive Summary .................................................................................................... ii Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Socio-Economic Assessment .......................................................................................2 1. Motivations and Expectations of Beneficiaries .......................................................2 Traditional Livestock Practices .......................................................................................... 3 Existing Skills and Experience ........................................................................................... 3 Adoption of New Livestock Production Practices ............................................................... 4 i) Animal Health .............................................................................................................................. 5 ii) Feeding ......................................................................................................................................... 5 iii) Penning ........................................................................................................................................ 5 iv) Breeding ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Project Support to Farmer Innovations ............................................................................. 7 Gender ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Provision of Improved Production Inputs .......................................................................... 8 Involvement of Poorest Households .................................................................................. 9 Seasonal Workloads ......................................................................................................... 9 Allowance for Language Differences ............................................................................... 10 Pre-Conditions for Successful Involvement ...................................................................... 10 Policies and Regulations ................................................................................................. 11 Spontaneous Replication ................................................................................................ 11 2. Impact at Household Level ................................................................................... 12 Household Workloads .................................................................................................... 12 Natural Resources .......................................................................................................... 13 Impact on Other Farming Activities ................................................................................ 13 Investment and Indebtedness ......................................................................................... 14 Improved Skills ............................................................................................................... 14 Socio-Economic Assessment December 2013 Meat Consumption ......................................................................................................... 15 Increased Incomes .......................................................................................................... 15 Economic Status ............................................................................................................. 16 3. Womens’ Empowerment ...................................................................................... 16 Self-Confidence and Status ............................................................................................. 17 Other Improvements ...................................................................................................... 18 4. Considerations for Future Livestock Projects ........................................................ 18 1. Targeting...................................................................................................................................... 19 2. Implementation ........................................................................................................................... 19 3. One-size doesn’t fit all ................................................................................................................. 20 4. Marketing and Trading ................................................................................................................ 20 5. Herd Management....................................................................................................................... 21 6. Financing Improved Inputs .......................................................................................................... 21 7. Opportunities for poorer farmers ................................................................................................ 22 Annex 1. Terms of Reference: Socio-Economic Assessment ...................................... 23 Annex 2. Socio-Economic Assessment Questionnaire ............................................... 27 Annex 3. Village Locations of Socio-Economic Assessment ....................................... 29 Socio-Economic Assessment December 2013 Acronyms and Abbreviations ABD Agro-Biodiversity ADB Asian Development Bank CIAT Center for Tropical Agriculture DAFO District Agriculture and Forestry Office EU European Union IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development JFPR Japanese Fund for Poverty Reduction LDP Northern Region Sustainable Livelihood through Livestock Development Project LEAP Lao Extension Agriculture Project LWU Lao Women Union MAF Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry NTFP Non-Timber Forestry Products PAFO Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office PARUA Poverty Alleviation in Remote Upland Areas SADU Smallholder Agricultural-market Development in the Uplands of Lao PDR project SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation USD1 = LAK 8,000 Socio-Economic Assessment i December 2013 Executive Summary Introduction The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) supported projects in the northern uplands of Lao PDR aimed at improving rural livelihoods and helping alleviate poverty among smallholder farmers through livestock production. These projects either focussed entirely on livestock or contain a livestock component among other livelihood support activities. : • The Northern Region Sustainable Livelihood through Livestock Development Project • The Smallholder Agricultural-market Development in the Uplands of Lao PDR project • Lao Extension Agriculture Project • The Agro Biodiversity Initiative • Poverty Alleviation in Remote Upland Areas project Socio-Economic Assessment The purpose of the socio-economic assessment was to better inform SDC of the impact at household level of livestock production improvements supported by these projects. The assessment provided a qualitative analysis based on opinions and views gathered through individual interviews and discussions. The limitations of the assessment were the limited time scheduled in each village and the small sample size from each project. All project participants interviewed were from ethnic groups. The assessment was not trying to evaluate a project’s progress or performance. It simply provided a snapshot of the experiences and opinions of livestock project beneficiaries in the northern uplands. Despite these limitations, the responses to each topic by women and men during the assessment were relatively consistent across projects and project locations. Motivations and Expectations of Farmers The primary motivation for farmers to participate in livestock projects was to acquire new livestock production skills and increase their animal numbers, which allowed them to sell more livestock and thus, increase household incomes. The criteria to select villagers were they needed to have experience in growing livestock; own animals; have commitment to implement new production methodologies; and have the resources, including time and labour, to invest in improved production. The projects effectively built on existing skills and knowledge, and participant households now had more livestock available for sale. All women and men were satisfied with their involvement in projects; their livestock production skills were enhanced and the results exceeded their initial expectations. All projects established demonstration farms to help instruct farmers and organised cross- visits between farmers to facilitate learning between like-minded farmers. LDP provided microfinance that encouraged participants to save and borrow funds to buy livestock
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