The changing role of livestock in the livelihood diversification strategy of rural communities in southern Laos
2018
Watanabe, M. (Japan International Cooperation Agency (Japan). Hokkaido International Center)
In this study, participant farmers in the JICA assisted project, a livelihood improvement project for the southern mountainous and plateau areas of Laos, were targeted. The objective of the study was to examine whether support received from the project for particular livestock species enabled farmers to depend on that livestock for their sustenance and also whether this influenced their livelihood diversification activities. Results showed that participant famers in the project intervention group do not concentrate on a single activity, but rear multiple kinds of livestock in order to diversify their sources of income. The shift to a money economy in the rural areas of southern Laos has made buffalo, cattle, and goat play a larger role as movable property and savings, whereas pigs and poultry are often the main sources of cash income. The study also found that chicken has commonly been consumed as a source of protein in the area; however, farmers rarely consumed beef, pork, and goat meat. It is also discovered that although there is an increase in the number of farmers who use formula feed for livestock from outside, most of the livestock has still been kept in the rice-based integrated production system that does not rely on outside resources.
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