Evaluation of alternative soil conservation measures in the upland areas of Moc Chau District, Son La province, Vietnam

The main objective of the study was to evaluate effects of alternative soil conservation measures on agricultural production, specifically on input use, farm productivity, and the benefits from such practices in the upland areas of Moc Chau District, Son La Province, in northern Vietnam. Specifically, the study determined the factors affecting the decision of farmers in adopting soil conservation practices which include integrated cropping, mulching, hedgerow planting and their combination into a package of technologies as well as the level of investment in these practices, the effects on input use and productivity and the benefits from soil conservation viz-a-viz the costs of soil conservation. The results of the study showed that the important factors affecting the decision of farmers in adopting soil conservation practices for maize and cassava production are size cultivated area, family size, the household gross income, experience of the household head in agricultural production, inherent practical skills of the farmer, farmer is provided credit assistance and extension training. On the other hand, the factors affecting level of investment in these conservation practices for both maize and cassava include size cultivated area, experience of the household head in agricultural production, farmer is given credit assistance and extension training, family labor availability of farmers and inherent practical skills in farming by the farmer. There are also a number of factors affecting the level of investment in these conservation practices. For maize and cassava production, the important factors include distance from the farm to the field, farm slope and gender of the household head. Input use and productivity are affected also by the adoption of soil conservation practices. Characteristics of soil, requirements of each practice, requirements of each crop, and farming practices affect input use in soil conservation shows that adopters had significantly higher yields than non-adopters in maize and cassava production. An additional 1 thousand dong worth of corn seeds invested will increase the value of marginal product by an additional 21 thousand dongs of output for all practices on soil conservation. For each additional one unit of nitrogen of cassava production, the soil conservation benefit would increase more thousand dongs of output. This study has clearly shown that soil conservation practices would greatly benefit of the upland areas of Moc Chau District. Government policies should provide education and extension training, support soil conservation innovations, and improve programs of soil conservation for the upland regions. Farmers should apply more soil conservation practices to increase productivity and economic returns in maize and cassava production.