Research methodology for crop-animal systems in the hilly regions of Laos.
1995
Roder W. | Phengchanh S. | Keoboulapha B. | Maniphone S.
Slash-and-burn rice cultivation is the major land use system in the hilly areas of Laos. Animals, although not essential for upland crop production, are important components of the farming system. They provide the main source of cash income and are major export products. Shorter fallow periods resulted in higher labor requirement for weeding, and farmers are under pressure to change to other land use systems. Fodder and feed requirements for livestock production are expected to play an important role in a shift toward other land use methods. There is a large potential for increased livestock production by replacing the fallow vegetation with fodder crops. Improved fallow systems, combining the effects of fodder plants and the grazing animal, are expected to result in increased fodder availability, weed suppression, accelerated nutrient cycling, and improved soil moisture conservation. It is hoped that the research activities under the upland program of the LAO-IRRI project will contribute to improve the farmers' standard of living by generating increased cash income in a diversified system. Rotation, intercropping, agroforestry, and agrosylvipastoral systems with rice, fodder crops, and tree species mostly teak (Tectona grandis) as major components are under observation. Promising fodder plants tested include the following: Lablab, pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), Centrosema pubescens, Stylosanthes guianensis, Pueraria phaseoloides, Arachis pintoi, Leucaena leucocephala, and Brachiaria brizantha.
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