Presentation Agro-Biodiversity in Uplands Development

The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI)ໂຄງການພັດທະນາລະບົບນິ ເວດຊີ ວະນາໆພັນກະສິ ກ າຢ ູ່ເຂດພ ດອຍ

Integrating Agro-Biodiversity in Upland Development from policy to practice

Experiences from Laos

Michael Victor, The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI)

• Identified as mega-biodiverse country

• At the heart of Lao people: food, culture, natural heritage

• Builds upon the strengths of Lao farmers and what they have been producing already

• A way to build Lao products

• Support developing a healthy, resilient and sustainable food system in Laos

• Bridging togtether generations

Agrobiodiversity is Uniquely Lao

National Agricultural Biodiversity Programme II

5

2. AGRO-BIODIVERSITY IN THE LAO CONTEXT

Lao PDR is endowed with productive and ecologically unique forests and farming landscapes and been

identified as one of the centers of origin of domesticated plant and animal species and is a primary center

of origin of cultivated rice (Russel, 2000). With this combination of natural biodiversity and agriculture, Lao

PDR is of outstanding global importance in regard to agro-biodiversity. The country’s rich use of agro-

biodiversity resources is exemplified by the data compiled for plants, animals and fungi presented in Table

1.

Table 1: Estimate of Lao agro-biodiversity resources

Organism Wild

(used)

Gen-plasm (gene bank)

Cultivated Raised (animals)

Species Varieties/

land races Species Breeds

Plants 2,500* 17,000 135* 180* - -

Rice - 14,500 1* 30* - -

Non rice crops 50* 2,500 100* 150*

NTFP** 500* - 14* - - -

Medicinal plants 1,700 - 20* - - -

Animals 800* - - - 40* 50*

Livestock - ? - - 20* 50*

Insects, etc. 100* - - - 10* -

Fish & Aquatic 200* - - - 10* -

Macro fungi 100* - 5 - - -

Total 3,400* 17,000 140* 180* 40* 50*

*: Estimate by ABP. **: Excluding medicinal plants and macro fungi.

2.1 Agro-Biodiversity and Livelihoods

As described above, the people of Lao PDR make tremendous use of the country’s diversity and although

declining, agriculture and forestry are still an important economic sector, accounting for 30 percent of total

GDP and two thirds of the labor force (MPI, 2011). In spite of being a rice surplus economy, food insecurity

and malnutrition remain serious problems with 50 percent of rural children under the age of five

chronically malnourished and two-thirds of the rural population vulnerable to food insecurity (WFP, 2006).

Quite apart from crops and livestock, the agro-biodiversity used in Lao PDR includes a wide-range of wild

plants, animals and fungi that contribute significantly to family nutrition and balanced diets. In addition,

Wealth of Agro-Biodiversity

How ABD fits into other policies

NSEDP

NBSAP

CBD

Climate Change

Strategy

NABP II Upland Development

Strategy

National Environment

Management Strategy

Agricultural

Strategic Vision

Agriculture

Development Strategy

NAFRI Research

Strategy

• Lao Agriculture Development Strategy :

o Promoting Lao niche market products (i.e. ABD Products)

o Sustainable intensification and diversification

o Sustainable management of natural resources and increased forest cover

o Supporting small holder farmers

• National Agro-Biodiversity Action Plan (2016)

o An enabling policy environment and legal framework

o Organizational and technical capacity

o Floral, faunal, fungal and other elements are effectively managed, utilized and conserved.

Lao Policy in relation to ABD

Challenge: we can make NBSAP, NABDPAP but needs to be mainstreamed in Climate change, Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture

AgroBiodiversity – one of the main working groups of Donor-Government Round Table

Agro-Biodiversity and Sustainable Food systems – two competing visions

Imported, processed, mass produced, low nutritional value food

Pesticides: A Cause for Concern

By Sopavanh Rassapong-LURASDecember 2016

Whatwefoundduringourbaseline• Themaizeboomhastransformed

theruralenvironmentinXiengKhouang

• Lossofbiodiversityandsoilerosionissevere

• Heavyuseofherbicideshasbecomethenorm

• WecalleditTheToxicLandscapeWhatwefoundduringourbaseline

• ThemaizeboomhastransformedtheruralenvironmentinXiengKhouang

• Lossofbiodiversityandsoilerosionissevere

• Heavyuseofherbicideshasbecomethenorm

• WecalleditTheToxicLandscapeLeads to high input mono-cropping

ABD Hypothesis Agro-biodiversity based development with a focus on multi-functional landscapes offers a more viable alternative to improve upland livelihoods and food security than large scale mono-culture cropping systems

Healthy, resilient landscape

FOREST FOODS, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF

LAO CULTURE AND CUISINE

Balanced diet, high nutrition based on local biodiversity

The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI)

• 10 year collaboration between MAF and SDC

• Supporting MAF strategy for ABD Development

• Work in 3 + 1 Provinces in North –more than 250 villages

• Major results:

• More than 25 ABD livelihood options tested benefitting more than 34,000 families

• FALUPAM carried out in more than 225 Villages – more than 750,000 ha managed under FALUPAM

• Phase 3: 2017-2020 – focus is on scaling out, institutionalization and capitalization

• Initiative working with multiple partners and government agencies –cross sector – multi-disciplinary

TABI is an initiative

Ministry of Natural Resources and EnvironmentMinistry of EducationMinistry of HealthMinistry of Traditional Medicine

• The Uplands of Lao PDR has the most social and ecological diversity in the country

• Diversity comes from shifting cultivation though long been viewed as the ”culprit for poverty and resource degradation”

• Still despite policies and commercialization incentives remain primary upland agriculture practice

• TABI testing out approach to stabilize land use by recognizing upland rice cropping and village forestry as crucial component in Upland Development

Integrating ABD into Uplands development

The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI)ໂຄງການພັດທະນາລະບົບນິ ເວດຊີ ວະນາໆພັນກະສິ ກ າຢ ູ່ເຂດພ ດອຍ

Upland Rice is “still” the main cash crop in many upland villages

N = ~1200 HHSource: TABI survey 2012

Bush Fallows are an crucial element of multifunctional landscapes

Based on survey in 100 villages in Phonexay, Chomphet and Phoukoud district

Source: TABI baseline 2012

Where are NTFP’ are collected?

Land use planning

•Recognize current land use

•Consolidate Shifting cultivation

•Plannig and tenure security

Identify potentials for intensification and diversification

•NTFPs

•Agriculture, livestock, agroforestry systems

•Lowland systems

Development of

small/medium enterprises and

markets

Policy dialogue

• Evidence based research

• Knowledge Management

TABI Process for integrating ABD into Uplands Development

• Process carried out in 4 steps:

1. Introducing/organizing/mapping village boundaries

2. Mapping Current Land use

3. Mapping Future Land use

4. Hand over of village report signed by district and monitoring and evaluation

• Focuses on recognizing actual land use and shifting cultivation rotations

• Farmers receive tenure in exchange for stabilizing system

• Farmers and Government find this process more effective for:

o Delineating boundaries

o Getting villagers agree on land use change

o Understanding what farmers are currently doing

Participatory Forest and Ag Land Use Planning bottom up approach

Land Classes

Data: pre and post FALUP

3.1: Example of stabilised upland cropping: Huay JiaVillage, Ponsai District, Luang Prabang Province.

Before 2012 After 2012

Livelihood options for range of Agro-ecological Zones

Upland Rice/Cropping Village Forestry

On-farm livestock Systems

Lowland rice

Riverine

• Bamboo is a product that grows in prodigiously in shifting cultivation fallows.

• A number of species and products:

o Food

o Medicines

o Construction

• TABI working on:

o Village forest management

o Bottling/packaging

o Domestication and conservation

Example 1: Bamboo – Village Forestry

Example 2: Agroforestry Systems

A number of agroforestry systems have been tested• Coffee and Fruit trees• Tea • Cardamom • Broom grass • Teak • Yang (benzoin)

- Main constraints are access to markets for small holders and policy incentives

Example 3: emerging small enterprises

Province No of FCZs KG caught KG sold Income

Houaphanh 4 villages 1,206 866 4590USD

Luang Prabang 6 Villages 817 2,357 9900 USD

Example 4: Fish Conservation Zones

Example of potential

Fish Conservation ZonesEstablished more than 200 in three provinces

• To rejuvenate and manage aquatic Agro-

Biodiversity.

• To increase the food and nutrition resources for

villages.

• To increase, or maintain, the income from

fisheries.

• To rejuvenate indigenous fish species and

preserve those that are facing extinction.

• To improve villagers understanding and

participation in improving management of local

fish species and resources.

More than 100 species of fish identified

And many more potentials.

Example 5: Local ABD Curriculum

• NAFRI, under the SSWG-ABD developing web-based platform to capture knowledge and link new and old generations

Value Added

• Provide a one-stop shop for information on ABD to range of stakeholders

• Repackage already existing information in formats that can be used by different actors

• Ensure local knowledge on ABD is documented and not lost

• Link Lao information to global datasets and knowledge

• Tap into and promote increasing interest in Lao food and products

Lao Agro-Biodiversity Knowledge Sharing Platform (LARP)

Knowledge Base

StorytellingConversation

Knowledge Base

Core ABD species and product profiles

Experts and practices

Landscapes and systems

Policy information

Core Components

Knowledge Base

StorytellingConversation

• Build upon what farmers are already doing –build trust and recognize current land use

• Identify approaches for diversification and intensification of systems (uplands, household, lowlands).

o A lot can be done that doesn’t necessarily need a lot of inputs

• Policy at national and local level is important

• Provide incentives for farmers to test out and apply more resilient systems than mono-cropping– tax breaks, access to credit, land security

• Link to emerging markets – new ‘food system’ of healthy clean living and communicate/capture rich knowledge

o Challenge is how to scale – market and supply side, quality, standards, etc

Conclusions WHAT IS AGRO-BIO-DIVERSITY?

1. Variety of crops and livestock

Rice: Laos has biggest germplasm in the

world, after India!

2. Healthy environment: biodiversity

and organic matter in soils

Resilience: how we can recover after

disasters

3. Biodiversity around the farm

Fish and aquatic animals from wetlands

NTFPs from fallow land and forests

Thank you