Organisational Baseline Study: Overview report for Ekxang CSV, La PDR (LA01)

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is a strategic ten-year partnership between the CGIAR and Future Earth to help thedeveloping world overcome the threats posed by a changing climate, to achieve food security, improve agriculture and livelihoods. In 2014, CCAFS South East Asia began indentifying and implementing Climate Smart Villages (CSVs). Six CSVs were selected in three countries: Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. The objectives of the CSV is to increase the adaptive capacity of small-holder famers in light of climate change effects, improve livelihoods by sustainably increasing productivity and resilience, mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs), and enhance national food security and development goals. This report highlights the results obtained from the organizational baseline study (OBS) which was conducted in the Ekxang CSV located in Phonhong District, Vientiane Province, Lao PDR, in accordance with CCAFS guidelines. The OBS will supplement the quantitative household baseline surveys and the qualitative village baseline studies also being carried out by the Lao CSV Team in Ekxang. The household and village baselines provide information on the recipient-side of services and information. Without considering the external organisations that provide services/information to communities, the picture of current conditions remains incomplete. The main objectives of the OBS are: Understand the current status of provision of information and services at the local level that informs farmers’ decision making and livelihood strategies in response to climate change. Gain an in depth knowledge of the current projects, long term goals and strengths of the organizations highly valued and respected by the community members. Identify organizations for CCAFS to engage and partner with in future interventions. Provide indicators to allow CCAFS to monitor changes in behaviours and practices of relevant local organizations over time. To gather necessary information, we interviewed organizations working in the community whose activities included: natural resources management, environment and climate change, community development, empowering civil society, agricultural production and agricultural product processing

Summary of Baseline Household Survey Results: Phonghong district Vientiane province Lao PDR

This report summarizes the results of the household baseline survey conducted in Ekxang Climate-Smart Village and six surrounding villages in Phonghong district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR. The survey was implemented with participation of 140 randomly selected households using pre-prepared tablet-based questionnaires. The majority of the households were male-headed. On average, each household had six members and most of the members were between 5 and 60 years old. The household size and labor force in the target region are similar to national average. The main source of food and income of the households were from on-farm agriculture production, which was mostly contributed by cultivation and livestock. Agriculture production was mainly for self-sufficient purpose as most of products were consumed within the household. Farm size mostly ranged between 1 and 5 hectares and households still can expand land for crops from existing pasture or fallow land. Besides their own land, households were also allowed access to communal land for food crops, vegetables, and other products. With the availability of arable land, food production was enough for the household demand throughout the year. Considering a “typical food year”, food shortage was only experienced by 3% of the households in June, July and October. Few households experienced food crisis in last five years. Although climate change is widely mentioned by the community, it was not perceived as a main factor that led to changes in farming practices. About 80% of the households changed their crops following market price and preference of consumer and availability of labor over the last 10 years. Rain water was often available for farming during rainy season. During the dry season, due to limited capacity of irrigation system, farmers often use water from ponds and boreholes for surrounding crop fields. Regarding information sources, households received climate and weather information from television and individuals, such as friends, relatives or neighbors. Most of the households owned television (97.9%) and mobile phone (95.7%). Information about extreme events and short term (2-3 days) weather forecast were available, but not the long term weather forecast or early warning of pest and disease outbreak. It seems that government organizations did not pay much attention to providing climate information to farmers as only one out of 129 households reported that they receive the information from government staffs

Village Baseline Study: Site Analysis Report for Ekxang village Phonghong district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR

Data collection for the Village Baseline Study for the Ekxang Climate-Smart Village located in Phonhong District, Vientiane Province, Lao PDR, took place on November 19th - 21st, 2014. Three days of focus group discussions were conducted separately for men and women. Participatory methods were used to gather information on community resources, organizational landscapes, information networks, and the community’s vision for the future. Men and women in Ekxang village had different point of views on their community’s resources. Women were focused more on the conservation and increased forest land as they are responsible for collecting the Non-Timber Forest Product. Men were more interested in the development of agro-forestry. Regarding agriculture, men were focused on rice paddies while the women were more focused on the smaller household vegetable gardens. There were several changes in community resources. Forest and pasture areas were significantly degraded due to urban development, increasing people demands, and expansion of agricultural lands since 1980s. Infrastructures for irrigation were improved 30 years ago to expand the irrigated area but only few households in Ekxang could benefit from it. Villagers experience that soil fertility has declined compared to 25 years ago. There were a number of organizations operating at the village, half of them related to food security, food crisis and natural resource management. However, linkages is not strong the organizations. Farmer-to-farmer, mobile phone and television are main sources of information that support farmers in their decision making. There is a high potential to develop ICT-based technologies in order to support climate-smart farming practices to farmers. From the farmers’ perspective, their Climate-Smart Village should be an agroforestry landscape with smart groundwater use, smart pest management and crop diversification, and smart information services

Situation Needs Analysis and Assessment Report: Ekxang Village

Ekxang village is located in the plains of Phonhong district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR. Since the 1990’s, the province has been under rapid infrastructural, economic and social development. Increased access to services including electricity, water, major roads, and education facilitated economic growth in the region. Employment in non-farming activities such as civil servants and factory workers is on the rise, particularly among men. Most of the provincial population (77%) is still dependent on agriculture as their main livelihood activity and rely heavily on natural resources for food security. The main crop produced in Vientiane province is rice (lowland 39.2%, upland 41.5% and plateau 19.3%) with other important crops including tamarind, mango, maize and rubber. Agricultural yields in the region are low but have the potential to increase through the use of supplemental irrigation, new varieties, improved production techniques and the adoption of climate smart technologies. A major threat to agriculture, food security and livelihoods in the region is climate change. The government of Lao PDR recognizes climate change as a barrier to the country’s overall development and has adopted several strategies for promoting adaptation and mitigation across various sectors. However, the ability of the country to adapt depends greatly on the capacity of its institutions to plan and implement these strategies. This study suggests that priority interventions to increase agriculture, food security and improve livelihoods in Ekxang CSV and, on a larger scale, Vientiane province, are 1) develop a sustainable water supply for irrigation, 2) diversify and increase production, 3) build the capacity of local organizations/staff, 4) support projects that focus on skills transfer to local staff and students, 5) enhance current local natural resource management initiatives, and 6) strengthen civil society