Pathways out of poverty through maize and job's tear in Lao People's Democratic Republic

This working paper provides a more in-depth study focused on specific areas in Luang Prabang and Vientiane provinces as a continuation of the first phase study, which was a review of the history of production, marketing,consumption and policy related to secondary crops and non-secondary crops produced in Lao People's Democratic Republic. As maize and Job's tear are the most important secondary crops in Lao PDR, this study will focus on field investigations regarding the potentials and constraints in farming production, marketing and the processing industry of these crops

Money, morals, and markets: evolving rural labour markets in Thailand and the Lao PDR

The analysis and discussion of local labour markets as social outcomes of local structures and processes are now well established in the literature. However, much of the work has focused on the rich world and/or on modern activities. This paper examines how traditional labour regimes in rural areas of two poor(er) countries, Thailand and the Lao PDR, are changing as their respective local and nonlocal economies evolve. The paper highlights the importance of a historical perspective in any interpretation of the present and considers the remnant role of the 'moral' economy in structuring labour relations. Consideration is also given to the complex ways in which the modern and the traditional interrelate and the role of cultural change in profoundly reworking local labour practices. Building on this, the paper addresses the degree to which the 'social' in labour markets is being fundamentally reworked as transition proceeds.

Traceability of slash-and-burn land-use history using optical satellite sensor imagery: a basis for chrono-sequential assessment of ecosystem carbon stock in Laos

International audienceThis study examined the use of satellite sensor imagery for chronosequential assessment of land use and ecosystem carbon stock in slash-and-burn (S/B) regions of Laos. The segmentation approach was useful because the boundaries of S/B patches are subject to change due to natural or anthropogenic factors. Polygon-based classification using six optical bands of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery showed that S/B patches could be discriminated with high accuracy (0.98). Normalized difference spectral indices, NDSI[i, j] = [Rj -Ri ]/[Rj +Ri ], using reflectances Rj and Ri at j and i nm wavelengths for S/B polygons during four consecutive years (1999-2002) showed that NDSI[2215, 830], NDSI[1650, 830] and NDSI[660, 830] ( = the normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) values decreased significantly in S/B years compared to those under fallow conditions (by 0.21±0.04, 0.20±0.04 and 0.17±0.03, respectively). Only slight differences were found before and after the S/B year, regardless of fallow length or biomass estimated by the allometry method. Relating reflectance signatures directly to fallow biomass was unsuitable, but these NDSIs were also useful for distinguishing S/B patches. Land-use history, including the community age of fallow vegetation, can be traced on a pixel basis using a superimposed set of segmented classified images