Cotton cultivation in Laos

Le Laos est un pays de tradition cotonnière, dont les systèmes de culture sont adaptés à de multiples situations écologiques. Ils comprennent en particulier le riz, le cotonnier, l'arachide. Afin qu'une véritable filière cotonnière, source de devises pour le pays, puisse être développée, les recherches du projet de coopération bilatérale franco-lao de recherche-développement sur les plantes à fibre ont porté sur des systèmes de culture améliorés, comprenant engrais et pesticides, techniques de culture plus performantes et variétés productives. Dans les villages, des structures artisanales d'égrenage et de pressage de la fibre s'organisent, en plus de l'usine de filature installée à Vientiane. Dans certaines régions proches de la Thaïlande, la culture cotonnière d'exportation se développe avec des variétés améliorée

La production cotonnière en Thaïlande : histoire et leçons d'une crise

La Thaïlande fait aujourd'hui figure de "cas d'école" dans le domaine de la protection phytosanitaire du cotonnier. En effet, les déséquilibres écologiques liés aux fortes utilisations d'insecticides ont conduit à une crise sans précédent de la production cotonnière nationale. Comment est-on arrivé à la situation actuelle ? Différents aspects - écologiques, économiques, techniques et sociaux - ont été étudiés dans le cadre d'une démarche interdisciplinaire afin de hiérarchiser les solutions techniques, politiques, organisationnelles ou institutionnelles. (Résumé d'auteur

Diagnosis on Thai agrarian systems for research prioritization to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of cotton production

Since 1980, cotton production in Thailand has been decreasing steadily while the demand for cotton lint from the national textile industry jumped dramatically. Attempts made to raise again cultivated areas and yields were not able to alter significantly this declining trend. To understand the factors and conditions determining such an unfavorable evolution, diagnostic studies on cotton production systems were carried out by the Development-Oriented Research on Agrarian Systems (DORAS) project at the complementary field, farm and regional scales. Interdisciplinary teams implemented regional historical analyses and zonations, farming systems characterization and classification, as well as cropping systems surveys and experiments at two contrasted sites: the Maenam Kwae Noi valley in Kanchanaburi province and Chaibadan district of Lop Buri province. While insect pests were found to be the most important cause of cotton production declining sustainability and competitiveness at both sites, the findings suggest that the suitable ways to improve the current situation will differ at these two locations. While in the old cotton producing belt of Chaibadan, significant progress can still be achieved through technical improvements in pest, crop and labor management, in Kanchanaburi border area the social status of the migrating Mon cotton growers, very dependent on entrepreneurial village middlemen, makes organizational and social innovations a prerequisite to significant technical advances. An integrated set of agronomic research priorities dealing with cotton plant improvement for pest tolerance and high cottonseed and lint quality, integrated pest management and other decision support tools for better crop monitoring and management came out of these diagnostic analyses and were subsequently used to structure the following phase of DORAS project activities. (Résumé d'auteur

La production cotonnière en Thaïlande : histoire et leçons d'une crise

La Thaïlande fait aujourd'hui figure de "cas d'école" dans le domaine de la protection phytosanitaire du cotonnier. En effet, les déséquilibres écologiques liés aux fortes utilisations d'insecticides ont conduit à une crise sans précédent de la production cotonnière nationale. Comment est-on arrivé à la situation actuelle ? Différents aspects - écologiques, économiques, techniques et sociaux - ont été étudiés dans le cadre d'une démarche interdisciplinaire afin de hiérarchiser les solutions techniques, politiques, organisationnelles ou institutionnelles. (Résumé d'auteur

The multiple land degradation effects caused by land-use intensification in tropical steeplands: A catchment study from northern Thailand

The strongly incised mountain landscape of northern Thailand has changed dramatically during the last few decades due to increased population pressure, agricultural commercialization, limitation to use old fallows and reforestation of upper catchments. The traditional shifting cultivation with fallow periods of 7 years and longer was gradually replaced by 1 to 4 year fallow periods. As a result, in high population areas the landscape became dominated by fields planted to rainfed upland crops, wetland rice terraces, fallow vegetation, and patches of secondary forest. This new land-use system seems to have triggered new land degradation processes that are easy to observe when travelling through this landscape. The objective of this research was to assess the multiple effects of land-use intensification in a tropical steepland environment on land degradation processes. A case studywas conducted at Pakha village (located in Thailand's northern most Chiang Rai province), which is dominated by steepland with average slope gradients ranging from 30 to 70%. Soil erosion processes were monitored in a selected catchment for 2 years, and informal interviews were conducted to elucidate farmers' perceptions regarding land degradation processes. The rapid land-use changes at the Dze Donglo catchment (164 ha) resulted in severe and accelerated land degradation, including tillage erosion (386 ton/year), inter-rill and rill erosion (502 ton/year), gully erosion (423 ton/year), and landslides (7572 ton during 1994). Water erosion is most common in intensively farmed areas. The combination of runoff-generating areas, runoff-concentrating features and connectivity led to extensive gully erosion. Landslides were most common in steep fallows and in wetland terraces along incising streams. Many of these steepland degradation processes interacted with each other (i.e. rills with gully erosion, tillage erosion with water erosion, gullies with landslides). The observed land degradation processes matched very well with farmers' perceptions. This study enabled to identify potential land degradation hotspots and indicates the necessity to analyze steepland degradation processes in a holistic way.status: publishe

Development and small farmer organization of asparagus production in Central Thailand

A survey has been carried out in 1990 among Green Asparagus producers, in tambon Thung Kwang, Kamphaengsaen District of Nakhon Pathom Province, in order to assess the differentiation of cultivation practices, their agronomic and economic results and farmer needs for technical references in relation to the functioning of each type of Agricultural Production System (A.P.S.). Means of production, labour force and capital availabilities, as well as natural environment, labour calendar, family's general objectives influence to a large extent the farmers' decision-making process. Three main types of A.P.S. have been identified according to the constraints and potentialities for Green Asparagus production. A wide range of variation among the itineraries of techniques performed has been identified as a consequence of farmer different plantation management strategies. This underline the importance of a well targeted technical message and the unsuitability of any normative, standard "package" advice to be extended to all growers. The typology based on the three main farm models can explain part of the yield differentiation and economic output. It is also useful to provide technical advice adapted to these various A.P.S. specific objectives and constraints. At the same time, this agronomic survey is a key tool to identify relevant research topics which are well connected to farmers' circumstances and needs. (Résumé d'auteur

El algodon en Laos

Le Laos est un pays de tradition cotonnière, dont les systèmes de culture sont adaptés à de multiples situations écologiques. Ils comprennent en particulier le riz, le cotonnier, l'arachide. Afin qu'une véritable filière cotonnière, source de devises pour le pays, puisse être développée, les recherches du projet de coopération bilatérale franco-lao de recherche-développement sur les plantes à fibre ont porté sur des systèmes de culture améliorés, comprenant engrais et pesticides, techniques de culture plus performantes et variétés productives. Dans les villages, des structures artisanales d'égrenage et de pressage de la fibre s'organisent, en plus de l'usine de filature installée à Vientiane. Dans certaines régions proches de la Thaïlande, la culture cotonnière d'exportation se développe avec des variétés améliorée