The Adoption of Smallholder Rubber Production by Shifting Cultivators in Northern Laos: A Village Case Study - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 112

5.1 Introduction
Lao PDR (hereafter Laos) is a predominantly rural country with 83 percent of the
population living in rural areas, of which two thirds relies on subsistence agricul-
ture (Roder 2001). Agriculture accounts for nearly half of GDP and employs 80
percent of the labour force (NSC 2005a). With a total area of 236,800 km 2 and a
population of 5.6 million, Laos is the least densely populated country in Asia at
only 24 persons per km 2 (NSC 2005b). Yet suitable agricultural land is scarce as
around 80 percent of the land area is classified as hilly or mountainous (ICEM
2003). Moreover, with the present annual population growth rate of about 2.5 percent,
the agricultural population density will double over the next 25-30 years (Raintree
2002). Laos is one of the poorest nations, with a GDP per capita in 2002 of
US$330 and a ranking of 135 out of 175 countries on UNDP's Human Development
Index (ICEM 2003; UNDP 2003). The greatest levels of poverty are in the moun-
tainous uplands of the Northern Region, where 50 percent of the land area has a
slope of 30 percent or more (Raintree 2002). This mountainous Northern Region
is extensively used for shifting cultivation (ICEM 2003).
Shifting cultivation in Laos involves more than 150,000 households (or around
25 percent of rural inhabitants) and may account for up to 80 percent of the land
allocated for agriculture, including fallowed fields. Shifting cultivation in the past
was recognised as the best land-use alternative for the mountainous regions of Laos
because of low population densities, low incomes, little opportunity for trade, and
limited access to inputs (Roder 2001). However, this traditional agricultural system
has become increasingly unsustainable, reflecting the combined effects of popula-
tion growth, resource depreciation, and international perceptions of environmental
impacts, forcing farmers to shorten their fallow periods. As a result, widespread
problems of weed invasion, soil erosion, and declining yields are occurring
(De Rouw 2005).
The Government of Laos has made 'stabilisation' of shifting cultivation a prior-
ity national program. As stated in its Strategic Vision for the Agricultural Sector
(MAF 1999), the Government aims to transform the existing 'harmful' system of
shifting cultivation to more ecologically stable cultivation systems with proper land
management by villages and individuals. The Government is proceeding with land
allocation programs, the promotion of cash crops and livestock production, and the
promotion of tree-planting programs with a vision to achieve this aim by 2010.
While this policy is controversial and its impacts on rural livelihoods need to be
closely monitored (Ducourtieux et al. 2005), there is no doubt that upland farmers
are involved in a significant transformation of their traditional subsistence-oriented
farming and land-use systems (Thongmanivong and Fujita 2006).
To stabilise shifting cultivation and eradicate poverty in Northern Laos, more
sustainable and income-generating agricultural practices have to be identified and
adopted. One possible approach to support this transformation is the introduction
of tree crops such as rubber to increase farmers' income. Rubber was first intro-
duced into Laos in 1930, with the first rubber plantation established in Southern
Laos by French planters during the colonial era. However, smallholder rubber in