Key learnings including SWOT analysis and draft plans for the next action research cycle (Laos)

1. Sustaining and Enhancing the Momentum for
Innovation and Learning around the System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) in the Lower Mekong River Basin
Presented by SRI-LMB Project team Lao PDR:
•Dr. Somnuek Thirasack DDG of DAEC
• Mr. Phatnakhone Khanthamixay PMU Coordinator
• Mr. Kongsy Xayavong National Training Expert
Regional Review and Planning Workshop,
date 2-3 June 2015, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Progress Report and Planning of SRI Project

2. 2

3. 3
Welcome
to LAOS

4. Project Background
• National Inception Workshop 16-17 June 2014
• Project was endorsed by MAF on 24 July 2014
• Forced to an agreement between DAEC and FAO
Lao in August 2014
• Implementation stage (conduct CFPAR and prepare
for the FPARs in coming rainy season

5. Project Coordinator
• At Central level:
1. Dr Somnuck Thirasack DDG of DAEC is appointed to be National
Project Director
2. Mr. Phatnakhone Khanthamixay Project Management Unit
Coordinator
3. Mr Kongsy Sayavong Training Expert
• At Provincial level:
• Vientiane Province:
1. Mr Chansamone Douangdara PC
2. Mr. Phongsit Vongkhounsy Fouang DC
3. Mr Khamphai Sivannalom Muen DC
4. Ms Moukdavanh Chanthavong Vangvieng DC
• Khammouan Province:
1. Ms Khamphert Vonglatthana PC
2. Ms Onekeo Homsombath Mahaxay DC
3. Mr Souk khien Khounphengmouang Yommalat DC
4. Mr Phetvilay Onexaysy Nakay DC
• Savannakhet Province:
1. Mr Chanlakhone Xayalath PC
2. Mr Mixay Khoutthavong Champhone DC
3. Ms Ammone Chanthalacksa Sonnabouly DC
4. Mr Khanya Zanoulath Songkhone DC

6. Organization chart
DAEC
PAFO
DAFO
Farmers
Project Management Unit
Provincial Management Unit
District Management Unit
SRI LMB Project
CFPAR/FPAR

7. District Province
1 Vangvieng
Vientiane2 Fouang
3 Meun
4 Nakay
Khammouan5 Yommalat
6 Mahaxay
7 Songkhone
Savannakhet8 Champhone
9 Sonnabouly
4 6
Sustaining and Enhancing the Momentum for Innovation and Learning
around the System of Rice Intensification
(GCP/RAS/288/AIT)
2
3
Nakay district
Yommalat district
Mahaxay district
Vangvieng district
Fouang district
Meun district
Sonnabouly district
Champhone district
Songkhone district

8. Activities (Project Document)
1) Setting of Project structure (PMU, LMU),
Project management and Inception workshop,
Project Steering Committee
2) Set up and conduct CFPAR (ToT, PRA, Site
selection, Farmer selection, baseline survey,
designing CFPAR, curricula, field day, review
of CFPAR
3) Conduct FPAR
4) Monitoring, Evaluation, Impact study
5) Documentation
6) Link learning with National Extension System
and with wide audience
7) AR4D (Partnership,…)

9. Work Plan of SRI LMB Project
1. Formulation of CFPAR, FPAR
2. Planning stage
3. Technical implementation (4 intensive
training of Trainers in dry season
4. Monitoring and Evaluation of field
measurement and observation
5. Reporting

10. SRI Principles
• Early, quick and healthy plant establishment (young
age of seedling)
• Reduced plant density (spacing)
• Effect of single seedling
• Improved soil conditions through enrichment with
organic matter
• Reduced and controlled water application
• Reduce cost
SRI methodology is based on four main principles
that interact with each other

11. Agricultural strategy 2016-2020
1. Food security
2. Agricultural commodity
3. Sustaining forest and natural resources
management

12. Some main DAEC strategy
• Promote sustainable appropriate technique, and
technology to grow crop and livestock husbandry
• Strengthening farmer group, farmer association,
cooperatives
• Promote small and medium agricultural business and
enterprise
• Promote Agricultural mechanization, shift from
traditional into modernization
• Human resources development (extension worker,
village technician, farmers)
• Farmer capacity building through training,
demonstration, exchange visit, farmer to farmer
learning, etc…

13. Establishment CFPAR in Dry season for Fiscal
Year 2014-2015
Criteria CFPAR site selection
• Locate at central of three selected district area
• Sufficient water supply from Irrigation system
• Voluntary farmers, and has an interest to
explore SRI system to their own farm
• Good of Road accessible and transportation
• Provide an adequate resource to set up
experiment to support training even, facility for
meeting/workshop
• Strong support of local authority

14. Plan of CFPAR Activities in Dry season
Date Activities
27-28 January 2015 1st intensive ToT preparation
of seedling, transplanting
23-24 March 2015 2nd intensive ToT at tillering
stage
20-21 April 2015 3rd intensive ToT at 50% of
flowering stage
12-13 May 2015 4th intensive ToT at harvest
stage
Not yet Field-Day visit and Planning
for FPAR

15. Establishment FCPAR in dry season 2014
 Farmer Criteria selection
1. Enthusiastic rice farmers and engaging in rice farming,
have an access to supplementary irrigation water
supply
2. Strong interest of farmers to participate the project
activities, especially the Farmer Field School
3. Has a strong will to learn and share
experience/knowledge/know-how from participation to
activities
4. Willing to apply learning from project to their own
farm
5. Growing rice per year and owning their own land
6. Basic communication and literacy skill, but unlettered
are welcome to participate the CFPAR
7. As a objective a mix of 50:50 men and women
participation the project activities

16. 1st CFPAR location in Vientiane Province
CFPAR
Foung
district
Vangvieng
District
10 Farmers
10 Farmers10 Farmers

17. 2nd CFPAR location in Khammouan Province
CFPAR
Mahaxay
district
Yommalat
District
10 Farmers
10 Farmers10 Farmers

18. 3rd CFPAR location in Savannakhet Province
CFPAR
Sonnabouly
district
Songkhone
District
10 Farmers
10 Farmers 10 Farmers

19. Farmer Participatory Action Research
CFPAR
District1
District
2
District
3
1st FPAR,
2 FT
2nd FPAR,
2 FT
3rd FPAR,
2 FT
4th FPAR,
2 FT
4th FPAR,
2 FT
1st FPAR,
2 FT
2nd FPAR,
2 FT
3rd FPAR,
2 FT
1st FPAR,
2 FT
2nd FPAR,
2 FT
4th FPAR,
2 FT
3rd FPAR,
2 FT

20. Progress of SRI LMB
in Lao PDR
• Completed Inception Workshop, organized in
Thalat Vientiane Province 16-17 June 2014
− Steering Committee
− Acceptance new Project sites (three Provinces
Vientiane, Khammouan and Savannakhet)
− Three Districts of each Province were selected as
follow:
− Vientiane Province: Vang Vieng, Fouang, and
Meun Districts.
− Khammiuan Province: Nakay, Yommalat and
Mahaxay districts
− Savannakhet Province: Songkhone, Champhone,
and Sonnabouly districts.

21. Progress of SRI Project (cont.)
• One CFPAR is establishing in Fouang district,
Vientiane Province,
• The first CFPAR intensive training on 27-28
January 2015 at the transplanting stage,
• The second CFPAR intensive training conducted
on 23-24 March 2015 at the tillering stage,
• The third CFPAR intensive training conducted on
20-21 March 2015 at flowering stage,
• The fourth CFPAR intensive training conducted
on 12-13 May 2015 at harvest stage.

22. Progress of SRI Project (cont.)
1. Comparing SRI and Farmer’s practice with bio-fertilizer,
2. Comparing SRI and Farmer’s practice with chemical
fertilizer,
3. Comparing farmer’s saved variety with 15 cm x 15 cm
spacing and improved variety with 25 cm x 25 cm spacing,
4. Comparing effects of spacing or improved variety with
difference spacing 25 cm x 25 cm and 15 cm x 15 cm,
5. Comparing the effects of different soil types and different soil
water condition on rice plant growth.
Five experiments were set up to train 30 Farmer Trainers

23. Key learning from CFPAR
• Basic technical theory on SRI principle,
• experimentation on SRI and Farmer practice
comparison,
• data collection and analysis,
• calculation of cost-benefit ratio.
• For the technical detail of field learning element are
included: No. of Tillers/hill, plant height, no. of panicle
per m2, grain, 1000 grain weight and yield calculation.

24. Materials supporting from Project
• Computer desktop 3 sets for three Provinces
• Computer laptop 2 sets for PMU Coordinator and
National Training Expert
• WIFI internet adapter

25. Baseline Survey conducted in December 2015
(Picture from, Nakai district, Khammouan
Province)
Typical rice field in dry season Baseline survey, woman
contributed her priority problem
on rice

26. The 1st CFPAR intensive training
Transplanting rice in experiment plot

27. Central Farmer Participatory Action Research
CFPAR

28. Farmer Field School
CFPAR

29. The 4th CFPAR intensive training, Fouang district,
Vientaine Province May 2015
Data collection at the harvest stage

30. Some natural enemy of rice found during the experiments
Golden snails at transplanting stage
Insects, stem borer
birds

31. Comparison baseline and SRI experiment
80
30
56 14 2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
seed rate per ha seed age no of tiller per hiill
Baseline SRI
seedling age No. of seedlings per hill

32. Comparison baseline and SRI experiment
2.5
3.9
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Baseline SRI
yield per ha
yield per ha

33. CFPAR graduation for Farmer Trainers in Fouang district,
Vientaine Province on 3rd May 2015
CFPAR Certificates handover ceremony, honor by
DAFO head

34. Way forward
• Conduct Two CFPARs in both Provinces
Khammouan and Savannakhet with two
experiments of each to train 60 Farmers
Trainers before starting FPARs in coming rainy
season.
• To set up 36 FPARs group with 2 Farmer
Trainers of each to conduct 288 FPARs
experiments plus 36 full SRI plots
• Farmer Field Days in October 2015
• National Workshop On November 2015
• Reporting

35. Experiment design
SRI
25 cm x 25 cm
SRI
25 cm x 25 cm
SRI
25 cm x 25 cm
SRI
25 cm x 25 cm
FP
20 cm x 20 cm
FP
20 cm x 20 cm
FP
20 cm x 20 cm
FP
20 cm x 20 cm
One FPAR is designed to implement one experiment
with one or two factors under 8 replication experiment
plus one full SRI with an area at least one Rai 1,600 m2

36. Plan for rainy season 2015
Activities Semester 1 Semester 2 Output Budget/
resources
Person
responsibility
months
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
CFPAR in Khammouna FPAR to educate 30 farmer trainers 9,400 Mr. Kongsy
Ms Khampheuth
CFPAR in Savannakhet FPAR to educate 30 farmer trainers 9,600 Mr. Phatnakhone
Mr. Chanlakhone
FPAR in three provinces 288 FPARs to train 900 farmers 30,896.64 LMUs+PMU
Farmer Field Day 80 people for two provinces 2,000 All stakeholders
National Workshop 31 people attending workshop,
reporting, planning on SRI, lesson
learn
3,200 PMU, LMU,
stakeholders
Reporting Documentation on SRI PMU, LMU
Office management cost Performance service 3,520 PMU+LMU
Total: 58,616.64

37. SWOT analysis
Strengths:
 Clear Government policy to support SRI project regarding
capacity building, transfer technique and technology on rice
production to farmers
 Of around 80% of total agricultural rice cultivated land in the
country are rainfed
 Farmers participation and interest to the project is high
 Farmers have a good soil to do experiments
 Qualified SRI experiment can be disseminated through Lao
extension approach to other farmers’
 Opportunity to get new seed variety through experiments
 Government supporting, technical advisory, follow up from
project team (FAO, AIT)
Weakness:
 Wide nation traditional habit in rice cultivation,
 It is challenging to transfer new technique and technology due
to low education of rural farmers, some of them are unlettered
 Lack of trained person
 Lack of skill and capacity of local trainers,
 Limitation of providing data for analyzing constraint and
problem because lack of recorded data
 Soil infertile in some places
 Shortage of water in dry season, and lack of small irrigation
scheme for water supply when needed in hilly areas.
Opportunity:
 It is chance for local farmers to learn new know-how,
technology to increase their rice productivities, make income
generation,
 Farmer Field School based action research provides learning
opportunity for farmers to learn new technique and technology,
share experiences, and adapt new idea from others to improve
their current status
 To motivate and mobilize group dynamics among farmers
(sharing, discussion to find the way and resolution to manage
their resources at rice farm,
 Using less water, less seed and less chemical fertilizer, reduce
production cost.
Threat:
 Explanation on SRI is needed for Government Officers for
more understanding on SRI technique,
 Farmer field school is really need to educate farmers, and local
district Officers as well,
 Farmer exchange visit is needed to bright people to understand
about SRI,
 Convincing all stakeholders about SRI need time and strong
effort (and nothing better than documenting and sharing results
at local and national workshops which is part and parcel of
project design)
 Build capacity not only production technique but also post-
harvest, and marketing
 Group dynamics (farmer skill improvement)

38. Thank you
ຂອບໃຈ
Mr Touan, the best Farmer
Trainer during conduct
CFPAR, from Meun district

39. Consultation/Discussion