Cassava--A Hope for Upland Asian Farmers

Improving the livelihoods of smallholder upland farmers in Laos and Cambodia through improved and integrated cassava-based cropping and livestock systems is a priority project of The Nippon Foundation. To this end, the foundation is funding a cassava research project implemented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, its Spanish acronym) in Asia.

Cassava is currently the third most important crop in Laos, after rice and maize. It is widely grown throughout the country by upland farmers, but up until recently it has been grown in small areas using local varieties and with very few inputs. The roots are used mainly for human consumption and for feeding livestock, especially pigs. Young shoots are also harvested for human consumption.

Livestock are a vital safety net for vulnerable upland farmers in Indochina. Feed shortages are a common and major constraint to improving these livestock systems, but recent research in the region has demonstrated that dried cassava roots and leaves can overcome this problem, as a feed supplement for pigs, cattle, fish and poultry.

This cassava project enlists local farmers' participation in the evaluation, development and dissemination of new varieties, improved production practices and more efficient animal feeding practices--something that will increase yields and income for upland farmers. work commenced in Laos in April 2004 and expanded to Cambodia in 2005. By growing cassava to feed their animals, the farmers are discovering a new source of cash income. Any strategy to assist these poor farmers has to tackle the issue at several levels: the stimulation of growth in agricultural productivity, the raising of incomes, and the conservation of environmental resources.

Increasing population pressure in upland areas of Laos has resulted in such environmental changes as deforestation and increased soil erosion. This has meant a loss of soil fertility, increased weed pressure, and lower yields for the already poor rice farmers.