Alwin Keil

Soil Conservation on Sloping Land: Technical Options and Adoption Constraints

This chapter briefly summarizes the causes and consequences of soil erosion, before presenting examples of effective soil conservation technologies (SCT), such as contour-based cropping, cover crops, mulching and geo-textiles, and based on case studies from northern Thailand and northern Vietnam. Depending on site conditions, a soil erosion reduction of 30–60 % in the first year after establishment and up to 72–98 % by the third year was observed in these studies when compared to local farmers’ practices. In north-east Thailand, maize grain yields increased from 1.5 and 3.2 Mg ha−1, to 3.8 and 5.5 Mg ha−1 under minimum tillage und relay cropping. The study in north-western Vietnam revealed that although the majority of farmers were aware of soil erosion mitigation methods, adoption rates of the promoted soil conservation technologies remained low. These technologies compete for land and labor resources with the main cropping activities, in particular highly profitable commercial maize cultivation, incurring high opportunity costs. Based on these case studies, we conclude that innovative approaches to soil conservation require a change in land use systems, not just the adoption of conventional SCT in the existing systems. The integration of plant and animal production in the uplands should be promoted that allows farmers to benefit from urban-based economic growth on the one hand, such as through the exploitation of niche markets for high-value meat, while being environmentally sustainable on the other. The improved integration of animal husbandry with plant production systems could make feed producing soil conservation options more attractive to farmers, which could be further stimulated by introducing payment for environmental services (PES) schemes.

Linkages Between Agriculture, Poverty and Natural Resource Use in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia

In the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia, smallholder farmers are both victims of and actors in the degradation of natural resources, as a result of their agricultural activities. Addressing sustainable development thus requires a good understanding of the agriculture-poverty-environment nexus – defined as the set of complex linkages between agriculture, poverty and the environment – and of the economic incentives that drive the natural resource use of smallholder farmers in vulnerable areas. The objective of this chapter is to improve our understanding of the extent and nature of these linkages across different settings in Southeast Asia – namely northern Vietnam and northern Thailand, and to derive policy recommendations that can contribute towards the enhancement of sustainable development in these regions. The chapter draws on empirical research conducted in northern Vietnam and northern Thailand between 2007 and 2011.

Potentials to reduce deforestation by enhancing the technical efficiency of crop production in forest margin areas

The establishment of tree crop plantations such as oil palms, coffee, or cocoa considerably contributes to the loss of tropical forests. Taking the case of cocoa production in Central Sulawesi as an example, this chapter investigates whether there is a potential for reducing deforestation by improving the productivity of tree crop plantations in rainforest margin areas by better crop management. Increased productivity would enable farmers to earn a living from a smaller area of land; thus, the expansion of low-productivity perennial cropping systems into forest land can be viewed as a waste of forest resources. In order to assess whether the productivity of the existing cocoa plantations in the research area could potentially be improved, the level of technical efficiency attained is estimated. A farmer is technically inefficient if he fails to produce the maximum output attainable for the level of inputs he uses. Technical inefficiency is caused by lacking know-how, for example with respect to the timeliness of agricultural operations such as weed control or crop hygienic measures.

Policies for Sustainable Development: The Commercialization of Smallholder Agriculture

Sustainable development requires a mix of policies that can simultaneously address social, economic and environmental objectives. While the preceding chapters of this book have focused on agricultural, environmental and socio-economic aspects and related policies, this chapter looks at the commercialization of smallholder agriculture and, in particular, the need to target the poor so as to enable them to better participate in market-oriented development. The mountainous regions of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam have witnessed a substantial transformation over the last two decades, turning as they have from largely subsistence-oriented to market-oriented agriculture. This development began in Thailand earlier than in Vietnam, but during the 2000s, smallholder agriculture in Vietnam also commercialized at a rapid rate, leading to an increase in farm incomes and a decline in poverty levels. Our main policy conclusion here is that the commercialization of agriculture can be conducive to a sustainable increase in smallholder incomes and reduction of poverty levels; however, policies aimed at addressing the environmental externalities caused by market participation must be combined with socially-oriented policies that target poorer segments of the population, especially in the areas of education, health, social assistance, political participation and non-subsidized credit, as well as infrastructure and market-oriented development policies aimed at long-run sustainability.