IRD Matters

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IRD Matters International

Rural

Development

2012

At the University College at Cirencester

Editors Note IRD Matters aims to stimulate debate on current issues in sustainable development from the United Kingdom and around the world. Land issues form the main feature of this 2012 edition. A variety of other pertinent topics are addressed. On behalf of the Royal Agricultural College, I am most grateful to all those who have contributed thought-provoking articles. We hope these articles will drive further discussion and innovation within the rural development sector. Rachel Etter Executive Editor

©MONA HAKIMI

The Contents

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Cash From Trash

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Are gender and Development Star-Crossed Lovers?

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Conservation Agriculture The Way Forward for Smallholder farmers

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Systematic Land Registration Supporting the Social and Economic Development of Cambodia

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Development of Low Cost Drip Irrigation in Myanmar

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The Uncertain Future of Britain’s Country Farms

Cooperating for Sustainable Growth in the Vegetable Sector

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The Future Direction of Global Farming

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Indigenous Knowledge of Food and Farming

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Focus On Land

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Land Conflict Resolution in Rural Cambodia

Agricultural Land Development and Prospects for Development

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Impacts of Population Growth on Land and Resources

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Land Grabbing in SubSaharan Africa

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Sustainability of Agriculture in Cambodia’s Changing Climate A Choice for Farmers and a Future for Cambodian Rice Production

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A Quick Look at Composting for Rural Development

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Land in Laos - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

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Landmines in Cambodia A Deadly, Daily Legacy

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14 Magazine Information Executive Editor - Rachel Etter Art and Design Director - Nick Bramer Finance officer and sub-editor - Bernard Carr Sub-editor- Richard Museka Layout - Will Thorogood Marketing Coordinator - George Odiachi Distribution Coordinator and sub-editor - Ellie Price Manager – Stuart Morris

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and may not necessarily be those of the Royal Agricultural College. Dr R. N. Baines, IRD Tutor.

Cash from

Trash Lea Peters describes how a peri-urban community in Malawi is generating income from waste paper and agro-residues The difficulties we encountered when feeding 800 hungry children and finding an eco-friendly fuel for cooking the meals in the village Mtsiliza on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi, seemed to be irreconcilable. The moral obligation we faced was unquestionable and finances necessary to provide the meals were available. How long could the use of large amounts of firewood for cooking be practically sustained? My husband and I were not novices to the world of relief, having overseen a similar feeding project in Bujumbura, Burundi, during the 1990s civil war. We fed upwards of 1,500 children daily in camps that were set up for internally displaced refugees. Once peace was established in the country, the camps were disbanded and our feeding activities ceased. The divergence between these two instances is that the crisis in Burundi was temporary in nature whereas in Malawi, it is chronic. Our mission to feed the children in Mtsiliza is long-term rather than crisis management because at least half of the under-5 year olds are stunted and 1 in 5 are underweight in the country.1 The dilemma we faced was how to reconcile the moral obligation to feed hungry children with the moral obligation to pursue an eco-friendly method of cooking. In late 2007, when we embarked on our mission to feed the children, we immediately began working towards finding a cooking fuel that would fit our criteria. It had to be cost effective in implementation and production, easily produced, and would be able to generate income for the low-income families of children in the feeding project. We discovered ‘fuel briquettes’ made

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from waste paper and agro residues that would otherwise be discarded - cash from trash! This process, which is used in different parts of the world, has proven to be reliable and has gone far beyond meeting our criteria. Fuel briquettes are simple to produce, which makes them ideal for use in lowincome areas where large portions of the population are functionally illiterate. They are made using many varied processes. We have chosen, due to our unique situation, to make them with 50% waste paper and 50% agro residues (i.e., dry leaves, grass, corn husks, etc.). The ingredients are collected, ground into very fine mulch, and soaked in water for three days. Once the briquette material has been appropriately processed, it is pressed in a modified tobacco press to form round fuel briquettes which are then dried for three to five days, depending on the weather. With donations of ‘trash’ from the local community in Lilongwe, we are now producing up to 1,000 fuel briquettes daily. 250 of these are sold to the feeding programme at a reduced price since the briquette project works on the feeding programme property. The rest of the briquettes are sold for MWK 5 (US$ 0.03) per briquette within the city limits. This provides people with an alternative, more environmentally-friendly, and economic source of energy for cooking. Currently, over 90 per cent of the population relies on wood for cooking on an open fire,2 which has contributed to deforestation. Some estimates suggest that in the last 20 years, Malawi’s brachystegia forests have declined by 15 per cent.3 We surveyed the village and have found that most families spend between

Fuel briquettes can play a small part in reconciling these differences, as the world’s communities – both rich and poor – are interdependent

MWK 50 (US$ 0.30 USD) and MWK 150 (US$ 0.90) each day for their cooking fuel (either charcoal or firewood). Our own research has shown that each family that uses fuel briquettes instead of charcoal or firewood will spend approximately 20 – 50 MWK (US$ 0.12 – US$ 0.30) less daily on their cooking fuel. This is a substantial saving for a community where the average gross domestic income per capita is US$ 318.40.4 Not only are we now able to cook the food for the children exclusively with briquettes (except during heavy rains when processing them is impossible), but also the women who drive the project have begun to make a significant income

References

that has made a difference in the lives of their families. An added benefit from the briquette project was seen just in December 2011 when we were able, from the proceeds of the briquettes, to hire a literacy teacher for the women in the village. Two worlds have come together that, otherwise, would not have had opportunity to relate: the wealthier business community that donates materials, and the poor village

communities that makes and uses the briquettes. It is possible to connect the immediate needs of the poor, which are to meet the basic requirements of their families, with the desire of the wealthier community at large which includes securing fuel for the future energy needs of the world. Fuel briquettes can play a small part in reconciling these differences, as the world’s communities both rich and poor - are interdependent.

1 United Na ons Children's Fund (2011). Photo Essay: Childhood Malnutri on in Malawi. h p:// www.unicef.org/malawi/7921.html. 2 Na onal Sta s cal Office of Malawi (2008). Household and Housing Condi ons Report. h p:// www.nso.malawi.net/images/stories/data_on_line/ demography/census_2008/Main%20Report/ Thema cReports/Household%20and%20Housing% 20Condi ons.pdf. 3 United Na ons Development Programme (2011). Human Development Report 2011: Sustainability and Equity: A Be er Future for All. Human Development Report Office New York. h p://hdr.undp.org/ en/reports/global/hdr2011/download/. 4 United Na ons Data (2009). Country Profile – Malawi. h p://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx? crName=MALAWI.

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Are Gender and Development Star-Crossed Lovers? Mona Hakimi explores the common misconceptions and challenges surrounding the recent push to ensure that development initiatives integrate gender.

‘Gender’ and ‘development’ are hardly strangers. For decades, we have known of their intimate affair. Their union created buzzword babies such as ‘gender mainstreaming’, ‘gender sensitisation’ and ‘sex disaggregated data’. As Ruth Pearson has written, “gender talk is everywhere”.1 This is a vast improvement from no talk at all, but is there the space and a willingness to walk the talk? Ester Boserup’s seminal yet simplistic publication of Women’s Role in Economic Development is seen as the starting point for the integration of gender into development policies and projects. Whilst her work has been criticised, she was the first to use a gender lens in her analysis of agriculture in Africa. Forty-two years later, I am a gender specialist attempting to improve gender equality in agriculture in northern Ghana. In the northern region of Ghana, more than 70 per cent of the economically active population are engaged in agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has found that women comprise over 43 per

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cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries.2 However, the socio-cultural dynamics of the region means that there are gender inequalities in terms of land ownership, household leadership and access to fertile land. Men control large acreages and fertile lands while the land women have access to is smaller (0.4 to 1.2 hectares) and less fertile. I am one of four gender specialists tasked with ensuring that gender is integrated into the activities of an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to enhance Ghana’s agricultural production. We have six months to make an impact within and without the organisation. Beyond the daily realities on the ground, the first battle I am faced with is to overcome the misconceptions about gender and to challenge the stereotypes of what it means to bring gender into a development project. Forty-two years later, and we still have a long way to go. At my first staff meeting in the dusty metropolis of Tamale, I was very aware that I was the only woman in the room. Within the first week, I learnt that the men I work with are under the impression that ‘gender’ means ‘women’. In Deconstructing Development Discourse, Momsen reassured me that this is not an isolated case - “gender...is a widely used and often misunderstood term”.3 As I understand it, ‘gender’ refers to the roles, responsibilities, attributes and power relations that are socially constructed by and assigned to men and women. But somehow, its meaning has become lost in translation from policy to practice. According to Lindsey Jones, “gender equity does not simply involve including more women... It calls for us to understand the gender dynamics between men and women within each programme’s context and to integrate interventions that address these dynamics”.4 A starting point for our

group of gender specialists is to conduct Focus Group Discussions with farmers to learn the gender dynamics of their daily realities. We look at their agricultural activities with a gender lens and encourage the farmers to find their own solutions to their problems. We feed the groups’ ideas into interventions - such as training manuals or radio programmes and hope to create change in a participatory way.

Taking gender seriously is about unsettling power relationships, challenging unsustainable structures and instigating change that is often unquantifiable.

In any development project, the need for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is vital. We, on the ground, need to report our numbers to those, on high, who control the purse strings. When the NGO I work for began to integrate gender into their programme, the first task was to produce sex-disaggregated data. Noeleen Heyzer confirms the need for numbers: “Although no number of targets and indicators can capture the rich diversity and complexity of women’s lives, they help us to monitor the fulfilment of commitments to women’s progress, as well as mobilise support for stronger efforts in this”.5 When I lamented to our M&E Officer that gender is not simply about the numbers, a colleague who knows better cheekily chirped in, “Gender isn’t numbers. Gender is numbers in two disaggregated columns”. In all seriousness, this is where another misconception arises - that ‘integrating

gender’ simplistically means ‘add women’. As long as the project reaches the quota of reaching at least 30 per cent female beneficiaries, gender is supposedly integrated into its activities. Feminists have argued that development for women is much more complex than a simple process of adding women to the development equation. Taking gender seriously is about unsettling power relationships, challenging unsustainable structures and instigating change that is often unquantifiable. How do gender activists in the development sector negotiate the divide between our work and our reporting lines? Will there always be a glaring gender gap between paper and practice? Joya Taft-Dick, a fellow gender consultant, alludes to this tension when she says, “How you list the ‘activities’ you want to organise, and fit them into a USAID-influenced Excel spread sheet with targeted numbers of beneficiaries, and indicators, and objectives, without feeling that no matter what you put into that small D1 box, it doesn’t capture exactly what you had in mind - doesn’t capture the nuances, and complexities of what it is you are trying to address”. I wonder if at the end of the day, it is the unrecorded, unmonitored transformations taking place across Ghana and the globe that will lead us closer to gender equality. In my short time in Ghana, I have witnessed inspiring work of local NGOs striving towards gender justice. Interestingly, the projects I have come across so far are driven by a few good men. An example of a community-driven gender intervention is Kukunansor Women’s Association in Chereponi, an area in northern Ghana

He convinced them that gender equality is necessary for the progress of the community as a whole and used the men as ‘change agents’ to improve the women’s agricultural activities. In most of northern Ghana, women may have their own small pieces of land, but a lot of their time is taken away from their own activities because they are expected to contribute to farming their husbands’ land. The husbands of the Kukunansor Women’s Association challenge these gender dynamics. They close to the Burkina Faso border. leave their own fields to help their wives Ernest Asoi was born and raised in plough, plant and weed. The success of Chereponi. He realised that the Kukunansor Women’s Association shows marginalisation of women was the biggest us that integrating gender is about more development challenge in his community than ‘adding women’. In order to be and decided to start a small movement of sustainable, gender projects must engage change. He created a farmer’s group of 50 men. By improving women’s status in women in 2007 and it has grown to an agriculture you can involve and benefit association of 561 female farmers more than just women. It has the engaged mainly in soya bean production. potential to transform entire On National Farmer’s Day, 2 December communities. 2011, they received the district award from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in recognition of their outstanding contribution towards the development of agriculture in Ghana. The most compelling element of this women’s association is that it actively involves men. In order to create opportunities for women to be economically empowered and gain access to land, Ernest approached the women’s husbands and male community leaders first.

The success of Kukunansor Women’s Association shows us that integrating gender is about more than ‘adding women’. In order to be sustainable, gender projects must engage men.

References 1 Pearson, R. (2006). The rise and rise of gender and development in U. Kothari (ed.) A Radical History of Development Studies: Individuals, insƟtuƟons and ideologies. Zed Books. 2 Food and Agriculture OrganisaƟon (FAO) (2010). Roles of women in agriculture. Prepared by the SOFA team and Cheryl Doss. 3 Cited in Smyth, I. (2010). DeconstrucƟng Development Discourse: Buzzwords and fuzzwords (Eds: A. Cornwall and D. Eade). PracƟcal AcƟon Publishing. 4 Jones, L. (2010). A smart approach puts gender equality within reach. World Report: Gender approaches strengthen development. hƩp://www.acdivoca.org/ site/ID/resources-wrspring10-Smart-Development-Approach-Gender-Equity/. 5 Moser, A. (2007). Gender and Indicators: Overview report. BRIDGE/InsƟtute of Development Studies.

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Conservation Agriculture

The Way Forward for Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa Zwide Jere, Managing Director and Co-founder of Total LandCare discusses how conservation agriculture can help smallholder farmers improve their yields and become more resilient in the face of climate change. There has been a long history of dependency on rain-fed maize production using unsustainable monocropping practices which have had severe consequences for crop yields and soil degradation. The current rainfall pattern and declining soil fertility levels have caused productivity levels to drop below 1 tonne per hectare. In addition, the inability to access fertilisers, improved seed, and other inputs by farmers has contributed to low crop yields. In recent years, governments in East and Southern Africa, supported Agriculture is the backbone of the by donors, have provided subsidised economies of most Southern Africa inputs to smallholder farmers with Development Community (SADC) and varying degrees of success but this does Common Market for Eastern and not necessarily address the question of Southern Africa (COMESA) member sustainability. states. It provides employment and The situation in this region has been income for over 70 per cent of the made worse by global climate change. population, 35 per cent of the GDP and Climate change models paint a bleak 13 per cent of the foreign exchange picture for Southern African countries. It earnings for these nations.1 is affecting many sectors ranging from In many countries of East and agriculture, water resources and energy to Southern Africa, particularly Malawi, transport and health, and smallholder Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, the farmers are the hardest hit. Projections agriculture sector is dominated by show that temperatures from global smallholder farmers with an average farm warming in Malawi, for example, will rise size of 0.8 to 1.2 hectares in Malawi and between 2 and 3 degrees celcius by 2050, above 2 hectares in its neighbouring while rainfall and water availability will countries. Access and rights to land are decrease. This will result in a marked therefore one of the key needs of the reduction in soil moisture, which will smallholder farming sub-sector. lower the production potential of maize Historically, these countries and their and other staples. peoples have relied on rain-fed agriculture Due to climate change, the world’s to meet their needs. This strategy has major cereal crops (maize, wheat and rice) faced many challenges over the years, grown at low latitudes are expected to with the obvious shortfall of food in decline with a global temperature increase times of natural or economic disasters. of just over 1 degree Celsius.2 A serious

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consequence is that episodes of extreme food insecurity will become more frequent. It has been projected that over several years 90 per cent of smallholder farmers will be affected due to their reliance on rain-fed agriculture.3 Those farmers with limited access to agricultural knowledge and new technology will be less able to adapt their farming practices to a changing climate. For these reasons, the poorest farmers are those most vulnerable to the impact of climate.4

In the face of declining land availability, farmers see conservation agriculture as the best option.

How do farmers deal with these multiple challenges? Total LandCare (TLC), a non-governmental organisation registered in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia has partnered with over 100,000 smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods. This is being achieved through an integrated community-based watershed approach that promotes sustainable land and water management practices to increase agricultural production, food security and incomes. At the same time, building local capacity and resilience to climate change. Key interventions promoted include conservation agriculture; crop diversification with suitable high value crops, natural woodland regeneration and reforestation with various forms of tree planting; low-cost irrigation systems with treadle pumps, drip systems, stream diversion and water harvesting

techniques; improved livestock production with a focus on breeds of goats, poultry and pigs adapted to the local environment; introduction and promotion of improved low-cost, fuel efficient wood stoves, and supply of safe drinking water and eco-sanitation to reduce the incidence of common diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea, and cholera. In order for such activities to have an impact and facilitate knowledge transfer amongst smallholder farmers, TLC engages local farmer knowledge and facilitates farmer participation. After 5 years of on-farm testing, TLC with farmers has explored the manifold problems of soil erosion, degradation and a changing climate. Conservation agriculture (CA) is the win-win solution for smallholder farmers in East and Southern Africa. CA aims to conserve, A comparison of single cropped maize against intercropped improve and make more efficient use of maize (mean of 30 farmers). Source: MACC Annual Report 2011. natural resources through integrated management of soil, water and biological resources combined with selected organic Commenting on the impact of CA, inputs. CA is based on three core principles, namely: minimum soil Mrs. Grace Malaicha (left), a smallholder disturbance, optimum soil cover, and farmer, married with 4 children, said crop rotations/intercropping. Complementary practices include: the use “previously I failed to harvest enough of organic and inorganic fertilisers to kick grain from 1.6 hectare to take my family through to the next harvest. Production -start the system, agroforestry, weed from only 0.3 hectare under CA exceeded control and diversification into crops this need with much less labour, not to other than maize. Soil compaction, erosion and run-off mention future improvements in soil are significant undesirable consequences fertility and structure”. She further stated that even among the most vulnerable of tilling the soil. Due to its zero-tillage households with farm sizes of 0.4 hectare approach, CA offers a unique or below, CA is the best option. Grace is opportunity for rural households by providing more stable yields, particularly one of the 68 farmers who adopted CA in 2006. She was motivated to do so after in dry years, increasing profits and having attended a field day hosted at a reducing demand for labour, time and production costs. Globally, conservation neighbouring farmer’s garden and was impressed with the results shown. After farming helps in carbon sequestration, realising the benefits on her own farm, reduces erosion, minimises leaching of nutrients and recharges aquifers through she was compelled to convince 101 fellow community members. They better infiltration. “Previously I failed to harvest Impacts of CA on maize yields in the adopted the practice in 2007. Now, she also volunteers as a community worker so fifth year of on-farm testing under the enough grain from 1.6 that she can continue sharing the practice Management for Adaption to Climate hectares to take my family in her area. Change (MACC) project in Malawi In the face of declining land funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy through to the next harvest. are illustrated in the figure above relative availability, farmers see CA as the best Production from only 0.3 option. In view of this, over 20,000 to the standard farmer practice.5 The households have adopted CA this year hectares under CA exceeded differences are significant. For the CAmaize and legume combination, the under TLC projects in Malawi alone. The this need with much less benefits are greater than for the control aim is to reach out to more vulnerable maize (higher biomass and grain legume households, particularly those with labour” produced). limited access to land. References 1 Southern Africa Development Community (2007). SADC MulƟ-Country Agricultural ProducƟvity Programme (SADC/MAPP) 2 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007). IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 (AR4). hƩp://www.ipcc.ch/publicaƟons_and_data/ publicaƟons_and_data_reports.shtml. 3 United NaƟons Development Programme (2007). Human Development Report 2007/08: FighƟng climate change in a divided world. 4 Parry, M., Rosenzweig, C., and Livermore M. (2005). Climate change, global food supply and risk of hunger. Phil. Trans. Royal Society B. 306: 2125-2138. 5 Bunderson, T. et al. (2011). Management for AdaptaƟon to Climate Change (MACC): Technical and Financial Report: August 2010 to July 2011 Annual Report. Total LandCare.

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Development of Low Cost Drip Irrigation in Myanmar Brent Rowell, Mar Lar Soe, and Tun Tun Khine

Introduction

only the appropriate design of hardware, but also an equal emphasis on farmer Commercial horticultural crop growers in education and on-farm demonstration. the United States, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East have long enjoyed the benefits of drip irrigation which include Proximity’s goal from the higher yields, improved product quality, beginning has been to earlier maturity, reduced risk of diseases, greater water use efficiency and develop and promote a drip application uniformity. Less energy and irrigation system which is labour are required and farmers can perform other field operations whilst both easy to use and irrigating. Application of plant nutrients affordable to small scale through drip systems enables precise fertiliser placement and timing, resulting farmers in better nutrient use efficiency. Drip irrigation has also been used successfully Having worked with drip irrigation on saline soils where other irrigation methods failed. Lastly, drip irrigation has for over a decade in the United States before beginning work with Proximity synergistic interactions with plastic Designs in Myanmar, the senior author mulches which further boost yields and understood first-hand drip irrigation’s product quality. benefits after numerous demonstrations However, drip irrigation has and trials with small commercial significant barriers to adoption by small vegetable farmers in Kentucky.1 farmers in developing countries. These include high initial system costs, the need Proximity’s goal from the beginning has been to develop and promote a drip for relatively clean water, and the irrigation system which is both easy-totendency for emitters to clog with contaminants. Even more important are use and affordable to small, but commercial scale, fruit and vegetable growers in perceptual barriers which include the Myanmar. Such a system must function seeming complexity of drip systems and the almost instinctual first reaction from well for a reasonable commercial plot size farmers that drip systems will not supply with very low system pressures. Another objective has been to help establish sufficient water to their crops. private local manufacturing of all system Overcoming these barriers requires not

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components. Myanmar, while largely isolated from its potential export markets, produces large enough quantities of vegetables to supply its population of 58 million people. With its diverse agro-climatic zones ranging from tropical to temperate, the country is able to produce an enormous variety of vegetables of which the major commercial crops are chilli, tomato, onion, and potato. Together with other vegetable crops, these comprise a production area of about 75,000 hectares.2 As motorised pumps are at present unaffordable for most small farmers and

the electricity grid does not extend to the vast majority of towns and villages in Myanmar, most commercial horticultural crops are irrigated by hand with large sprinkler cans or by furrow/flooding in areas where water is more abundant. Using sprinkler cans requires backbreaking and time-consuming labour and it is not uncommon for small plot farmers to carry 4 to 6 tonnes of water daily to irrigate horticultural crops.

Farmers’ field testing and on-farm demonstration Season one, 2006-07

Ten small preliminary farmers’ field tests were established in 2007 in Kungyangon Township, 100 kilometres south of Yangon, and in Hllegu, and Hmawbi Townships just north of Yangon. These three areas were selected because Proximity’s treadle pumps were already popular together with a local tradition of elevating old oil drums to use for watering crops with hoses. In most cases, plots consisted of 100 to 200 metres of drip laterals applied to a few rows within a farmer’s existing field. These were watered by sprinkler cans, furrow, or elevated tank and hoses prior to drip installation. Old oil drums on stands were used as header tanks to pressurise the systems while some drip system components were taken from kits imported from India. Results of these early field trials were mixed and limitations of the system quickly became apparent. Only about half the farmers were satisfied with the system’s performance, and some were quick to stop using it and return to their old ways. Those who had to fill elevated tanks by hand could not see any obvious advantages over watering with the cans directly. We concluded that few farmers would adopt drip systems if required to fill an elevated tank (of any type) by hand. Other farmers observed that water application was not uniform, and still others described the common fear that drip irrigation could not possibly supply enough water to their plants. Other serious challenges observed included the expense of the oil drum water tanks which were also relatively small, difficult to transport and difficult to fit with a proper outlet. So it was understood that two of the most critical elements of simple and inexpensive low pressure drip systems would be cheap and easily elevated water tanks in combination with treadle pumps or other simple means of filling these tanks.

Season two, 2007-08 After the preliminary tests described above, we established 60

demonstrations/trials on small farms within almost every agro-climatic zone in the country. Locations were chosen according to the interest of our promotion staff and the perceived interest of farmers. Microtube drip systems from IDE-India were installed at most sites while laterals with extruded turbulent flow path emitters from Das Agroplastics were installed at about a third of the sites which had tube wells. Unlike the previous year, elevated water tanks were prototypes of Proximity’s “Water Basket”3 which consisted of inexpensive plastic tarp folded and riveted to form a cubical 750 litre container on 1.8 to 2.4 metre tall bamboo stands.

It has been our experience that the concept of drip irrigation is more difficult to sell than the hardware. We devoted a considerable amount of time and resources to develop training aids and tools which help change perceptions… This second series of on-farm trials was more successful, with an in-depth survey indicating that 61 per cent of the new drip users liked the system and planned to continue to use it in the following dry season. While this was considered an acceptable continuation rate for first time users,4 perceptual and performance problems were still present. The primary concern of 40 per cent of the new drip users was insecurity about the amounts of water applied, i.e., they did not think drip systems could provide as much water as traditional sprinkler cans. In addition, the urgent need for more drip irrigation training for field staff and for the development of drip-related educational tools and materials was recognised for use in conjunction with a strong on-farm demonstration programme. During the course of this season, cases of emitter clogging of Das, “Dtape”,5 and even microtube emitters from iron in well water were observed. While in most cases, Das and D-tape did not clog when used for a single season with iron-free tube well water, we decided not to continue to test or promote turbulent or labyrinth flow path emitter laterals. The decision was made in part because of the risk of

clogging, but also because of the near term impossibility of setting up local manufacturing.

Iron problems A serious problem was observed in 2007 at a tube well site in Hmawbi Township where emitters became completely blocked with iron precipitate within a month of installation. We feared that without a solution to the problem, there might be large areas of the country where drip irrigation would not be possible. However, a simple solution was found with villagers in an area where iron -contaminated drinking water was commonplace. They ‘cleaned’ drinking water from wells by letting it pass through a container holding burned rice husks. In tests, water with 5 ppm iron was reduced to 0-1 ppm after passing rapidly through such a filter. Taking advantage of this local technique, we manufactured simple 75 litre containers made of tarp material with porous bottoms; these were filled with burnt rice husks and suspended between an elevated treadle pump and Water Basket. Drip systems are now used extensively with these filters in areas where the problem is severe and where we thought drip irrigation would never be possible.6

Season three, 2008-09

On-farm demonstration has been the cornerstone of our drip irrigation promotion programme from the beginning. It has been our policy to provide an interested farmer in a new area a drip set or partial set free-of-charge in exchange for his or her willingness to take ownership of all other aspects of crop production and marketing while providing us with a minimal amount of feedback. Over 300 demonstrations and installations were conducted across the country during the 2008-09 dry season. The drip user survey conducted at the end of the season clearly indicated a growing satisfaction with the product and its performance with 79 per cent now reporting their intention to continue to use drip systems. The perceptions of drip also appeared to be changing as only 10 per cent of users reported that drip was “not supplying enough water”. All of our installations now included components which we had designed and manufactured in-country. Given the expense and difficulty of importing drip kits and components at the time, we concluded that drip irrigation would not become economical and accessible to the majority of Myanmar’s small farmers without access to inexpensive locally made products.

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Local manufacturing, sales and promotion Season four, 2009-10 After implementing significant system improvements based on a series of over 100 research plot trials in early 2009, the 2009-10 dry season marked the launch of the first drip set made entirely in Myanmar. The set was designed for installations of 3-500 square metres, which we considered large enough for commercial plantings and affordable to smallholder farmers. In addition, a 20 per cent introductory discount was offered that year as an extra incentive to new customers. The cost of the set was about US$20 before discounting. Over 500 of these drip sets were installed during this first year of sales targeting former Proximity customers who already owned treadle pumps. We assumed that they would have earned extra cash and would be more interested in new products based on their experience with the pump and their relationship with us and our field staff. These farmers, whilst not the poorest or the most risk averse, were much more likely to try this radically new and unfamiliar technology than those with absolutely no spare cash (or in debt) and

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who were unfamiliar with Proximity or its products. This was also the first season in which we began offering product loans, and about half of drip sales were made possible as a result of these loans. Free demonstrations continued only in areas which had not seen a drip system and the majority of sets were sold by our field staff and dealer shops.

We have created a market for not only a new product, but also an entirely new system of irrigation for which none previously existed in Myanmar.

reported that they made an average of 119 trips to the field daily using sprinkler cans prior to drip adoption. This amounts to carrying 4 tonnes of water to the field on their backs (200 tonnes per crop season). We know from this survey and countless interviews with farmers that the elimination of heavy labour and the resultant time and energy savings are the primary motivations for adopting drip.

Season five, 2010-11

Important changes in system components for the 2010-11 dry season included a newly designed screen filter which greatly reduced pressure losses and new fittings/ pipes connecting the Water Basket to the main line. Proximity’s design team also launched an entirely new and inexpensive plastic Sin Pauq (Baby Elephant) treadle pump, the first such pump designed for easy mounting above an elevated tank. A post-season Customer Care Survey of This combination of Water Basket, Sin drip users concluded that 88 per cent of Pauq, and drip set with nearly all respondents were “satisfied” or “very components optimised for low pressure satisfied” with the ease of use of the operation set the stage for rapid product. More significantly, 91 per cent expansion of drip irrigation. Sales of drip reported that they had recommended drip systems jumped more than fourfold to systems to a friend or neighbour. 59 per over 2100 units during the 2010-11 dry cent reported that they had used hired season. labour prior to using drip irrigation while Drip sales were also given a boost as a only 5 per cent reported having hired result of our efforts to train selflabour after adoption. These farmers also

employed village agents who in the past installed treadle pumps for small fees. Many of these agents installed drip systems on their own plots after learning how to set up and operate a small system during their training program in Yangon. Given ‘hands-on’ training, agents often became the first adopters in their communities where they are known and trusted. Nearly all these agents are farmers themselves and they help begin the process of farmer-to-farmer observation and discussion, which can result in further adoption without the same level of promotional efforts required of our full-time staff. They no doubt multiply the capacity of full-time field staff and will remain key players in the scaling up and further expansion of drip irrigation in Myanmar.

Conclusion

Based on hundreds of controlled tests and on-farm demonstrations conducted over the past five years, we have developed a robust, locally-manufactured low pressure drip system which is becoming increasingly popular with both small and large commercial farmers in Myanmar. Over 5000 sets have been installed to date with 85 per cent of these having been sold last season and during the first three months of the current (2011-12) dry season. These have been used on a wide range of crops including vegetables, fruit, ornamentals and others such as perfume, betel leaves and coffee. We have created a market for not only a new product, but also an entirely new system of irrigation for which none previously existed in Myanmar. While developing each component of the drip set to function well using very low system pressures was essential, this alone did not ensure success. We could not have developed a drip system in the Myanmar context without substantive and concurrent efforts to develop affordable water containers and inexpensive pumps to fill those containers. It has been our experience that the concept of drip irrigation is more difficult to sell than the hardware. We devoted a considerable amount of time and resources to develop training aids and tools which help change

perceptions and which simplify and explain the technology to both staff and farmers. In the beginning, scaling up has required an extensive network of welltrained, field-based promotion staff and private agents who can comfortably explain and demonstrate the technology in areas where it was previously unknown. Strong perceptual barriers must be overcome with effective practical staff training and on-farm demonstration (‘seeing is believing’). It is especially important that these staff ensure success of the first adopters so that farmer-tofarmer diffusion can occur. Often overlooked is the level of technical support/expertise required to ensure their success. This includes the ability to train key staff and counterparts, to solve problems as they inevitably arise, to experiment with system changes, and to produce appropriate educational tools and materials in support of the on-farm demonstration and training programmes. The importance of product loans cannot be underestimated, especially in countries like Myanmar where farmers currently have little or no access to lowinterest agricultural loans. Although time consuming and difficult to manage in the beginning, the product loans made available to our customers since 2009 have accelerated adoption of drip and helped ensure more equitable access to the technology. Our history of introducing drip systems in Myanmar has been one of slow growth: testing, improving, and demonstrating custom systems built with imported parts while gradually substituting these with locally made components as they were developed. Only in the final stages were drip sets or ‘kits’ assembled and marketed with all locally made components. We are still at the ‘early adopter’ stage in many parts of the country and a generation may be required before the technology is well known and widespread. This poses a challenge to donors supporting social enterprise efforts and organisations implementing those efforts who may expect quick results and impact. It is hoped that these lessons will help others shorten the time and effort required to

introduce drip systems in similar socioeconomic settings. This is a condensed version of ‘Low pressure drip irrigation for commercial vegetables in Myanmar’ presented at the symposium: High Value Vegetables in Southeast Asia: Production, Supply, and Demand. 24-26 January, 2012. Chiang Mai, Thailand. This work was accomplished through the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Mulago Foundation, and the Royal Norwegian Government.

Proximity Designs is a nongovernmental organisation providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar since 2004; our mission is to increase incomes and improve food security of vulnerable rural households. True to its roots in IDE International, Proximity’s social enterprise activities focus on creating and marketing affordable products and services for rural households that enable them to dramatically improve their livelihoods through increases in productivity and income. Products are made in Myanmar and sold at production cost while research and design, marketing, and HR costs are donor funded. We have built up distribution channels using 154 private agro-dealers and over 600 independent village ‘agents’ who offer our irrigation products. Dealers are motivated to carry our products because we let them charge a small profit margin on every sale, while independent village agents install pump and drip systems for small fees. Proximity Designs, New University Ave., Bldg. C, Suite 202, Yangon, Myanmar. www.proximitydesigns.org Primary contact person: Brent Rowell ([email protected])

Notes and References 1 Rowell, B. (ed.) (1999). 1999 Fruit and Vegetable Crops Research Report. Dept. of Hor culture, University of Kentucky Publ. PR-423. See this and following (1998present) annual research reports for details of on-going on-farm demonstra on programme with drip irriga on on commercial vegetables in Kentucky. h p:// www.uky.edu/Ag/Hor culture/comveggie.html. 2 Maung Maung Yi. (2009). Importance, produc on, consump on, and development of vegetables in Myanmar in Proceedings, Workshop on Vegetables for Sustainable Food and NutriƟonal Security. Food and Agricultural Organisa on, Myanmar. 3 The concept and ini al design of the Water Basket came from a collabora on with Stanford University’s “Design for Extreme Affordability” classes in 2006/7. 4 A study which evaluated the impact of a long term on-farm demonstra on programme for drip irriga on with small commercial vegetable growers in Kentucky (USA), reported 50-60% con nua on rates for first me users. Commodity Growers Associa on, 1998. Pumpkin patches on tobacco road— improving horƟcultural and other farm product opportuniƟes in tobacco communiƟes. Lexington, Kentucky. 5 D-tape is the brand name for an extruded labyrinth or turbulent flow path emi er drip lateral available in Thailand. Its appearance is very similar to the Das product. 6 Dissolved iron levels above 1.5 ppm are considered ‘severe’ in terms of clogging hazard for drip irriga on.

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Cooperating for Sustainable Growth in the Vegetable Sector Chandary Keo, Dr Robert Acosta, Francine Sayoc (East West Seed) and Stuart Morris (Royal Agricultural College), describe the contribution of public-private partnerships to the vegetable sectors in Cambodia and the Philippines. Introduction

cultivation has grown to 580,800 hectares buyer, and traders are unwilling to travel to villages where there are no vegetables. As a largely agrarian society, with 71 per and volume has increased to nearly 5 6 1 million tonnes. Input retailers will not stock products cent of the poor living in rural areas, the without certainty of a demand, and development of the agricultural sector in without the availability of better quality Cambodia remains a priority to reduce Constraints hindering the inputs, the creativity of farmers remains poverty. Similarly, in the Philippines, competitiveness of local under-stimulated. poverty has a rural face with more than vegetables Saving expenditures through the three out of four Filipinos considered Most farmers use their own seeds or poor minimal use of inputs does not lead to poor living in rural areas.2 Despite progress in recent years, poor quality imported open pollinated varieties. higher incomes and with the low quality Many of these are not suitable for yearand quantity of vegetables being access to technologies and information, round production because they suffer produced, business opportunities are and limited adoption of technology has from low germination and poor being restricted along the entire value resulted in relatively low productivity. uniformity. Although appropriate for self- chain. The potential of adopting a demand sufficiency the yields and qualities Although many farmers have been driven approach to strengthen market trained in natural pest control, few are integration and promote sustainability is produced are not able to compete with aware of an integrated approach that highlighted in this article, drawing on the the imported vegetables on the market. High risk aversion and poor combines natural and chemical methods. experiences of a private vegetable seed knowledge of their benefits discourage Also, with little knowledge about the company in Cambodia and the the use of improved seed and fertilisers. correct use or handling of chemical Philippines. Compared to neighbouring countries, pesticides, the resulting widespread Cambodia has relatively low fertiliser use, misuse puts human and environmental The vegetable sector in and consequently, most crops receive health at risk. cambodia and the Philippines insufficient levels of nutrients. With Efforts of extension services are Although average yields of vegetables are inadequate quantities of manure available relatively low (6.4 tonnes per hectare), a for rice cultivation,7 its use in vegetable total of 376,546 tonnes was produced in production is too limited to compensate Cambodia in 2010.3 However, as the for the lack of commercial fertilisers majority of vegetables are still imported applied. from Vietnam and demand is growing Limited access to information and from a rapidly expanding population of inputs along with poor market access 13.4 million,4 there is much scope to prevents farmers from expanding improve competitiveness of the sector production and improving the quality of and excellent opportunities exist for their produce. The flow of information farmers to diversify sources of income. between actors in the value chain is The Philippine’s vegetable industry adversely affected by poor makes up more than 30 per cent of total communication, which means that agricultural production.5 Over the last farmers are understandably hesitant to two decades, the area of vegetable produce when they are uncertain of a

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constrained by the high risk aversion and limited financial security of farmers who have concerns about losses if they are unsuccessful. Extension focussed on theory is inefficient in diffusing new technology to the farmers who generally continue to follow their traditional methods. The tendency to focus on supply rather than demand results in uncompetitive products entering the market which is dominated by relatively cheap vegetables from Vietnam in the case of Cambodia, and China in the case of the Philippines. Efficiency is further undermined by poor coordination of donors and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), creating overlapping services and often providing contradictory advice

Re-thinking the approach to supporting small scale farmers In a functioning value chain, the provision of inputs and promotion of appropriate production techniques should be orientated towards the specific demands of the market. Improved dialogue between input retailers, producers and traders increases efficiency, creating win-win scenarios which benefit and motivates all actors. Promoting sustainable growth in the vegetable sector requires a shift towards a demand driven approach which fosters the development of existing market mechanisms. Strengthened dialogue between value chain actors enables the effective planning and coordination necessary to fulfil the specific demands of the markets. The adoption of high yielding seeds with correctly applied fertilisers can considerably increase financial returns. Case studies suggest that the adoption of modern hybrids have played a major role in increasing the income of small scale farmers in Asia.8 The development of varieties with good field performance that

match the ever changing demands of consumers is imperative for farmers to remain competitive on the markets. Fostering embedded services as a sustainable source of information through input retailers and traders relies on the commercial interest of business expansion as farmers become more successful. Introducing or increasing private sector participation in the provision of information does not imply that the public sector has no role; rather that combined their skills can lead to sustainability and accelerate farmer’s access to knowledge and technology. Cooperation enhances efficient identification of opportunities and constraints, and can offer the most practical solutions to upgrade the vegetable sector. In cases where the private sector would not normally operate, farmers in remote locations may be at risk of exclusion, and in such cases public private partnerships can offer potential for sustainable outcomes.9 Such partnerships are particularly relevant when developing interventions to integrate the poor. After a market has been created the private sector has a commercial interest to continue.

entomology was given to farmers and extension workers. Intermediaries such as national government agencies, local government units, NGOs and international development organisations shared the cost of the extension service. Trained government personnel and volunteers have assumed the extension function once the East-West Seed team leaves the area. Encouraging adoption of seeds through reducing farmers risk aversion is a long term business strategy used by East-West Seed which has proven successful in other countries. This approach was introduced to Cambodia with the support of a specialist technology transfer team from the Philippines. In 2009, a public private partnership was established with the Regional Economic Development Programme - a Cambodian development programme co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented with technical assistance support by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). As part of the RED programme, the Provincial Department of Agriculture is the main partner to work directly with East-West Seed. The aim of the partnership is to increase the competitiveness of local vegetables in Siem Reap province by promoting access to technical innovations and know-how, developing embedded services, and improving the availability and choice of inputs. A new approach Acknowledging the need for greater East-West Seed was one of the collaboration, a close cooperation with pioneering companies to introduce hybrid input retailers and traders was developed. vegetable seeds in Asia. Since its Integral to success is the traders’ firstfounding in the Philippines in the 1980s, hand knowledge of consumer it has focused on variety development, requirements which assures seed production and enhancing the competitiveness of vegetables produced. distribution channel. It became apparent Creating a demand for better seeds by early on that high quality seed alone does not ensure higher income and productivity for the farmer. Therefore, in addition to developing good varieties, East-West Seed also focused on equipping farmers with the technical and managerial capabilities for vegetable cultivation in a tropical climate. In the Philippines, demonstration farms were set up where a six-month Farmers Field School on off-season vegetable production was conducted. On-field training and technical advice on soil fertility management, vegetable

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reducing the risk aversion of farmers meets the commercial interests of input retailers who become willing suppliers of appropriate varieties. Sharing information on variety characteristics, production techniques, post-harvest improvements, and market requirements is a valuable service provided by traders and input retailers that allow farmers to meet consumer demands according to the season. To overcome the risk aversion which hinders adoption of technology, EastWest Seed cooperate closely with the government’s agricultural staff to establish and support field demonstrations in which field performance of local and commercial varieties are compared. During the cropping cycle, neighbouring farmers are trained in improved practices on land preparation, seedling production, transplanting, mulching, fertiliser management, and safe pest control. Details of all activities, technical and financial, are recorded and disseminated to visiting farmers during field days at the end of the cropping cycle. Traders attending the field days stimulate further interest by providing information on market requirements and prices. Demonstration farms become practical evidence of success which other farmers are easily able to replicate, either in part or completely. East-West Seed recognises the value of capacitating such resource farmers for the long term. After intensive technical support has finished, contact is maintained and additional

technical advice is provided as needed. The success experienced by many farmers has led to a dramatic change in their attitude towards investing in quality inputs. This has naturally led to opportunities and increased competition from other companies which results in a wider choice of products available for farmers.

Some results from the cooperation Due to a growing demand, many input retailers are now stocking not only better quality seeds but also other technologies used on demonstration farms. More than 3,000 Cambodian farmers have adopted better quality seeds, improved cultivation techniques and safer pest control - expanding areas and seasonality of production. This has resulted in an additional increase in farmers’ income of between US$97 to US$ 1,000+ per year, depending on the level of technology adopted. East-West Seed has since expanded activities into other provinces in Cambodia. Similarly, many Filipino farmers were encouraged by the technology transfer activities to go into bigger scale vegetable production, especially those who had access to capital. Another success factor for small vegetable farmers is the organised marketing of their fresh produce at the wet markets. A more organised approach to linking small vegetable producers with supermarket chains and other institutional buyers will further strengthen the interest in and profitability of vegetable farming.

References 1 World Bank (2006). Rural Development and Agriculture in Cambodia. h p://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/ CAMBODIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20534324~menuPK:293886~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:293856,00.html. 2 Interna onal Fund for Agricultural Development (2009). Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in the Philippines. h p://www.ifad.org/opera ons/projects/ regions/pi/factsheets/ph.pdf. 3 Ministry of Agriculture Sta s cs (2011). h p://www.stats.maff.gov.kh/en/index.php?page=stat&mode=vegetable&op on=com_content&Itemid=61. 4 Na onal Ins tute of Sta s cs (2011). h p://www.nis.gov.kh/. 5 Johnson, G.I., Weinberger, K., Wu, M.H. (2008). The Vegetable Industry in Tropical Asia: An overview of produc on and trade, with a focus on Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and India Shanhua, Taiwan: AVRDC . 6 Food and Agriculture Organisa on (2011). FAOSTAT 2011. h p://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567#ancor. 7 Blair, G., Blair, N. (2010). Soil fer lity constraints and limita ons to fer lizer recommenda ons in Cambodia. h p://www.iuss.org/19th%20WCSS/Symposium/pdf/2138.pdf. 8 Eaton, D. and Wiersinga, R. (2009). Impact of Improved vegetable Farming Technology on Farmers. 9 Ferroni, M. Castle, P. (2011). Public-Private Partnerships and Sustainable Agricultural Development.

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Focus On Land

Agricultural Land Investment and the Prospects for Development Bernard Carr, Royal Agricultural College, examines the growth in land investments and the opportunity it could bring for development.

In recent years, investors have shown an increasing interest in agricultural land throughout the world. The 2007-08 food price shock (see the graph right) illustrated the consequences of food shortages to many governments in the starkest terms causing governments to review their agricultural policies and look for alternative areas of production. In addition to this, the commodity boom and oil price rises, the possible effects of climate change on countries domestic production potential as well as a world population growth, expected to increase from 7 to 9 billion by 2050,1 have culminated in what appears to be a perfect storm engendering increased demand and considerable activity in the agricultural land market. The consequence of this has seen countries, sovereign funds, pension funds, hedge funds, and other investment companies buying or leasing large swaths of land, often in developing countries.

Such large land acquisitions, even on lease agreements, have the potential to cause conflicts around the world as the effects of climate change and population growth become increasingly evident. Perhaps not surprisingly, these investments have proved extremely controversial. As Saudi Arabia leases 2 million hectares in Indonesia, and China buys 2.6 million hectares of land in the Democratic Republic of Congo,2 it does

(Source: FAO, 2011)

not take much imagination to see these countries importing food from their foreign lands while the indigenous populations go hungry. Many nongovernmental organisations and charities see this as an unsustainable barrier to development and have referred to acquisitions as land grabbing or a new form of colonialism.3 And they may be right, at least to a certain extent. Such large land acquisitions, even on lease agreements, have the potential to cause conflicts around the world as the effects of climate change and population growth become increasingly evident. However, this does not mean that this type of land purchase or leasing will stop. Governments of less developed countries are impatient to emulate the speed of development by the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in recent decades. Selling their country’s resources is one way to bring in the foreign exchange needed to speed up

socioeconomic development. On the other hand, in a world that remains in economic turmoil, investors are looking to the future and seeing the investment potential in land as a means of producing food and energy as the developed world’s thirst for oil continues unabated. For, as well as the food required to feed the world, biofuels are now in competition with food crops in their need for land. This means that unless there are political and fiscal restraints on such land purchases and leasing in the next few years, investment in land in likely to continue in the foreseeable future, possibly at an increasing rate. This desire to invest in land has created a new investment sector with major financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs launching agricultural land investment funds4 and there is no shortage of investors willing to take the opportunity.5 As a consequence, many

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be avoidable if the market was allowed to develop. To combat these problems, it may be better to regularise rather than demonise the practise. The benefits of regularising a market are well documented. The primary advantage is the increase in information available when a market develops. The classic example is that of the stock market in the United Kingdom or the United States where the value of a company is calculated on a second-by-second basis and analysts have substantial access to information and management. While this level of information flow is unlikely to ever be possible in relation to land, by regularising the process of foreign land purchases and leases, companies and This desire to invest in land countries are more likely to publish has created a new information regarding the price of the investment sector with major land sold, its potential use and the steps taken by the purchasing company to financial institutions ensure that there is some benefit to the Deutsche Bank, BlackRock, local economy. This would not be the only benefit of and Goldman Sachs making the market more transparent. The idea that a company could purchase land, use it to gain maximum yields, and then The negative press surrounding these move on, which is a major concern in the investment funds has the potential to lead case of leased land, would also diminish. The current United Nations Principles for to negative consequences. Berating and Responsible Investment provide only an ostracising funds for investing in developing countries’ farm land may have optional list of general principles for companies to sign up to. While this may a negative effect on investors’ normal be a step in the right direction, it only business and investment practises, and cause them to operate by using secretive really affects companies that are already companies registered in countries where abiding by good investment practises. To ensure greater coverage of these rules, it regulation is minimal due to their is potentially more beneficial to regularise underdeveloped legal systems. In the market to increase information flow. addition, the secretive nature of recent With regularisation comes transactions also has made it more difficult to value the land accurately. This responsibility. The ability of people to access information would put pressure on can result in unfavourable price companies to act in an environmentally distortions for countries,6 which would investment companies and pension funds have taken what they perceive as a new and exciting opportunity. The likelihood is that these investments will continue, and therefore, it may be time to change how these land purchases are perceived and to encourage investors to take a responsible and active role in the economy of the country in which they have invested. It is these private investments, rather than the foreign governmental land purchases, which may be able to provide the greatest potential for sustainable development and economic progress.

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and socially responsible way. For example, in the retail sector, retailers have encouraged suppliers to apply higher standards to the treatment of their labour force due to consumer pressure. In addition, companies registered in financial hubs such as London and New York are well regulated. Regulation in the home country would help to ensure that those who did not invest responsibly were more effectively held to account than they are now. These benefits would not only be felt by the country which sells the land but also by the investors. Recent history shows that these land purchases often happen in countries that are politically unstable. By investing in these countries, the companies are able to purchase land at relatively low prices, but in doing so companies take on the problems and risks that political instability can bring. There have been well documented instances of land reform in countries, such as Zimbabwe, where land owners have been removed from their land.7 By normalising and regulating the industry, there would also be a method of redress, even if only partial, should these companies have problems in the host country. This can be seen in the recent arbitration by the International Chamber of Commerce which awarded compensation to Exxon Mobile for the nationalisation of their Venezuelan operations.8 Although the exact amounts remain a matter of contention between Exxon Mobile and the Venezuelan Government, there has, in the worst case scenario for the company, been partial redress and compensation for their loss. Investment by foreign companies is encouraged in many economies. Developed and developing countries alike seek foreign investment to promote job creation. The United Kingdom has seen

the benefits of encouraging foreign banks and industry investing and operating their businesses in the British Isles. There is no reason why these advantages from inward investing foreign companies, which are the norm in developed countries, should not be felt in developing countries. The plentiful availability of labour in many developing countries should ensure that employment levels in agricultural investment land are high as the price of labour begins to compete with the cost of the oil required for heavily mechanised farming. This growth in employment should have a knock on effect on other areas of the economy. In-country industry can be developed to process the increased agricultural production, which allows unprocessed commodity crops to be transformed into high-value processed goods. The companies that own the land would be able to lobby their respective governments to open trade links with the

Instead of [land investment] being seen as a new form of imperialism, it can propel further investment, increase employment opportunities and break down trade barriers country where they hold land, thereby increasing the profitability of their products. For sustained economic growth, the challenges remain huge. Foreign investment in land is not going to solve the problems of the developing world and carries with it the potential for conflict, particularly where inter-country

land purchases are set against a backdrop of a world with decreasing land, water and food availability. Nevertheless, foreign land purchases have the potential to enhance development. Instead of being seen as a new form of imperialism, it can propel further investment, increase employment opportunities, and break down trade barriers. It is, however, the regularisation and consequent regulation of this new industry which would be of the most benefit to all parties. Good investment practice should lead to better corporate responsibility that can have farreaching effects for the host country, employees, the environment, and the investing company. Investment is required for development and agricultural land may be one means of encouraging foreign businesses to take the leap into investing in less developed countries.

References 1 United Na ons Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)(2004). World Popula on to 2300. h p://www.un.org/esa/popula on/publica ons/longrange2/ WorldPop2300final.pdf. 2 Brown, L. (2009). Plan B 4.0. Earth Policy Ins tute. 3 Oxfam (2011). Help Stop Land Grabs. Oxfam Grow Campaign. h p://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/food/?pscid=ps_ggl_GR_BrandLand+Grabs&gclid=COjt64izia4CFWIntAodZkj73Q. 4 UNDESA (2010). Sustainable Development Innova on. h p://www.un.org/esa/dsd/resources/res_pdfs/publica ons/ib/no8.pdf. 5 Knight Frank and Ci Private Bank (2010). How the Land Lies: Review of The Interna onal Land Market. The Wealth Report. h p://www.knigh rank.com/ wealthreport/2011/interna onal-farmland-market/. 6 Cotula, L., Vermeulen, S., Leonard, R., and Keeley, J. (2009). Land Grab or Development Opportunity: Agricultural Investment and Interna onal Land Deals in Africa. Interna onal Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). h p://www.ifad.org/pub/land/land_grab.pdf. 7 Hyslop, L. (2010). White Farmers in Zimbabwe Struggle Against Increasing Violence. The Telegraph. h p://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7818110/Whitefarmers-in-Zimbabwe-struggle-against-increasing-violence.html. 8 Reuters (2012). Venezuela Shrinks Na onalisa on Payment to Exxon. h p://www.reuters.com/ar cle/2012/01/02/us-venezuela-exxonmobilidUSTRE8010MC20120102.

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Focus On Land

Land Grabbing in Sub-Saharan Africa Professor John Wibberly reviews the recent trends in land grabbing in Sub-Saharan Africa and discusses the land policy needed to encourage sustainable land investment and empower small-scale farmers. Land resources and people

Africa has some 22 per cent of the world’s land and 14 per cent of the 7 billion global population. Its farmland ranges from desertified formerly farmed areas to some of the most fertile tracts in the world. However, “Africa has 6.3 million hectares of degraded farmland with lost fertility and water-holding capacity and needing to be regenerated to meet the demand for food” (FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, 2011). Furthermore, Africa’s sub-Saharan population is predicted to rise by some 110 per cent by 2050 by contrast with some 35 per cent average global increase. Thus, land issues are threefold:-

1. Ecosystem: Land consists of living soil underpinning nature and needing to be treasured; 2. Management: Land husbandry conserving soil fertility sustains human livelihoods; 3. Tenure: Land is heritage of particular communities/nations; people belong to it, not vice versa.

perceived vital for food security and climate change mitigation, yet the financial crisis affecting many countries has made their governments desperate to generate funds for basic services by any means possible, including the irrevocable sale or long-term cheap lease of land. Plenty of speculators and foreign agencies are eager to acquire land. This so-called ‘land grab’ is a burgeoning phenomenon with huge socio-economic, livelihood, and geopolitical consequences. Agricultural justice is at stake.1 Farmland conservation (caring management) and food sovereignty is needed by every nation, with due value placed upon soil fertility and its microbiological health. Decline in soil fertility is a persistent and worsening problem in many parts of subSaharan Africa. Application of improved management techniques is urgently needed to achieve food security and livelihood sustainability as a whole. Equitable land tenure is crucial to the delivery of these proper sustainable outcomes.

Countries).2 However, the majority of African land acquisitions are becoming disruptive, exploitative and speculative. Following the 2008 global financial crash, those who hitherto invested in dubious financial packages - notably connected to building property price rises in real estate - are now turning their gambling eyes towards the growing demand for food of a burgeoning world population. Food and farmland are thus becoming increasingly commodified and transferable internationally. Land is being transferred within Africa too, such as Egypt acquiring land in Uganda for maize and wheat production to meet its own food security needs. Yet Uganda’s population is set to almost treble by 2050.

Land tenure changes

Communal tenure has characterised most of Africa, with custom rather than legal contract determining tenure and its continuance.3 ‘Roman’ law is increasingly dominant whereby land can be bought, sold and leased with contractual documents overriding indigenous Land acquisitions customs and stewardship. This has There is an increasing threat to the whole opened the floodgates to abuse and Land needs to be valued and evaluated. unfavourable land grabbing as well as to future of land improvement, to the This starts with right thinking. some genuinely beneficial investment. security of agro-ecosystems, and to Interestingly, this was beautifully Land grabbing is reckoned to affect at national food supplies by the acquisition expressed by Charles Dickens on visiting least 80 million hectares worldwide, of land in Africa on a vast scale by his son Plorn who was studying at The especially in Africa. What is new is that Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, in foreigners - mostly by purchase, there is state-led land grabbing and there sometimes on long-term leases. It is here 1868:- “That part of the estate of a are land grabs by transnational argued that the alienation of indigenous farmer or landowner that pays best for corporations (TNCs). These grabs are to peoples from their land is both politically cultivation is the small estate within the and ecologically extremely hazardous. It produce food for export, to produce ring fence of his skull; let him attend to biofuels (or to grow flexible crops that is recognised that there are ethically his brains and it shall be well with his could enter either food or fuel markets, responsible foreign investors in grains”. An old Chichewa proverb from such as palm oil and sugar cane), for agriculture and in ecosystem protection, Malawi expresses the same truth more mining or other large infrastructural such as encouraged by HRH The Prince concisely translated: “If you are to projects, such as hydro-electric schemes, of Wales’s Rainforest Project and by the cultivate your farm, first cultivate the and there are peri-urban land grabs with United Nations’ programme REDD farm in your head”. (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation ‘hope value’ (for building). Soil fertility is increasingly and Forest Degradation in Developing

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Malawians has increased. Meanwhile, along prestigious Lake Malawi shores, purchasers of land are increasingly A full picture of land transfers within denying access to local Malawian Africa is hard to gauge. Legitimate transfers with proper environmental and communities who have lived there for centuries. Mwakasungula (2010) also socio-cultural safeguards are often noted that “the chances of [poor unpublicised, unless there is a big Malawians] being tempted to sell their philanthropic element. Details of the large number of less desirable, speculative land are very high, particularly looking at the current global economic crisis, which or exploitative transfers are deliberately is impacting strongly at the local concealed as much as possible. Overall, household level”.8 the World Bank estimates that some 35 In Kenya, land grabbing has million hectares of African land had been occurred in phases.9 Some of the bought or leased by foreigners between founders of independent Kenya allocated 2000 and 2010. Many farmers’ organisations and environmental pressure themselves large areas of land being vacated by departing European settlers. groups reckon far more land has been thus grabbed. Greater transparency of government and expatriate behaviour land grabs of large tracts that with national land is urgently needed.4 Citizens of many African countries and displace smallholder farmers, farmers’ organisations are increasingly pastoralists and whole concerned about land policy laxity. In Ethiopia, the Central Statistics communities of indigenous Agency estimated in 2010 that the people should be vigorously nation’s 13.3 million small-scale farmers would open up over 1 million hectares of opposed and brought to light virgin land to outside investors.5 Vidal (2011) reckons the Ethiopian government has offered at least 3 million hectares to foreign corporations.6 The Democratic In Maasai country, long-term leases Republic of the Congo (where China is effectively locked them out of their indigenous territory. Where wildlife was reported to have acquired some 2.8 million hectares) Kenya, Malawi, Mali, abundant, entire group ranches were grabbed, transformed into conservation Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, areas and have become a huge source of private revenue. In Kajiado district, land Uganda and Tanzania are among was allocated in individual parcels, nations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) subsequently sold, and the owners affected by such international land sale and long-lease deals with richer countries became landless in Nairobi. In Narok, for their currently under-utilised land. For there was a huge transfer of land from communal to individual ownership, thus instance, the industrial agri-corporation commodifying it. Elites among the AgriSol Energy are targeting some 0.325 million hectares of land in Tanzania that Maasai have fraudulently transferred community land into their private cashare home to 162,000 people (many of them former refugees from neighbouring source. Sierra Leone, despite its on-going Burundi who have successfully relow Human Development Index rating of established their lives by developing and 10 prides itself on being rated in the 36.5, farming the land over the last 40 years). They will lose their land, livelihoods and top 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for community, and AgriSol Energy will move investor protection and ease of starting a business.11 The Sierra Leone Investment in. Africa is already scarred by and Export Promotion Agency gave displacement of local populations by agricultural investors a 10-year corporate failed biofuel companies who invested in tax ‘holiday’. For instance, Sierra Leone Africa’s indigenous Jatropha. These offered 40,000 hectares for sugarcane companies came from various nations plantation to produce ethanol for export including Holland, UK, Norway and to Europe on a 50-year renewable lease to Sweden. Swiss-owned Addax Bioenergy. Such In Malawi, the National Land arrangements are claimed justifiable Policy of 2006 only permits foreign because Sierra Leone has 5.4 million individuals and companies to lease land for investment purposes, when ordinary hectares of land of which under one fifth Malawians are not robbed of their land.7 is under cultivation. However, leasing huge tracts of Sierra Leones’ farmland to However, Rwandans, Burundians, Nigerians and Chinese have acquired land produce biofuels for export is, to say the least, highly questionable in a country still there and built houses on some of it, trying to recover its own food security while the proportion of landless

Land grabbing in sub-Saharan Africa

after its protracted civil war. In Zambia, traditional chiefs have reacted to poverty by giving 99-year leases on huge amounts of land to investors without due safeguards.12 China has acquired vast areas for biofuels - up to 2 million hectares, some bought and some on 99-year renewable leases. European investors are establishing Jatropha plantations for fuel. The Zambian government sees biofuels as an opportunity to attract investors and to provide them with safe investment. In Ethiopia, in Gambella Province, almost 25 per cent of the fertile land has been offered to investors.13 Attempts to placate local people include the building of reservoirs, dykes, roads, and towns of 15,000 people. Gambella’s government excuses the relocation of people calling it ‘voluntary villagisation’ and saying they lack infrastructure in the rural areas so must move, and that the simultaneous arrival of occupying investors is purely coincidental! A total of some 3 million hectares have been offered by Ethiopia to foreign corporations involving 36 countries, according to the Ethiopian government including China, India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, as Vidal (2011) points out, Ethiopia received over 0.7 million tonnes of food aid and around £1.8 billion in aid. Traditional ‘human stewardship’ by local custom established over centuries is being displaced by ‘ruined cultural landscapes’.14 In the lower Omo Valley, some 0.35 million hectares are threatened in a hydroelectric scheme disrupting around half a million people plus an additional 300,000 agropastoralists who rely on the waters of Lake Turkana in Kenya, fed by the Omo River, according to The Oakland Institute in the USA. Some 20,000 farming people in Mubende District, Uganda, are being displaced to make way for the foreignowned ‘New Forests Company’ to plant trees in order to earn carbon credits and eventually sell timber.

Land policy changes

Though some land is under-utilised, Liversage (2011) notes that globally very little land is vacant, unused or not owned in some way.15 Liversage argues that land deals need to be made with better and more transparent guidelines. Both Kachika (2010) and Liversage (2011) conclude that land grabs of large tracts that displace smallholder farmers, pastoralists and whole communities of indigenous people should be vigorously opposed and brought to light.16 However, some investments in agriculture by outsiders can benefit local communities

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Recognise and respect existing land-use rights Ensure investments strengthen food security Require transparency in all access to land for investment Consult all local people involved and enforce all agreements reached Apply best practice to projects: viability, lawfulness and benefit to all Monitor and ensure social equity and reduced vulnerability of all Monitor and mitigate environmental impacts; foster resource care

Figure 1. Guidelines for Responsible Investment in Farmland17 and have been set up collaboratively by due legal process18 and Africa’s economy is ripe for general upliftment.19 It is possible to aim for mutually beneficial and sustainable business partnerships between responsible investors in African agriculture, local people and their governments - which often lack enough capital. Promoting these involves not only mobilising world opinion against ‘land grabbing’ and towards beneficial and sustainable partnerships, but also reinforcing guidelines.20 Liversage (2011) records the proposed principles involved (summarised in Figure.1). These guidelines offer a framework for useful discussion internationally but clearly are not enforceable. Thus they should be voluntary.21 Many think them grossly inadequate and open to abuse by governments and TNCs in particular.

Conclusions

Acceleration of land acquisition and competition for land is fuelled by the rising world population coupled with shrinkage of the natural resource base. Irresponsible land use threatens everyone. Baxter (2010) avers, “Until African governments recognise the immense potential of their own farmers and their sustainable, diverse family farming systems, that are so desperately in need of genuine ‘responsible’ agricultural investment to assure food and seed sovereignty and access to micro-credit and markets, it seems likely they will continue to protect and favour the powerful investors - and that their own rural populations will pay the terrible price of the land grabbing”.22

Since some 500 million smallholder farm families produce some 70 per cent of global food, Liversage (2011) suggests “enabling poor rural people to be part of the solution for global food security must be a priority for governments, the international development community and any other investors”.23 Wibberley (2011) concluded that “Overall, Africa’s army of smallholder farmers need greater advocacy, help in improving their own soil management and livelihood sustainability as well as better protection from predatory land acquisitions both from within and outside their home country’s borders”.24 Professor E. John Wibberley, PhD, NSch, FRGS, FRAgS, originally graduated from the University of Reading. He works in the UK and internationally. He was Head of Agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College until 1989 when he started his own business, and has been a visiting professor there since 1999. His work has taken him to all continents but especially Africa with RURCON, an otherwise allAfrican team of Christian Development leaders. John coo r di n a te s t he U K R oy al Agricultural Societies’ Fellowship scheme, which aims to recognise outstanding contributions to UK agricultural/rural progress. He is a Secretary of State Appointee to Exmoor National Park Board.

Notes and References 1 Brueggemann, W. (2002). The Land. 2nd edi on. Fortress Press. 2 As ll, J. ed. (25 September 2010). Seeing the Wood: a Special Report on Forests. The Economist. 3 Wibberley, E.J. (1984). Land Tenure op ons with reference to a developing Africa. Rural Life 29(2): 25-37. 4 Liversage, H. (2011). Responding to ‘land grabbing’ and promo ng responsible investment in agriculture. IFAD Occasional Paper No.2. 5 Franklin, D. ed. (2010). The World in 2010. The Economist. 6 Vidal, J. (2011). Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush. h p://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/21/ethiopia -centre-global-farmland-rush. 7 Mwakasungula, U. (22 June 2010). In ‘Government accused of giving more land to foreigners.’ Nyasa Times. 8 Mwakasungula, U. (22 June 2010). In ‘Government accused of giving more land to foreigners.’ Nyasa Times. 9 Ole Kina, L. (23 April 2011). Nairobi Star.; Makutsa, P. (2010). Land Grab in Kenya: implica ons for smallholder farmers. EAFF Research Report, Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federa on, Nairobi. 10 The Economist (2011). The Economist Pocket World 2011 Edi on. Economist Books. 11 Bai Koroma, E. (22 March 2010). [President of Sierra Leone]. Time for Africa to Get Serious About Investment. Huffington Post. Available from: h p:// www.huffingtonpost.com/ernest-bai-koroma/ me-for-africa-to-get-se_b_508463.html?view=print 12 Kapembwa, C.P. (2011). Personal communica on. 13 Vidal, J. (2011). Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush. h p://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/21/ethiopia-centre-global-farmland-rush 14 Vidal, J. (2011). Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush. h p://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/21/ethiopia-centre-global-farmland-rush.; Tiki, W., Oba, G. & Tvedt, T. (2011). Human stewardship or ruining cultural landscapes of the ancient Tula wells, southern Ethiopia. The Geographical Journal 177(1): 62-78. 15 Liversage, H. (2011). Responding to ‘land grabbing’ and promo ng responsible investment in agriculture. IFAD Occasional Paper No.2. 16 Kachika, T. (2010). Land Grabbing in Africa: a review of the impacts and possible policy responses. Oxfam Interna onal. 17 Liversage, H. (2011). Responding to ‘land grabbing’ and promo ng responsible investment in agriculture. IFAD Occasional Paper No.2. 18 Cotula, L. & Leonard, R. eds. (2010). Alterna ves to land acquisi ons: agricultural investment and collabora ve business models. IIED, London; SDC, Berne; IFAD, Rome; CTV, Maputo. 19 Versi, A. (July 2011). Transforming Africa’s Economy. African Business 377: 11-12. 20 African Union, African Development Bank, United Na ons Economic Commission for Africa (2010). Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa: a framework to strengthen land rights, enhance produc vity and secure livelihoods.h p://www.uneca.org/fssdd/lpi/Publica ons/F&G%20on%20Land%20Policy_ENG.pdf. 21 Food and Agriculture Organisa on (2009). Towards Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and Other Natural Resources. Land Tenure Working Paper No.10. p:// p.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/i0955e/i0955e00.pdf. 22 Baxter, J. (2010). Dust From Our Eyes: an unblinkered look at Africa. Wolsak & Wynn. 23 Liversage, H. (2011). Responding to ‘land grabbing’ and promo ng responsible investment in agriculture. IFAD Occasional Paper No.2. 24 Wibberley, E.J. (2011). Land for life and livelihoods not loss and lease: topical tropical land tenure issues. Agriculture for Development 14: 26-30.

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Focus On Land

Land in Laos - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? By Richard L Hackman ([email protected])

Economic growth at all costs

Foreign-owned rubber plantations recently established in Southern Laos

The Government of Laos spurned on by regional and international demand for its natural resources (rivers to generate electricity, land, trees, minerals, etc.) has embarked on a renovation of its economy with the aim of maintaining an 8 per cent annual growth rate; one of the highest in the world.1 The prime driver of this growth is foreign direct investments with lower levels of local investment. The resource that has caught the interest of both foreign and local investors is land. Throughout the country, land is being transformed following the Government’s mantra of ‘turning land into capital’. This phrase exemplifies the Government’s policy towards a market economy, but it is found to be morally questionable by those who adopt a more holistic approach, especially indigenous peoples worldwide. However, left to small-scale producers, believed by the government to be backwards and unproductive, the country is expected to never ‘escape from; or be able to ‘eradicate poverty’ without a revolutionary change in attitudes towards land. The Government’s goal is for people to ensure that their land use becomes financially productive and quantifiable within the national economic statistics, especially the Tax Department. This transition has been seamless with paddy rice farmers because their land tenure systems based on individual ownership allows for such a transition. Others, primarily ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples with land tenure systems not entirely based on individual ownership, have needed coercion to comply with the new management system.

Laos is part of a larger regional Southeast Asian boom and its more populous neighbours are connected to global markets while drawing on the resource assets of smaller nations. Although there have been some widespread economic benefits, the rural farmers are bearing the brunt of the negative impacts of this transition.

Economic land concessions The expansion of large economic land concessions in Laos is well underway. Pulp and paper related ventures began in central Laos in the early 2000s. This was followed by booms in rubber plantations from north to south in the middle of the decade and later with regional/provincial sugar, cassava and bio-fuel expansion. How most of the concessions were granted and the details of the contacts are almost completely unknown as there is no public disclosure or transparency in Laos’ quasi-socialist autocratic government system; the impacts of the concessions are, however, more tangible. Large areas of village land have been enclosed and the physical environment drastically altered as a result of concessions. That has led to major changes in ecological and human social systems as well as human-ecological interactions. The Government has stated that these changes must be endured by rural people in the shift from local to industrial production.2 In such cases, indigenous peoples have lost their land (mostly untitled) through coercion and intimidation, they are paid low or no compensation, and only go on to become labourers on the rubber plantations. Throughout Laos, evidence is mounting that the major socio-

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economic impacts on the lives of thousands of people is occurring in this manner. The ability or willingness of the Government to halt or slow rubber expansion is unclear as the limit originally set at 300,000 hectares3 appears to have been surpassed while concessions continue to be given.4 Individual family farmers face profound change. They once were able to make decisions regarding their agricultural production and future and now their decisions are largely controlled by others (i.e., the Government or private sector companies). People may become dependent on wage labour, unemployed, or forced to migrate. Vast amounts of local traditional knowledge can be lost in a single generation and community cohesiveness shattered. As the areas of rubber plantation that are being brought into production are large in comparison to the available labour, there are concerns of labour shortages for rubber tapping and plantation maintenance. Estimates for Luang Namtha Province in Northern Laos, which has 29,000 hectares of rubber, suggest that 50,000 people will be needed at full production.5 Many observers seriously doubt that this labour can be found locally; it is believed that increased immigration from China will be needed to tap the rubber. As is already occurring, large numbers of immigrants will likely have further impacts on local communities and in some cases on land availability. The mining and hydropower industries also involve concessions and are exploiting large areas of rural land that people rely on for their livelihoods. Hydropower reservoirs, for which information is available, are expected to cover a total area of 3,086 kilometres squared. This will inundate 263 villages and approximately 100,000 people. If the remaining projects, for which information is not available, are of the same size, 280,000 people are expected to be displaced.6 Currently, 152 mines are in operation and 256 mining concessions have been awarded.7 The total land area impacted by the investments is unknown but it is estimated that 600,000 people live in the survey or exploration areas. Reports from rural areas also indicate that people are losing land, and social and environmental impacts are not being fully addressed by local or international investors.8 Village relocation, when organised by project owners and the Government, to accommodate hydropower and mining projects has often been carried out haphazardly and resulted in communities being worse off.9 Nearly 1 million people

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are estimated to be affected by these projects. This number is staggering given that the total population of Laos is only 6.6 million people and that most of the arable agricultural land is already being cultivated.

The new land concessions A more recent change related to land in Laos is the introduction of Payment for Ecological Services; specifically, climate mitigation/offsetting projects that involve land and forests. The United Nations’ Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) is progressing quickly in Laos. Laos has received approval for their REDD Readiness Plans (R-PP) from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and accepted a grant of US$ 3.2 million to implement activities identified in the R-PP to prepare the country for the next phase of REDD+ financing, i.e., investments from bilateral and multilateral donors. In addition, a REDD+ National Task Force and office have been established. Laos has also been selected as one of eight countries to participate in the World Bank and Asian Development Bank’s Forest Investment Programme (FIP) which has a core country objective of: “Reduced GHG emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhanced forest carbon stocks by attaining the Laos 2020 Forest Strategy of 70% forest cover target”.10 The core objective addresses the quest for low carbon. The programme’s activities include: 1) Protecting Forests for Sustainable Ecosystem Services 2)Smallholder Forestry 3)Scaling-up Participatory Sustainable Forest Management 4)Creating an Enabling Environment. Of the US$ 30 million requested for the FIP, approximately 10 per cent will be committed to a ‘Dedicated Fund for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Clean Development Mechanism is also present in Laos. If the proposed project “Rubber based agro-forestry system for sustainable development and poverty reduction in Pakkading, Bolikhamsay Province, Lao PDR” is approved, it will be the first land based carbon offsetting project in Laos. Field research has shown that villagers who are involved in the project through growing rubber are involved voluntarily but know very little regarding carbon or

If approved, the Lao Thai Hua rubber project will be the first land based carbon mitigation project in Laos. payment of ecological services or the financial benefits from these mechanisms.11 Internationally, these climate mitigation schemes have drawn heavy criticism or outright rejection from many civil society12 and indigenous groups. However, in Laos, where such organisations are not permitted by the Government, there has been very little opposition to question or counter the proposals and the potential impact on rural land and people. Thus far, the focus of REDD+ has been in National Protected Areas where the government claims official tenure rights. There are also multiple options for REDD+ which could involve communities such as communal land titling and small holder agro-forestry. However, before this can occur, land and carbon tenure rights need to be clearly defined in the national legislation. Planning is now underway for this.13

Land tenure progress Closely related to the land concessions is the status of land tenure; both statutory and customary. Customary land management is still widely practiced across the country but it depends greatly on location and remoteness, economic integration and ethnicity. The trend, however, is that customary land tenure practices are being replaced by formal state recognised tenure, which is supported by international organisations and foreign governments in all areas of the country. In peri-urban areas or in rural areas where there is outside investment or land speculation, customary land tenure has been fully replaced. The government body responsible for overseeing management of all land in the

country is the National Land Management Authority which has recently (late 2011) been placed in the new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. One of their main goals is to issue one million land titles by 2015 with a three-fold increase in land revenues equal to 5 per cent of total national revenue.14 The main rural land management tool used by the Government and donors is Land and Forest Allocation (LFA), which was applied originally in the 1990s as Land Use Planning and Land Allocation (LUPLA). The policy was not able to fully realise its goals of promoting permanent (i.e., non-swidden) economic agricultural systems. Thus, it was revised and rewritten as the Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) which, through a 9step process, organises the forest and agriculture land into zones, culminating in issuance of individual land titles. Land certificates have not been issued in many rural areas but PLUP agreements between the Government and villages may limit rural farmers to small land areas for cultivation. In paddy rice areas, this has minimal negative effects but in upland areas, where fallow periods are necessary, people are forced into near continual cropping of small areas (approximately 3 hectares) resulting in soil degradation.15 In this sense, the policy of land allocation is very detrimental to swidden-based livelihood systems that depend on leaving land fallow. Economically, swidden poses obstacles to large scale concessions and government plans to modernise production systems and its stabilisation is a major goal of the government.16 In addition, forests previously managed by communities have been enclosed and transformed into state land as conservation and production forest areas. An important step taken at the end of

A village land and forest allocation sign in Oundomsay province. 2011 was to issue the first ever community land title in Lao.17 There are hopes amongst the international community involved in land issues in Laos that this will set the precedent for future land issuance. This ensures that the community management of forests and agricultural land is formally recognised and communities are given the legal tenacity to withstand outside concession interests. However, fundamental social, political and legal structural changes are necessary if rural communities are to have their existing rights recognised and

respected, or have new ones created. The Laos political system is firmly embedded in a social patronage system in which those with power often exploit it to their advantage regardless of legal boundaries and the detrimental impact on rural livelihoods. For rural people, who do not enjoy the advantages of powerful patronage and political circles, gaining equal rights and justice will require not only a supportive legal framework, but fundamental changes in Lao society.

Notes and References 1 The Economist (4 January 2012). Economist predicts ten fastest countries by GDP growth for 2012. 2 VienƟane Times (23 April 2007). Reducing Poverty, or PerpetuaƟng it?. 3 VienƟane Times (18 November 2011). Ministry Protects Forests from Rubber PlantaƟons. 4 VienƟane Times (2 January 2012). Government grants 4,700 hectares for rubber plantaƟons. 5 VienƟane Times (3 January 2011). Local labour needed to tap rubber profits. 6 Lao PDR Development Report (2010). Technical Note. Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Development: The socio-geography of mining and hydro in Lao PDR: Analysis Combining GIS InformaƟon. 7 VienƟane Times (29 April 2011). Lao mining industry booms as global economy recovers. 8 Hackman, R. Personal communicaƟons with INGO Field. 9 InternaƟonal Rivers (November 2009). Expanding Failure: An assessment of the Theun-Hinboun Hydropower Expansion Project’s compliance with Equator Principles and Lao Law. 10 Forest Investment Programme (FIP) (October 2011). Lao Investment Plan. 11 Hackman, R,L. (November 2011). Lao – Thai Hua Rubber Company Involvement. 12 The use of the term non-government organisaƟon is not permiƩed by the Government. Instead non-profit associaƟons have been permiƩed but only under strict criteria and following registraƟon. 13 Chokkalingham, U. (November 2010). Design OpƟons for a Forest Carbon Legal Framework for Lao PDR: Lessons drawn from across the globe. JICA/SIDA FSIP project and GIZ CliPAD project. 14 Lao PDR Seventh NaƟonal Socio-Economic Development Plan. 15 Fujita, Y., and Phengsopha, K. (April 2008). The Gap between Policy and PracƟce in Lao PDR Lessons from Forest DecentralizaƟon:Money, JusƟce and the Quest for Good Governance in Asia-Pacific. Edited By Carol J. Pierce Colfer, Ganga Ram Dahal and Doris Capistrano. 16 VienƟane Times (4 March 2010). Ministry Toughens Stance on Slash and Burn CulƟvaƟon 17 Towards Communal Land Titling in Sangthong District: ParƟcipatory development of a format for communal land Ɵtles in four villages in Sangthong District, Greater VienƟane Capital Area 2011.

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Focus On Land

Landmines in Cambodia: A Daily, Deadly Legacy Clare Hargreaves, MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

Ravaged by almost three decades of conflict, it is unsurprising that, out of 187 countries, Cambodia ranks 139th on the Human Development Index.1 As well as resulting in almost two million landless and internally displaced persons, Cambodia’s troubled past has also left its people with a daily, deadly legacy. Bright red metal signs warning, “Danger! Mines!” are now almost as synonymous with the Cambodian landscape as the abundant rice paddies and farm land on which they stand. They act as markers for the lethal litter left behind by a series of conflicts that have left Cambodian soil seeded with landmines, cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). Countless others lie hidden, indiscriminate and patient, causing fear and anxiety, and threatening the lives and limbs of innocent civilians. According to the United Nations, there are still around 4 to 6 million landmines in Cambodia, approximately one for every person in rural areas. 12 per cent of Cambodians live in areas which are highly contaminated, making it one of the worst landmine and UXO affected countries in the world.2 However, with around 80 per cent of the rural population being dependent on agriculture or related activities, physical danger is just one part of the problem. In Battambang Province, in north western Cambodia, one breed of cow is reportedly known as ‘the dying breed’, since so many have been killed from landmine and UXO explosions. This wry reference points to a serious and major impediment to development and economic growth within Cambodia. Humanitarian Mine Action has become increasingly associated with efforts to reduce poverty and to contribute to the achievement of long

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term development goals, particularly supporting Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has always acknowledged that the legacy of landmines is more than just the threat of maiming and killing people. Contaminated land is a physical obstacle to rural development, trapping families in poverty. Alistair Moir, Country Director of MAG’s operations in Cambodia, explains: “Landmines block access to land for resettlement, for agriculture and for the development of essential services, such as schools, clinics and water points”.

standing in a minefield. “Accidents are still happening and this is not always due to a lack of awareness of the dangers” says Alistair. “Communities are faced with limited options, and we are finding that people often have to take risks in order to sustain their livelihoods and feed their families. “Where there is extreme poverty and, increasingly, where families do not have sufficient land to cultivate, people will take calculated risks in order to make ends meet, through breaching into known contaminated areas in order to forage for items of value – principally to pick mushrooms and collect bamboo. This grows most abundantly in areas with high contamination, as these are places that “Countless [landmines] lie people have not entered due to the hidden, indiscriminate and presence of landmines. “Areas with high landmine density, patient, causing fear and and high population and development anxiety, and threatening the need for the land, are often characterised by a high degree of rural poverty. In lives and limbs of innocent addition, proximity to the border area civilians” means that there is a significant movement of population across the border for seasonal daily labour, and “Imagine raising your family living in communities often interact with remnants a minefield. You have no choice, of conflict as a result. nowhere else to go, you have to risk “This has an impact of increasing the treading the land. In this context, simple number of landless families in the area, tasks like fetching water, gathering food, and makes these families more dependent washing clothes in the river, walking to on the seasonal labour market for school and farming become perilous income. Also, families are often forced to activities. People live under constant seek alternative sources of income to threat”. cover any hunger gaps, which often Acutely aware of the risks posed by involve breaching into known, densely hazardous items within their village, many landmine-contaminated areas.” communities in Cambodia have lived When considering solutions to with the daily threat for decades. Villagers alleviating poverty, the restrictions posed continue to harvest their crops in by the presence of landmines on uncleared areas, despite the risk. agricultural land is an important factor. In Alarmingly, most Cambodians maimed or order to help the most vulnerable families killed by a landmine knew that they were step out of poverty, they need land.

“I lost my leg after a mine accident in 1997. Now I live in a minefield and don’t have any land to farm as it is all mined. I collect bamboo and rattan in the forest but it is hard to survive. I moved here from Bang Ampil camp. I am determined to make sure my land is not taken by others so I live here despite the risks.” Chhang Kam, Chisang 1998.

©SEAN SUTTON/MAG

“I was very scared that either I or one of my animals would step on a mine as our land was heavily contaminated. MAG found 10 items around the house and our land. I feel safer as I have a bigger area to move around in and I’m free to go anywhere. My family now have more land to grow crops. Before we had limited access to our land and we didn’t feel safe. My family have benefited from different development projects such as the school, better road access and health care. MAG did great work in restoring the land to the villagers as they now have more room to work and live on.” Sum Bo, 25, Chisang, October 2011

©SEAN SUTTON/MAG

“Before the mines were cleared the children were not happy in school. They were scared every morning coming to school as they had to walk through contaminated land. As a result they could not concentrate very well and they had difficulty learning their lessons. Because MAG have now cleared around the school the children have space to run around and play and they are very happy and are able to concentrate in class. I hope that when the rest of the land is cleared the school will be developed further and we will be able to have more teachers.”

©SEAN SUTTON/MAG

Kiet Chhon, 34, teacher at Chisang School, October 2011

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“Before the mines were cleared I was very scared for my safety as I was afraid I would lose my hand, my leg, or worse. I was also very frightened for my husband and my family. My brother in law has lost a leg in the minefield here and my brother lost an arm and is blind. The minefield here is full of mines so I never went in there. I was too frightened. I am very happy that my land is now safe to farm and that my family are now safe. We can move around more freely than before. Everything is better as I can plant and grow more banana and coconut leaves. Before my land was cleared I was only able to live from day to day, my family and I barely had enough for basic living. Even now anything extra I earn it goes to support my family. Now I am able to earn $250 extra a year as I have an extra piece of land.” Tem Yan, Chisang, October 2011

In recognition of this, mine and UXO clearance is a priority for the Royal Government of Cambodia, proven by their inclusion of clearance in National Development Strategic Plans and in the established ninth Cambodian Millennium Development Goal (CMDG) for landmine and UXO clearance and victim assistance. Alistair continues “Families living on or below the poverty line are the most vulnerable to the dangers as they are often landless. They are consistently forced into a situation where economic choices have diminished to an extent that they feel their only option is to cut bamboo in mined areas. “By allocating land and working with development partners in developing alternative income streams, such as market gardening, pig raising and fruit tree growing, we are not only clearing the immediate threat, but working with families to identify clear routes out of extreme poverty. “Through our development partnerships and our integrated demining and development approach we can ensure that areas previously hindered by the presence, or suspected presence, of landmines and UXO can be used for population resettlement, the construction of wells, schools and health centres, improvements to roads and increasing access to plots of agricultural land.”

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©SEAN SUTTON/MAG

Labour and resource intensive, demining is a painstaking, attritional process. Despite on-going mine clearance activities for two decades and impressive progress in reducing the number of new casualties, there are still significant areas of land that are contaminated with landmines and UXO that continue to inhibit development progress and kill and maim people throughout Cambodia. “Within some of the worst affected provinces of Battambang, Pailin and Banteay Meanchey, where MAG is currently operating, communities are still struggling to live in the limited areas where there are no landmines”, says Alistair. “So much has already been done here, but there still remains a great amount of work to do. Success will largely rely on continued funding efforts and sustained commitments from donors in order to address the landmine and UXO problems in Cambodia.” References 1 United NaƟons Development Programme (2011). Human Development Report 2011 – Sustainability and Equity: A BeƩer Future for All. hƩp://hdr.undp.org/en/media/ HDR_2011_EN_Complete.pdf. 2 United NaƟons in Cambodia (2010). De-mining, UXO and VicƟm Assistance. hƩp:// www.un.org.kh/ index.php?.opƟon=com_content&view=arƟcle&id =58&Itemid=85.

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) saves and improves lives by reducing the devastating effects armed violence and remnants of conflict have on people around the world. MAG is co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for its work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which culminated in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty - the international agreement that bans anti-personnel landmines, sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention. MAG has worked in more than 40 countries since 1989 and currently has operations in Angola, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Lao P.D.R., Lebanon, Libya, Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan and Vietnam.

Focus On Land

Land Conflict Resolution in Rural Cambodia George Cooper, Kith Visethkhana, Ea Sopheap and Thorben Kruse look at the role of the Cadastral Commission in mediating settlements over landownership disputes in Cambodia. Despite the reports of economic growth in Asia, Cambodia remains a predominantly poor country in which the great majority of people live in rural areas and support themselves by subsistence farming on generally small plots of land. Security of tenure on these plots is critical for pro-poor agricultural production and to sustain rural livelihoods. Land tenure security leads to an improvement in income and employment opportunities, and to poverty reduction and improved food security, which fall under the United Nations’ first Millennium Development Goal. For this reason, from 1995, GIZ,1 a German development agency, together with other development partners, has assisted the Cambodian Government on a broad-gauged programme that is centred on ensuring an issuance system for land titles to secure private ownership. As of the end of November 2011, the Government had made final decisions on issuing ownership titles for land occupied by about 24 per cent of the population; the vast majority of this land was inhabited by the rural poor. Most of these titles have now been issued and the rest are in process of being issued. GIZ and development partners from Finland and Canada further assist the government and other donors2 in completing the job of providing titles to the whole population 10 years from now. A serious problem in Cambodia is the extensiveness of conflict over land. Many cases involve the powerful and displace the poor. Against this backdrop of conflict, the issuance of ownership titles has helped to resolve many disputes. At

the end of November 2010, 16,745 land disputes involving all types of parties had been resolved. Once titles are issued, conflicts stop and the tenure of the owner is rarely if ever questioned by anyone. To address disputes in as-yet-untitled areas, the Cadastral Commission was created and brought into force by the 2001 Land Law. It operates at national, provincial and district levels. At national and provincial levels, the Commission has the jurisdiction to decide cases, which are subject to a right of appeal in the courts. District Cadastral Commissions may only act as mediators.

deemed the best way to try to successfully resolve conflicts. The Cadastral Commission began accepting cases in December 2002. At first it received many large and high profile cases in which large numbers of poor people were opposing the powerful. In the power structure of Cambodia at the time, the Cadastral Commission was not up to the task of dealing with extremely powerful parties and in general these cases stalled. Sadly, it was not able to move ahead on such cases but land disputes amongst poor people were more successfully resolved. In 2007, GIZ and the National Cadastral Commission designed the A serious problem in Cadastral Commission Mobile Teams to clear up the backlog of cases in districts Cambodia is the that had especially large numbers of extensiveness of conflict unresolved disputes, and to take on cases involving powerful parties. The Mobile over land, much of which Teams operate mainly at district level as a involves the powerful platform for mediation. Now, for the first time and because of these Mobile Teams, displacing the poor. backlogged cases have been discussed and cases involving powerful parties have been resolved. However, the cases seen In designing the Cadastral by the Mobile Teams are not those Commission, it was believed that the best involving the country’s most powerful. way to settle disputes is voluntarily with There are three primary reasons for mediation. The Land Law was adopted this success. Firstly, the Mobile Teams’ only a few years after 30 years of war, and mandate is to resolve all unresolved cases Pol Pot, the leader of the murderous in an area, most commonly a district, and Khmer Rouge, had only been dead three therefore it cannot avoid difficult cases. years. Land disputes were rampant with Secondly, the Mobile Teams are led by intimidation and occasional acts of retired district land department officers violence marring any progress in contracted by GIZ who are resolving cases peacefully. As a result of knowledgeable about land matters and are this environment, mutual agreement was able to devote full time to the work. One

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impediment to the regular Cadastral Commission completing cases has been the large and necessary amount of field work and it has been financially more attractive for Cadastral Commission officers and staff to do non-Cadastral Commission work. Thirdly, the Mobile Teams are backed by the National Cadastral Commission and GIZ, a fact which is made known to the parties involved. From September 2007, when the Mobile Teams were established, until the end of November 2011, the entire Cadastral Commission had resolved 1968 cases. Of these, the Mobile Teams resolved 924, or 47 per cent, of all cases. On average, there have been 5 Mobile Teams operating at any one time compared with 194 district Cadastral Commissions which reveals the efficiency of the Mobile Teams in settling land disputes. In June 2010, the National Cadastral Commission supported by GIZ produced a report evaluating all 18 cases resolved by Mobile Team between June 2008 and the end of 2009 that involved 10 or more parties. The average number of parties in these cases was 32. The case with the largest number had 124. Half of the cases had locally though not nationally powerful parties involved. The report found that, in general, case resolutions were made in accordance with law

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regardless of whether powerful parties were involved or not. The Cadastral Commission has been broadly successful in certain key ways. An evaluation in 2006 by the World Bank and Centre for Advanced Study found that: Since its establishment in 2002-3, the Cadastral Commission has rolled out a nationwide system for the conciliation of land disputes. The system is being implemented by experienced and competent civil servants who have received training in land law and land dispute resolution. While exceptions were observed, in general, the work of the Cadastral Commission is being carried out in broad compliance with the procedures set out in the relevant laws and regulations. The evaluation found shortcomings as well.3 Overall, GIZ has played a major role in the work of the Cadastral Commission including the Mobile Teams through helping to train members of the entire Cadastral Commission when it was first operational; draft a manual on procedures; provide on-going training throughout the Cadastral Commission’s existence; draft legal documents; advise on cases; design pilot programmes which

GIZ then funds; conduct evaluations; and mentor younger National Cadastral Commission staff. GIZ recognises that there are still significant shortcomings in the functioning of the Cadastral Commission and continues to try to help the Cadastral Commission to rectify these.

George Cooper, Kith Visethkhana, Ea Sopheap and Thorben Kruse GIZ Land Rights Programme, Cambodia

Notes and References 1 On 1 January 2011, GIZ brought together under one roof the long-standing expertise of DED (German Development Services), GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) and Inwent (International Further Education and Development Organisation). For further information, please visit www.giz.de 2 The World Bank provided a loan for land titling from 2002 to 2009. The Asian Development Bank and others assisted the establishment of the legal framework from 2000 to 2005. 3 Adler, D., Chhim, K., Heang, P., Hak, S., Heng, K., Sou, K. (2006). Towards Institutional Justice? A Review of the Work of Cambodia’s Cadastral Commission in Relation to Land Dispute Resolution. GTZ and the World Bank. http:// papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1012490.

Focus On Land

Systematic Land Registration Supporting the Social and Economic Development of Cambodia Written by Jouni Johannes Anttonen, Chief Technical Advisor, FM-International Oy FINNMAP. Main issues of land administration in post-conflict Cambodia

Land ownership in post-conflict Cambodia since 1979 During the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, private land ownership was abolished and related documents, including the land register and maps, as well as geodetic networks were destroyed. Most professionals from all sectors of society, including surveyors, were killed. The social, economic, cultural and religious structures of the society were destroyed and the landscapes were altered. Following this, a Vietnamesebacked government came into power from 1979-89, and the state continued to own all land which was farmed collectively. Private land ownership was not re-introduced until 1989, after which, private landholders could apply for the registration of possession rights for agricultural parcels and ownership rights for residential and business parcels if they fulfilled the specific legal conditions. In the early 1990s, 4.5 million applications were filed countrywide at the Cadastral Administration through the sporadic registration system established in 1989. Finally, after the introduction of the Land Law in 2001, landholders could acquire full ownership rights to all legally possessed private-parcels.

The Cambodian Cadastral Administration, however, due to its limited technical, financial and human resources turned out to be unable to effectively process the 4.5 million registration applications. In addition, the sporadic land registration system was technically inaccurate, lacking cadastral index maps and proper surveys, that is, geo-reference (coordinates). Thus, it had the potential to lead to overlapping boundaries and, consequently, land disputes. The system was also complex, slow and expensive and therefore out of reach of the majority of landholders, especially the rural poor. It soon became clear that the system could not fully meet the urgent needs of land administration.

participatory and transparent. Funding came from Germany (1995) and Finland (1997), with additional recent funding from the World Bank (2002-2009) and Canada (2008). These development partners have supported the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in the challenging task.

Results and achievements so far

The results of the long-term development and implementation of systematic land registration (SLR) as well as improving the entire land administration system in Cambodia are remarkable even on an international level. The necessary policy and legal framework for the land registration and land administration system has been and continues to be officially developed and established. The legal mandate in land registration has already been shifted from the central to the provincial level. By the end of 2011, 2.5 million Land rights and human parcels, representing one-fifth of the rights go hand in hand and privately owned parcels in the country, their promotion in Cambodia had been systematically registered with titles issued. This was done at a recordis crucial low cost of less than US$ 10 per parcel. More than 1,000 trained, equipped and supervised Cadastral Officers are Insecurity in land tenure certainly did implementing SLR at the speed of 30,000 not facilitate social stability and economic parcels per month in 16 out of the total development of the then still fragile post24 provinces and municipalities in conflict Cambodia. It hindered short and Cambodia. The participation rate of the long-term investments in land and led to people is more than 99 per cent. More both the underutilisation and the overthan 10,000 Administrative Commission exploitation of land, environment and members have been trained for local-level natural resources. 80 per cent of legal decision-making on land registration Cambodians live in rural areas and and a further 3,500 Cadastral depend on agriculture for their Commission members have been trained livelihoods. Therefore, security of land for out-of-court land dispute resolution. tenure and putting land to more A Faculty of Land Administration and productive use is a fundamental issue for Management has been established for the whole country. The mid-1990s increasing undergraduate-level human witnessed the beginning of a resources for Cambodia’s land sector. transformation of Cambodia’s land There has also been a major change in registration system into one aimed at technology from the old paper-based being cheaper, and more efficient,

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processes are being studied in order to improve efficiency without compromising people’s legal rights and participation, or the transparency and cost-effectiveness of the system. A strong focus is also currently placed on developing a concept where no people and land areas are excluded from legal processes during SLR by securing land rights as part of human rights. Co-operation with the civil society and non-governmental organisations is also being improved to support the challenging land administration work.

Achievement of the main goals of development co-operation system to a multi-purpose digital cadastral policies by increasing land system using the latest modern information and communication tenure security technology along with surveying technologies. The horizontal geodetic network has been gradually established and digital orthophotos are being continuously produced covering most of the country to support SLR. A Cadastral Database system has been developed and established locally and continues to be developed further according to the legal and official requirements. The Land Information System Policy is currently under development and there are official plans for a new Information Technology Department at the Cadastral Administration as well.

It can be concluded that increasing land tenure security especially through successful implementation of SLR in Cambodia contributes to the achievement of all the main goals of donor countries’ development policies. Poverty reduction and economic development is facilitated through increased security of land tenure. Secure land tenure supports increased investments in land, more productive use of land and natural resources as well as increased state revenues and good governance. Social stability increases through the reduction, prevention and resolution of land disputes in transparent and Current challenges faced by participatory processes. During the SLR Cambodia’s land process, most land disputes have been administration resolved with the results of the land With the successful development and registration agreed upon by all implementation of the SLR system, the stakeholders. If problems of insecure land Royal Government of Cambodia has tenure remain unsolved, there is a risk of been able to start financing all operating social unrest if people lose their land and costs since 2012 without external donor become disenfranchised from society. support. However, there are numerous Protection of the environment is also new challenges to be tackled in order to strengthened through improved state land ensure that the Cambodian land administration and management by administration system is financially and clarified state land boundaries, including technically sustainable and the SLR is protected areas. Boundaries are defined completed throughout the whole country between privately owned land and state within a reasonable time frame. owned land in all SLR areas. Crucial to Despite the first registrations of land the protection of the environment, the parcels, the whole land registration boundaries and management system still needs strengthening and responsibilities of the forests, protected official subsequent registration must be areas, natural reserves and cultural sites increased compared to informal will for the first time be reliably clarified transactions. This can be facilitated by to reduce both intentional and increasing information dissemination and unintentional encroaching. public awareness on people’s rights, Human rights are increasingly duties, and responsibilities. This should promoted through securing the land include the benefits of land registration, rights of all legal landowners in SLR improving customer-friendly, attractive, areas. Land rights and human rights go and affordable cadastral services and the hand in hand and their promotion in development of an official land valuation Cambodia is crucial as families’ land system for transparent and fair landholdings usually make up most of their related taxation and fees. To speed up wealth, especially in rural areas. SLR, new survey technology options and Additionally, equity is achieved through

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full and equal participation of all people, men and women, rich and poor, in the transparent process which covers all parcels of land in the registration areas. And finally, democracy is promoted through decentralised and transparent land registration processes, people’s participation, strengthened rule of law and local-level responsibilities and decision-making on land registration. Ultimately, systematic land registration plays a key role in the social and economic development of Cambodia. It is officially recognised as one of the most important activities being implemented in the country under the Comprehensive Land Policy. The work continues and Cambodia welcomes further technical and financial support in order to complete land registration nationwide and to ensure the sustainability of the established system.

Biographical Notes Jouni Johannes Anttonen (MSc Surv.) is a long-serving Chief Technical Advisor and Land Administration Expert in Cambodia, having worked at FMInternational Oy FINNMAP with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction of the Royal Government of Cambodia on the development and implementation of the Cambodian Land Administration system since 2000. Anttonen has been officially awarded degrees and medals of the Royal Order of Cambodia three times for his contributions to the development of the Cambodian land sector. Graduating from the Department of Surveying of the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, after having researched land management and land tenure issues in developing countries, he accepted the long-term assignment in Cambodia. Previous to this, he had a career in modern cadastral and land surveying, digital mapping, GIS, land use planning and infrastructure planning both in private and public sectors, in Finland and overseas.

Contact Details Mr Jouni Johannes Anttonen, MSc (Surv.) FM-International Oy FINNMAP, Chief Technical Advisor, Land Administration Sub Sector Programme (LASSP), Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC), Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA Tel. +855 12 333730 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.finnmap.com

The Uncertain Future of Britain’s County Farms Will Thorogood, a Gloucestershire Farmer and RAC student, looks into the beginnings of Britain’s county farms network and their future given the current economic and agricultural environment. History County farms were established in the United Kingdom by County Councils during the inter-war period of the 1920s and 1930s. The idea behind the project was to enable ex-servicemen and their families to subsist by operating a small farm. The County Councils provided these families with a small house, a few acres of land for cultivation and grazing, and a basic array of buildings, including a cow shed, hay barn and stables. After the Second World War, this was expanded by Councils purchasing more land and incorporated a ‘ladder system’. Aspiring landless farmers started with a small plot, proved their abilities and then moved on to larger county farms. Eventually, they could progress to privately rent or own farms elsewhere as experience and resources built up.

business. Investment is made in livestock, land and buildings over a long period of time to improve the business’ profitability. In many cases though, profitability is low, meaning that tenants rarely make enough money to be able to purchase their own farms. Therefore, it can be difficult for a farmer to move from a county farm. Increasingly high land values have exacerbated this problem. County Council tenancy agreements have bound county farms to conditions which have meant they have not been able to diversify in changing times. Agreements have been allowed to run for many years, regardless of merit, meaning that the county farms change hands incredibly slowly.

County Councils’ agendas. The price of land has risen to a record high and councillors are beginning to view small struggling county farms as a potential source of much needed capital. For example, Somerset County Council has recently proposed the sale of 35 of its The outlook for aspiring farmers existing 62 county farms, and Agriculture will play a key role in the Gloucestershire County Council is considering making similarly drastic sales. continuing development of our rural economy in the United Kingdom. Food Business in every sector security, safety and sustainability for the County farms - the first and only country will continue to be highly needs new entrants to important and locally relevant issues. rung on the ladder stimulate change, drive Tenant farmers of all types play a key role County farms offer a step onto the in not only the viability of the rural agricultural ladder for those budding progressive ideas and economy but also the environmental farmers who have not inherited land or continue where the older diversity of our landscape. Maintaining an do not have the resources to buy land. opportunity for young motivated people Business in every sector needs new generations have left off. to enter agriculture should be a priority entrants to stimulate change, drive progressive ideas and continue where the for County Councils. Financial older generations have left off. To begin implications may mean that Councils have Current Situation farming in Britain is a daunting task. With no choice but to sell off parcels of Fifty County Councils in England and valuable land; it would, however, be current land prices in Gloucestershire at Wales offer tenancies on county farms. £24,000 per hectare, and machinery, seed, prudent to reinvest a substantial However, between 1984 and 2006, the proportion of this money into preparing and fertiliser available at inflated values, amount of land available shrank from remaining farms for the future. To ensure and livestock priced highly, entry into 137,664 to 96,206 hectares, a reduction of agriculture is very costly and often not that the ‘ladder system’ allows aspiring about 30 per cent. The number of tenants financially viable. The county farm farmers to gain a foothold in the on these farms decreased by 58 per cent agricultural sector, both successful and package has offered enthusiastic new in the same period to about 2900. entrants the chance to prove themselves unsuccessful tenants must be encouraged Nevertheless, county farms yielded an to move on. This is easier said than done on a small, tenanted property and work operational surplus of £10.6 million to and County Councils must provide the their way up the ladder so that they can local authorities in the financial year one day rent or purchase their own land. necessary incentives and impetus to 2008/9. stimulate employment and opportunities In reality, very few tenants have had During the past 3 years (2009-2011), the opportunity to climb the farming in this sector. financial austerity measures have shaped ladder. Agriculture is a long term

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The Future Direction of Global Farming ? The Head of Policy at the Soil Association, Emma Hockridge, discusses the contribution of agro-ecological farming systems towards sustaining global food supplies. Much has been written about what the farming system of the future should look like, particularly with regard to feeding the world’s growing population. Some believe that we need merely to increase crop yields in order to do this, but increasing numbers of experts recognise that we need to take a more nuanced approach which also takes into account overwhelmingly important issues of access to food, climate change, resource constraints and diet related ill health.

production would not significantly reduce hunger or starvation. This is what those calling for massive increases in food production are actually arguing. Rather than merely focusing on the need to increase levels of agricultural production, we need to increase calories and nutrients for human consumption per tonne of input per hectare, not adoption of organic and near- simply yield per hectare. It organic farming practices in is estimated that at least 35 - 40 per cent of all cereals Africa have doubled yields 3 are used for and improved access to food produced animal feed even though for both farmers and local this grain could be used much more efficiently if communities fed directly to humans. The loss of calories by feeding the cereals to animals We are often told that we need to instead of using the cereals double global food production by 2050 in directly as human food represents the annual order to meet the demands of a world population that is projected to increase to calorie need of more than 3.5 billion people.4 9 billion.1 In 2010, the Soil Association published the report ‘Telling Porkies: The In the global North Big Fat Lie about doubling food and increasingly in production’ that looked into the source countries like China and India, high levels of this and other statistics. The scientific of obesity are placing huge burdens on basis for the claims centres on a report society. For example, in the United which actually says production is Kingdom, diet-related ill health costs the projected to increase by around 70 per National Health Service £7.7 billion per cent, not 100 per cent.2 This projection year5 and India now has the highest assumes the spread of an unhealthy, number of people with diabetes in the Western diet (i.e. high levels of meat, fat world.6 Research points to a need for a and refined carbohydrates) to the middle change in diet, to one of higher levels of fruit and vegetables, more cereals, and classes in developing countries, and an less, but better quality, mainly extensively increase of over one billion cattle for reared meat. For those who claim it is meat production, leading to massive increases in emissions of global warming impossible to change what people eat, the Soil Association’s fast growing Food for gases. The projected increases in

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Life Catering Mark scheme is now serving 90 million meals per year. It offers a step-by-step route to providing freshly prepared, locally produced, seasonal and organic food.7 Increases in production need to focus on those countries which do need access to more food, mainly those in the global South. A recent report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food reviewed the kinds of agriculture needed to provide adequate food for all. He advocated agro-ecology, which he describes as the application of

ecological science to the study, design and management of sustainable agricultural systems.8 Another piece of research from the United Nations has shown that the adoption of organic and near-organic farming practices in Africa have doubled yields, improved access to food for both farmers and local communities, and raised incomes through the use of low-cost, locally

Increases in production need to focus on those countries which do need access to more food, mainly those in the global South available technologies and inputs.9 Support for this approach includes the largest ever scientific review of its kind: The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development10 report produced by 400 scientists and backed by

60 countries. One of its findings is that the “reliance on resource extractive industrial agriculture is risky and unsustainable, particularly in the face of worsening climate, energy, and water crises”. Similarly, the main European

Union scientific committee on agriculture, the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research,11 reports that we will need radically new farming systems, which move in the agro-ecological direction and research to support them not intensification, industrial agricultural or genetic modification. Despite the well-researched benefits of using organic agricultural techniques in developing countries,12 globally less than 1 per cent of agricultural research concentrates on organic farming approaches in the developing world.13 We need to focus our research and policy attention on the areas of agriculture which really hold the answers for the future. Increasing numbers of scientists and policy makers around the world accept the scientific evidence that agro-ecological systems such as organic farming will deliver the range of outcomes we need from farming - more affordable food where it is needed most, fertility not dependent on fossil fuels, more farmland wildlife, better animal welfare, more farming jobs, less pollution and lower greenhouse emissions.

Notes and References 1 United Na ons Popula on Division (2009). 2008 Revision. United Na ons. 2 This sta s c is also confirmed and explained in: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2009/10). UK Food Security Assessment: Detailed Analysis. 3 United Na ons Environment Programme (UNEP) (2011). Rapid Response Assessments: The Environmental Food Crisis. h p://www.grida.no/publica ons/rr/foodcrisis/page/3565.aspx. 4 UNEP (2011). Rapid Response Assessments: The Environmental Food Crisis. h p://www.grida.no/publica ons/rr/food-crisis/page/3565.aspx. 5 Cabinet Office Strategy Unit (2008). Food MaƩers: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. 6 Interna onal Diabetes Federa on (2009). IDF Diabetes Atlas, 4th edi on. 7 See www.soilassocia on.org/cateringmark for further details. 8 Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schu er (2010). Agroecology and the Right to Food. Report submi ed to the UN General Assembly 20 December 2010. 9 UNEP-United Na ons Conference on Trade and Development (2008). Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. United Na ons New York and Geneva. 10 Interna onal Assessment of Agricultural knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) (2008). Agriculture at a Crossroads. IAASTD. 11 European Commission - Standing Commi ee on Agricultural Research (2011). Sustainable food consumpƟon and producƟon in a resource-constrained world. h p:// ec.europa.eu/research/agriculture/scar/pdf/scar_feg_ul mate_version.pdf. 12 Badgley, C., Moghtader, J., Quintero, E., Zakem, E., Chappell, M., Avilés-Vásquez, Samulon, A., and Perfecto, I. (2006). Organic agriculture and the global food supply. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22(2): 86-108. h p://www.organicvalley.coop/fileadmin/pdf/organics_can_feed_world.pdf. 13 Rodale Ins tute (2008). The Organic Green RevoluƟon. Rodale Ins tute.

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Indigenous Knowledge of Food and Farming Anne Bailey discusses the untapped potential of indigenous knowledge and the invaluable contributions it can make to sustainable farming systems worldwide.

Is indigenous knowledge of food and farming a resource worth harvesting, or is it irrelevant in a world which may have 9 billion inhabitants before population stabilises around 2050?1 The twentieth century green revolution succeeded in feeding a population that doubled between 1960 and 2000 using efficiencies of scale, monoculture of higher yielding crops, irrigation, and agro-chemicals to maintain soil productivity, and control pests and diseases. In the past, indigenous knowledge of food and farming has been sadly neglected by many and largely excluded from conventional interventions. This rather dismissive attitude is beginning to change now, as strategists realise that small-scale farmers can produce more food per hectare on their mixed plots than industrial farmers can on thousands of hectares.2 Moreover, industrial methods, practised long-term, have had undesirable side-effects: wasteful use of scarce water, loss of soil productivity after repeated soil disturbance and application of chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, leading to loss of natural predators capable of harmlessly controlling pests and diseases.3 Numerous small-scale farmers, it appears, could make a critically important contribution towards overcoming hunger and poverty if they use sustainable methods of farming.4 During three village-community workshops in Malawi, each lasting three days in 2009 and 2010, participants were divided into four peer groups for discussions and exercises: unmarried young people (male and female),

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grandparents (also male and female) and separate groups for men and for women of intermediate ages. On one occasion in each workshop, I asked the younger groups how they choose what to eat and I asked the grandparents to list foods that they used to eat when young, but rarely or never eat now. In addition, I asked whether the ‘missing’ foods were eaten only when nothing else was available (i.e. famine foods) or because they were appetising and desirable. In all three workshops, grandparents worked with unusual enthusiasm to produce long lists of ‘missing’ foods, of which most were unknown to their younger colleagues. Some foods might even be extinct, because the forests where they used to be found have disappeared.

We cannot afford to neglect knowledge of bio-diversity, the identity of famine foods, benefits of companion planting, integrated pest and disease management, and soil-care which may be hidden amongst indigenous food and farming behaviours

I discussed these ‘missing’ foods with a European friend who has lived and gardened in Malawi for 50 years. She commented that some indigenous plants,

that used to be valued and used as foods, are no longer recognised as edible by young people. So now they are treated as weeds and burned, depriving farming families of part of their agricultural heritage - and nutrition from plants that are easy to grow. Why had the grandparents not passed on their ‘indigenous knowledge’ to younger people? Was it because they did not realise that they were guardians of useful knowledge or because past attempts to share experience with younger people had been rebuffed? Indigenous farming ‘behaviour’ may be a better term to use than ‘knowledge’, because it implies conscious reflection upon - and organisation of - material, which are both rare activities.

What influences shape indigenous food and farming behaviours in Africa? The driving forces that shape farming behaviour in Africa are hunger and the need for cash to buy commodities (education, transport, clothes) that cannot be grown. Behaviours are local, expressed in day-to-day routines, heavily influenced by ‘our culture’ and by activities that confer status in the community. They are also determined by seasonal rainfall and the gifts or problems of the local landscape - gradients, forests, pasture or low-lying wetland (dambo). Usually villagelevel ‘knowledge’ is unrecorded, rarely discussed, and even less often reflectedupon. A strong streak of fatalism influences behaviours relating to run-off due to heavy rain and reduced soil

productivity after years of continuous cropping on the same piece of land. Used water, crop residues, and ‘rubbish’ are more likely to be discarded or burned as ‘unclean’ than regarded as resources for re-use. More subtle influences on food and farming behaviours may be fear of behaving differently from one’s neighbours (which can lead to accusations), fear of witchcraft, and the fact that ‘experts’, whether national or international, rarely seem to be interested in how people grow food. Also, several decades of being discounted for ‘holding primitive ideas’ has undermined confidence in ancestral wisdom, while exposure to rapidly changing ‘advice’ for the same period has undermined confidence in ‘experts’. As the majority of farmers in Africa are women, and farming tends to be dismissed as ‘only fit for peasants’, it is not seen as a challenging career choice for educated people,

especially for young men. Renewed interest in - and respect for indigenous food and farming behaviours, combined with community discussions and locally accessible written records, might be a useful starting point for attempts to raise the lowly status of small -scale farmers and their plots in Africa. The status of indigenous knowledge of food and farming may be different and more positive in other continents, and especially in countries such as China, Korea and Japan where organic forms of farming have been practised for 4000 years.5 In every continent, however, indigenous practices and principles need to be re-evaluated and adapted to meet the combined pressures of expanding populations, changing and less predictable weather patterns as climate change occurs, and water famines as rivers shrink and aquifers are used faster than they can be replenished. There is no new land to be discovered now and soon

some good farming land will disappear under rising sea levels, as more ice melts. We do have renewable alternative sources for energy when cheap oil runs out, but there is no substitute for the complexities of good topsoil,6 which in many places around the world is losing productivity 7 or being lost entirely to erosion. We cannot afford to neglect knowledge of bio-diversity, the identity of famine foods, benefits of companion planting, integrated pest and disease management and soil-care which may be hidden amongst indigenous food and farming behaviours - from any continent. Practitioners of ‘indigenous farming behaviours’ everywhere tend to die rather younger than their North American, European and Australian counterparts. Collecting and recording their wisdom is an urgent task before that knowledge is lost, perhaps forever.

References 1 Evans, A. (2009). The Feeding of the Nine Billion: Global Food Security for the 21 st Century. Chatham House PublicaƟons. hƩp://www.wfp.org/sites/default/files/ alex_evans.pdf. 2 Prakash, N. (2011).World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report. www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/13/world-hunger-small-scaleagriculture. 3 Evans, A. (2009). The Feeding of the Nine Billion: Global Food Security for the 21 st Century. Chatham House PublicaƟons. hƩp://www.wfp.org/sites/default/files/ alex_evans.pdf. 4 United NaƟons Conference on Trade and Development, United NaƟons Environment Programme (2008). Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. hƩp:// www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2306. 5 King, E.H. (2004, 1911). Farmers of Forty Centuries – Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan: Organic Farming in China, Korea and Japan. Mineola N.Y.; Dover PublicaƟons. 6 Shaxson, F., Kassam, A., Friedrich, T., Boddey, B., and Adekunle, A. (2008). Underpinning ConservaƟon Agriculture’s Benefits: The Roots of Soil Health and FuncƟon. Soil Health Workshop Rome. www.fao.org/ag/ca/doc/SHW_MainDoc_0708.pdf. 7 Mulvaney, R. L., Khan, S. A., and Ellsworth, T. R. (2009). SyntheƟc Nitrogen FerƟlizers Deplete Soil Nitrogen: A Global Dilemma for Sustainable Cereal ProducƟon. Journal of Environmental Quality 38: 2295-2314.

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Impacts of Population Growth on Land and Resources Vincent Kaitano and Mayamiko Minofu explore why sustainable land and natural resource management in Malawi is being heavily compromised by increasing pressures from population growth. Introduction

rural areas and relying heavily on agriculture and natural resources such as As the world’s population continues to forests and trees for their livelihoods.5 grow, great pressure is being exerted on Pressure on these natural resources is land and other natural resources in order especially evident with customary land, to provide adequately for the needs of which is regarded as a commons good. people while maintaining the integrity of Customary land is land which is held by our ecosystem. Currently, the world’s individuals, families and the community, population is just over 7 billion and is supervised by chiefs, managed by projected to grow to between 8 and 10.5 Traditional Authorities and is protected by 1 billion by 2050. However, the area of land law against arbitrary conversion to public to sustain ecosystems remains constant 6 land. and the natural resource base is already As the population increases, there is an diminishing. This is resulting in a growing imbalance between the world’s population increasing pressure on the availability of land for agriculture, housing, and other and the natural resources that support infrastructure in order to meet the 2 human lives and activities. increasing demand for food, shelter, medical facilities and other social services. However, more than 99 per cent of the As many farmers do not world’s food supply comes from the land, follow soil conservation while less than 1 per cent is from oceans and other aquatic habitats.7 Thus, the practices, expansion of continued production of an adequate food agriculture into marginal and supply is directly dependent on ample fertile land, fresh water, energy, plus the unsuitable areas poses many maintenance of biodiversity. Even where problems. resources are not depleted, they are being affected significantly because they are divided amongst an ever increasing According to United Nations population. Department of Economics and Social Affairs Population Division, 99 per cent of A closer look at Malawi the world’s population growth is in developing countries.3 Malawi, one of the Malawi’s economy is primarily agricultural based. Agricultural commodities account least developed countries, has not been for 80 per cent of its export earnings and spared the effects and impacts of the the make up 38 per cent of its Gross imbalance between population and resources. Its current population is over 14 Domestic Product. Domestically, this sector supports 85 per cent of its million, with a 2.8 per cent annual rate population.8 Smallholder farmers, who growth rate.4 McConnell et al. (2007) reported that Malawi’s population growth contribute three-quarters of the total agricultural production, rely on rain-fed is one of the highest in southern Africa, with 85 per cent of the population living in agriculture and cultivate maize, cotton, cassava, tobacco, groundnuts, soya beans,

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Elephant slaughtered for ivory at Kasungu National Park (November 2011)

rice, sweet and Irish potatoes. As such, Malawians are heavily dependent on agriculture and land is a critical factor in this sector. At present, cultivated land exceeds the suitable land for rain-fed agriculture at traditional levels of management. By 1990, 49 per cent of the country’s land resources (9.4 million hectares) were under cultivation, yet only 31 per cent of the country’s land is suitable for rain-fed agriculture; this indicates that 18 per cent of this land utilised for rain-fed agriculture must be marginal, unsuitable or reserved land. At an improved level of management, 61 per cent of the country’s land is suitable for rain-fed agriculture. The major recommended conservation activities at improved level management include contour marker ridges and subsequent ridge re-alignment, planting vertiver grass as hedgerows, box ridging, reclamation of gullies and raising of footpaths and field boundaries. In Malawi, these recommended conservation activities are not carried out at traditional levels of management. Since cultivable land and human population are not evenly distributed, there is a good chance that not only is marginal land increasingly being cultivated, but also unsuitable land is being brought under arable cultivation at a very fast rate.9 Indeed, visual observation throughout the country supports this. As many farmers do not follow soil conservation practices, expansion of agriculture into marginal and unsuitable areas poses many problems for the country’s sustainable land and natural resources management. Clearing of more land as people open new gardens and farm areas is leaving a lot of land without trees and vegetation, and as a result, runoff has increased during the rainy season, which is typically from November to

March. Consequently, this is leaving the land infertile and less suitable for agricultural production.

only in Malawi can have serious consequences for the environment and it is estimated that the pressure for agricultural land accounts for 60 to 80 per cent of the world’s deforestation.11 In 1992, estimated figures from the Forestry A very fitting, yet Department show that forest cover is unfortunate, example of a close to 1.9 million hectares – down from forest that is being depleted 4.4 million hectares in 1972. This decline represents a loss of 2.8% or 125,000 is Ntchisi Forest Reserve. This hectares per year but now it is even much higher due to the rapid population is the most invaluable still growth.12 This is leading to the depletion remaining example of of forest reserves and extinction of some tree, flora and fauna species. In 2000, indigenous rain and cloud forest reserves in Malawi declined from forest in Malawi and the 40 per cent to 28 per cent of the total land area.13 A very fitting, yet whole of southern Africa unfortunate, example of a forest that is being depleted is Ntchisi Forest Reserve. This is the most invaluable remaining The land is also being fragmented as example of indigenous rain and cloud it is divided among more people and this forest in Malawi and the whole of limits the carrying out of commercial or southern Africa. Unfortunately, it is being depleted as people cut trees for timber, intensified agricultural practices that charcoal and firewood as shown in the require a lot of land. There has been a pictures on the following page. Although continual decline in mean land holding this resource is renewable, the rate at size over the years because of the ever increasing population.10 The small pieces which it is exploited is much higher than the rate at which it is replenished. of land owned by individuals are Soil erosion, which is worsened overused since they are cultivated through the clearing of land, has affected continuously with a single crop as smallholder farmers try to produce high not only land and forest resources but also water resources. The erosion carries yields in order to meet their food and economic requirements which is further silt, chemicals and other substances from land into water reservoirs, which has led degrading the land. As a result, people to siltation of rivers, lakes and dams now trespass not only on the marginal causing a decrease in the volume of the and unsuitable land but also on the reservoirs. In Malawi, this has had a protected areas such as national parks, severe impact on the hydroelectric power forest and game reserves in search of fertile land. This encroachment has seen generation as turbines have required frequent servicing due to the build up of an increase in the poaching of animals and the wanton cutting down of trees for silt. Over 90 per cent of the electricity timber, canoe and boat making, fuel and generated is from hydro-power plants located along Shire River which is fed by other domestic uses. The effects of deforestation seen not Lake Malawi and acts as its only outlet. Over the years, persistent sedimentation resulting from erosion in the catchment areas has resulted in low lake levels and Case Study 1: Kasungu National Park reduced the volume of the Shire River. Kasungu National Park is situated on Malawi’s western border with Zambia and covers 2,136 square kilometres. The park was originally gazetted as a game reserve Sedimentation has also reduced the flow in 1930 though it was not actively developed until 1963 when the Lifupa Lodge of Shire River to well below the required was built together with a large dam and a well thought-out road system from speed of 170 metres cubed per second.14 which animals can be viewed. Kasungu became a national park in 1970 and was This has affected Nkula Hydroelectric considered the best game park in Malawi with an elephant population of over power station, for example. Siltation of rivers, as a result of 2,000. erosion, also accounts for a lot of floods Since then, the park has seen a severe deterioration in its animal numbers, mostly due to poaching by local communities as well as some cross-border gangs. that are occurring in our country and the For example, elephants are down to just 150 from 2,000. While many large world at large. This year, several districts such as Chikhwawa and Nsanje, have mammals are still seen (e.g., eland, buffalo, zebra, sable, kudu, hippo, puku, roan, reed buck, impala and even lion, leopard and the elusive painted dog), notable been hit by these floods already and some absences now include cheetah, giraffe, the side-striped jackal and black people have relocated from their homes to more elevated areas. Apart from high rhinoceros. With the poaching comes uncontrolled burning by poachers. Other rainfall, environmental degradation, challenges for the park include unsustainable wood harvesting by local communities, as well as lack of expertise and motivation among the park scouts, exacerbated by deforestation and soil erosion, is to blame for the extent of the combined with inadequate supervision of these rangers. floods disaster because tree cover is being

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Case Study 2: Ntchisi Forest Reserve

Ntchisi Forest Reserve located on one of the peaks in the Dowa hills, 75 kilometres north -east of Lilongwe, rising above 1,600 metres and is the only reserve still bearing original rainforest in this densely cultivated and eroded region. The forest is one block and contains approximately 225 hectares of Anningeria Montane rainforest, with 30 hectares of tall Newtonia mid-altitude rainforest extending down the south-eastern slopes. Most of the reserve contains fine miombo woodland. The main threat to the forest reserve is the pressure for land and wood resources from the surrounding communities. This has resulted in encroachment and cutting of trees for timber, canoe and boat making, fuel, and other domestic uses. Management is proving difficult. denuded by charcoal production in a country where electricity supplies reach very few people.15 Malawi, like other nations in southern Africa, faces serious challenges from population growth as the growing number of people puts increasing pressure on land and other natural resources. It is leading to degradation, desertification and fragmentation of land and also the dwindling of the cultivable land. Natural resources are being overexploited and polluted causing climate change, loss of biodiversity and scarcity of resources. These resources are critical for Malawi and their overexploitation will be felt internationally.

flora in Malawi. WESM as a national NGO was established, as the Nyasaland Flora and Fauna Foundation, in 1947 at Michiru Mountain Park in Blantyre by concerned citizens. The WESM Lilongwe branch was established in 1975 by citizens who were concerned with the diversity and adversity in wildlife and natural resources and environment. Members resolved to form this branch and interested people started joining and contributing voluntarily. The branch collaborates with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife of the Government of Malawi in implementing programmes to raise awareness and improve the livelihoods of communities bordering Kasungu National Park, Ntchisi Forest Reserve and About the authors Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. Vincent Kaitano is part-time branch manager Vincent is also an independent consultant and has been on the committee of the Wildlife focusing on facilitating value chain-based and Environmental Society of Malawi, approaches to agricultural development in Lilongwe Branch, since 2005 for the and is Malawi. He holds a Master's degree in currently serving as Vice Chairman. The Business Management. WESM Lilongwe Branch is one of 9 branches of the Wildlife and Environmental Mayamiko Minofu has a BSc in Natural Society of Malawi and is one of the most Resources Management from Bunda College vibrant. WESM is a membership not for of Agriculture, Malawi, and is currently profit non-governmental organisation working for the Wildlife and Environmental (NGO), registered under the Trustees Society of Malawi, Lilongwe Branch as an Incorporation Act. Its main mandate is the Intern. protection and conservation of fauna and References 1 United Na ons Department of Economics and Social Affairs Popula on Division (2004). World PopulaƟon Prospects Volume 3, Analy cal Report. 2 Pimentel, D., Huang, X., Cordova, A., and Pimentel, M. (1996). Impact of Popula on Growth on Food Supplies and Environment. PopulaƟon and Development Review. 3 United Na ons Department of Economics and Social Affairs Popula on Division (2004). World PopulaƟon Prospects Volume 3, Analy cal Report. 4 Na onal Sta s cal Office of Malawi (2008). 2008 Popula on and Housing Census Preliminary Report. h p:// nso.malawi.net/data_on_line/demography/census_2008/MWCensus08_report.pdf. 5 McConnell, R., Sibale, B., and U la, H. (2007) Linking Na onal Forest Programmes and Poverty Reduc on Strategies, Malawi. Food and Agriculture Organisa on. 6 Department of Lands and Housing (2002). Malawi Land Policy. Government of Malawi. 7 Pimentel, D., Huang, X., Cordova, A., and Pimentel, M. (1996). Impact of Popula on Growth on Food Supplies and Environment. PopulaƟon and Development Review. 8 Munthali, T. (2006). The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Manufacturing Growth in Malawi. Disserta on, MA Economics & Development. University of Leeds. h p://129.3.20.41/eps/mac/papers/0410/0410002.pdf. 9 Environmental Affairs Department (2002). State of Environment Report: Track II, Malawi. Government of Malawi. 10 Environmental Affairs Department (2002). State of Environment Report: Track II, Malawi. Government of Malawi. 11 Pimentel, D., Huang, X., Cordova, A., and Pimentel, M. (1996). Impact of Popula on Growth on Food Supplies and Environment. PopulaƟon and Development Review. 12 Department of Forestry (1996). Na onal Forest Policy of Malawi. Government of Malawi. 13 Environmental Affairs Department (2002). State of Environment Report: Track II, Malawi. Government of Malawi. 14 Environmental Affairs Department (2002). State of Environment Report: Track II, Malawi. Government of Malawi. 15 Hay, R.E., and Phiri, R.M.A. (2008). The Situa on Analysis of Disaster Risk Management and Prac ces for Malawi. Final consultant report. World Bank/Global Facility for Disaster Reduc on and Recovery programme for Malawi.

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Logging activities inside Ntchisi Forest Reserve (June 2011)

Sustainability of Agriculture in Cambodia’s Changing Climate Claudius Bredehöft and Winfried Scheewe provide an overview of potential changes to improve and adapt farming systems to the changing climate change. In Cambodia, 71 per cent of the population of 15 million depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. Of the 3.5 million hectares of cultivated land in Cambodia, rice production occupies approximately 2.8 million hectares. Production is mainly concentrated along the lowland plain which is covered by ancient, highly weathered, and relatively infertile soils.1 Recovering from decades of conflict, Cambodia has seen increasing harvests year on year. More than 8 million tonnes of rice are now produced every year. While yields have increased to 2.97 tonnes per hectare,2 this upward trend had now plateaued. Growth in the rice sector has been achieved by not only higher yields, but also a significant increase in the amount of land under cultivation. In addition, the expansion of dry season rice has contributed substantially to the growth of the rice sector. This has resulted in a One of 100,000 Cambodian farmers that are benefitting from surplus which can then be exported. The Ministry of Water Resources and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) programme. Meteorology estimate that 24 per cent of rice is irrigated; however, many of these yields being amongst the lowest in Asia. irrigation systems are considered still commonly used by farmers although On average, Cambodian farmers only inefficient.3 under the Pesticide Law the importation apply 23 kilograms per hectare4 of of all Class 1 chemicals is prohibited. nitrogen fertiliser with application rates Despite changes in the law and increased especially low in the wet season (mid-May political will, controlling the flow of Much of the impact will be to early October). The positive side effect illegal pesticides entering the country felt through water of these low fertiliser application rates in remains a major challenge. With most of resources, with changes in comparison to the intensive rice the labels written in Thai and Vietnamese, cultivation in neighbouring countries is even literate Khmer speaking farmers are availability, quantity and the lower emission of nitrous oxide, the unable to understand the instructions. quality. Natural hazards potent greenhouse gas. However, Consequently, high levels of pesticide such as floods, droughts improving soil fertility and increasing residues are often found, especially on yields remains difficult for farmers who vegetables.5 and storms are likely to rarely have enough manure or compost to become more prevalent add to their fields. The threat of climate change and more intense The indiscriminate use of pesticides is The World Bank has classed Cambodia as another major concern which is especially one of the most vulnerable countries problematic in the cultivation of dry affected by climate change.6 The United The combination of poor soils, the season (November to mid-March) rice Nations Development Programme’s 2011 low rates of fertiliser use and poor access and vegetables. Highly toxic pesticides, Human Development Report for to irrigation has resulted in Cambodia’s such as Dichlorvos and Mevinphos, are

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Agriculture’s response to climate change

Cambodia, stresses the increasingly urgent need for Cambodian leaders to take action on climate change. Amongst various consequences described, it is reported that “Much of the impact will be felt through water resources, with changes in availability, quantity and quality. Natural hazards such as floods, droughts and storms are likely to become more prevalent and more intense”. It is also projected “that the dry season will be longer and drier than before, while the wet season will start a few weeks later and will be shorter and wetter. These types of shifts in seasonal patterns will have enormous implications for the ways that people in Cambodia farm: changes to the growing time, changes to water availability, and reduced productivity of traditional crop varieties”.7

Cooperatives and farmers’ associations play an essential role in enabling certification and facilitating the procurement of farmers’ products With the increased unpredictability of weather patterns, many farmers have already experienced losses of rice seedlings when rain fails to fall as expected during the early stage of cultivation. Higher temperatures, an expected consequence of climate change, will result in the slower growth of many crops. Rice yields are particularly susceptible to higher night-time temperatures. Additionally, scientists anticipate that a wide variety of species will be affected by climate change and as a result, biodiversity will be affected. Disturbing the natural balance that exists between pests and predators, the incidence of serious pest outbreaks is likely to increase. This has been evident in recent years with the devastating outbreaks of brown planthoppers.

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Sustainable agricultural practices that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are commonly accepted as also enhancing famers’ resilience to the effects of climate change. Several non-governmental organisations and development programmes promote improved practices through the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and organic rice production. Over 100,000 Cambodian farmers are reported to have already adopted SRI. SRI is a method for increasing the efficiency of rice production by changing the management of seedlings, soil, water and nutrients, in order to better utilise the potential of the plants. Basic features of SRI are the transplanting of very young rice seedlings in a square grid pattern with spacing of about 20 centimetres or wider to encourage greater root and canopy growth. SRI has enabled many rice farmers to shift to organic practices. Chemical-free farming techniques have also been adopted in other sectors. Currently, more than 4,000 cashew producers, representing 25 per cent of the country’s total production, use natural farming techniques and are certified as organic. Although a more challenging commodity, more than 500 farms are now producing organic and chemical-free vegetables for the domestic market. Additionally, several fruit and black pepper plantations, motivated by the potential of the added-value of international markets have moved towards organic certification. Although farmers urgently need to increase the carbon content of their soils, the practice of using green manures, which significantly improve soils by generating ‘biomass’, has only been adopted by a minority. Research in Cambodia has shown that green manures improve yields by 40 per cent; however, their adoption is largely dependent on the availability of water in the dry season.8 Besides the lack of knowledge, farmers are hindered through the traditional practice of open-grazing whereby cattle and water buffalos are allowed to wander freely on land during the dry season when no rice is cultivated. In an attempt to identify solutions that reduce nutrient and water loss, minimal tillage has recently been introduced to Cambodia. Experiments conducted with farmers show that tillage for annual crops, such as rice, corn and cassava, can be minimised or completely avoided. The use of cover crops significantly reduces erosion and improves the fertility of the soil thus enhancing the resilience of farms against

the predicted consequences of climate change. In a majority of areas, the Cambodian landscape is dominated by monocultures, and although most farmers also rear livestock, there is much need and potential for diversification. Agro-forestry practices that mimic the natural environment help to improve productivity and enhance diversity in the agro-ecosystems of farms. Although this practice is common in many other tropical countries, these systems are seldom utilised by Cambodian farmers.

Young rice plants grown using the SRI technique So far, research into traditional varieties of crops has not been a governmental priority. The diversity of some 3,000 varieties of rice cultivated in Cambodia is gradually being replaced by higher yielding varieties. Conversely, rice millers, exporters and traders value traditional fragrant varieties. It is important to protect this incredible diversity, otherwise varieties which may perform better under organic management and exhibit characteristics that offer more resilience to the changing climate may be lost. Likewise, many farmers still do not know about the importance of selection

and seed purity, and rice paddies often contain a mix of varieties. Efforts are underway to advise farmers and other stakeholders about the importance of rice seed selection during harvest and before sowing, which, along with good postharvest practices, will lead to improved yield and grain quality. Projects are currently being run to benefit the entire rice sector while also facilitating the organisation of seed producer groups and supporting seed certification systems. Product certification offers buyers and consumers evidence that food has been produced in a sustainable manner. Farmers, in cooperation with the Centre d'Étude et de Développement Agricole Cambodgien (CEDAC) and members of the Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA), are able to be certified for the domestic market. This certification is based on criteria similar to the Basic Standards established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. In addition, CEDAC’s rice and some other organic products benefit from international organic certification. Cooperatives and farmers’ associations play an essential role in enabling certification and facilitating the procurement of farmers’ products. These organisations ensure a win-win situation for farmers, which is essential for marketplace success.

Members of a rice producers group in a discussion about price

farmers’ associations and cooperatives help to integrate supply with procurement, and could help rice millers and exporters to foster vertical integration. Compared to conventional rice, the value of organic rice is 30 per cent to 40 per cent higher on the export market. Although a niche market, the growing demand for organic rice in Asia, the United States and Europe offers great The potential of Cambodian potential and opportunity for developing organic rice the Cambodian economy. However, in Promoters of organic and sustainable order to become competitive, Cambodian practices argue that organic rice has farmers need to recognise the potential in considerable potential. Reports suggest the diversity of their traditional varieties. that chemical inputs have not been used The development of the export on about 25 per cent of the wet season market is presently hindered through the rice fields. About 8,000 organic rice absence of national technical standards farmers are now operating within and the insufficient working capital of producer groups and have improved their rice millers. Only a minority of rice mills market access through group certification. are able to produce the qualities required Many of the 100,000 SRI farmers who for exports. produce fragrant rice without chemical inputs could add market value to their Conclusion produce by organic certification. With Drastic changes in land use are clearly their knowledge about quality criteria,

vital to improve productivity and to adapt to the threats of climate change. Farmers and society in general need to recognise the current and future projected impact of climate change and how sustainable agriculture may be used in both mitigation and adaptation. Agriculture often exploits natural resources and as such, it is imperative to start minimising environmental damage and the emission of greenhouse gases through the reduction of chemical inputs and tillage, and through fostering an improved understanding of how agriculture interacts with nature. Only if young people are educated in sustainable agricultural practices and entrepreneurial skills will the future of small-scale farms in Cambodia be seen as viable. This article represents the personal opinion of the authors. Claudius Bredehöft is an advisor for GIZ in the Centre d'Étude et de Développement Agricole Cambodgien (CEDAC) and Winfried Scheewe is an advisor to GIZ in the Cambodian Organic Agricultural Association (COrAA).

References 1 United States Department of Agriculture (2010). Cambodia: Future Growth Rate of Rice Produc on Uncertain. h p://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2010/01/ cambodia/. 2 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Cambodia (2010). Rice Yield Produc on. h p://www.stats.maff.gov.kh/en/index.php? page=stat&mode=riceyield&op on=com_content&Itemid=46. 3 Food and Agriculture Organisa on (2010). Cambodia. Aquastat. h p://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/cambodia/index.stm. 4 World Bank (2011). Rural Development & Agriculture in Cambodia. h p://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/CAMBODIAEXTN/ 0,,contentMDK:20534324~menuPK:293886~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:293856,00.html. 5 Neufeld, D.S.G, et al. (2011). Prevalence and Persistence of Organophosphate and Carbamate Pes cides in Cambodian Market Vegetables. Asian Journal of Water, Environment and PolluƟon 7(4): 89-98. h p://www.deepdyve.com/lp/ios-press/prevalence-and-persistence-of-organophosphate-and-carbamate-pes cides-ny0JinFPQt. 6 World Bank (2011). Vulnerability, Risk Reduc on and Adap on to Climate Change: Cambodia. World Bank Climate Risk and Adap on Country Profile. h p:// sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportalb/doc/GFDRRCountryProfiles/wb_gfdrr_climate_change_country_profile_for_KHM.pdf. 7 United Na ons Development Programme (2011). Cambodia Human Development Report 2011: The future for rural livelihoods in the face of climate change. h p:// www.un.org.kh/undp/knowledge/publica ons/cambodia-human-development-report-2011-the-future-for-rural-livelihoods-in-the-face-of-climate-change.

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A Choice for Farmers and a Future for Cambodian Rice Production Dr. Craig Meisner describes some of the commonly encountered constraints faced by Cambodian rice farmers. Cambodia was the second largest exporter of rice in the world in the 1960s. However, during the Pol Pot regime from 1975 to 1979, Cambodia’s rice production decreased dramatically. Thereafter, many donors established agricultural assistance programmes and promoted a practice of rice production labelled “System of Rice Intensification” or SRI, which entails 12 basic practices that, if followed, would produce high rice yields. However, one of the potential difficulties of this system is the need for high levels of organic fertilisers without the additional use of chemical fertilisers. As a result, government extension services which promoted only SRI have fostered a common misconception amongst farmers that chemical fertilisers are poisons and should not be used. There are two rice seasons in Cambodia, wet season and irrigated dry season rice. During the dry season, chemical fertilisers are applied to almost 100 per cent of rice. In contrast, most of the wet season rice has no or little chemical fertilisers applied. In recent years, the pace of rice production has improved significantly. This has been stimulated by higher rice prices and lucrative markets for Cambodia’s paddy rice in Thailand and Vietnam where the rice is milled, mixed and sold on the world market. In 2010, the Royal Government of Cambodia published a policy paper on “The Promotion of Paddy Production and Rice Export” in which goals were established to produce 10-11 million tonnes of rice per year and increase exports to 1 million tonnes per year by 2015. Consequently, the prudent use of both chemical fertilisers and pesticides is now being promoted. Currently, rice production

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On the right hand side the author compares rice under SRI that has less than 2 tonnes of manure per hectare, with the same variety on the left using the recommended fertiliser application and not line sown. The estimated yield difference is 2 tonnes. manuals produced by the government recommend chemical fertilisers to supplement the use of organic fertilisers.1 Fertiliser sales in recent years have increased 20 per cent per year.2 Yields in the past 2 years have increased dramatically as well. In 2011, despite devastating flooding in the north, the

Minister of Agriculture considers that wet season rice yields may reach 3 tonnes per hectare.3 Why have Cambodian farmers been unable to sustain an increase in yield over the past 2 decades? The lack of enough organic fertilizer is limiting rice yields. Firstly, making compost, though it

has been taught for years, is not practiced by Cambodian growers. Rice straw is used as cattle feed and so it cannot be used for compost. Instead, the growers rely on manure collected from cattle that are confined in their homesteads during the wet season when all fields contain rice and cannot be grazed. If one assumes that most cattle will produce 25 kilograms of manure per day, and the average grower has 3 cattle, then 75 kilograms is produced in each homestead each day. Over the 6 month period when cattle are confined, about 13 tonnes of manure could be saved. The average size of land available for farmers to cultivate rice is 2 hectares. 1 kilograms of cow manure contains 1.5% nitrogen.4 Thus 13 tonnes of cow manure contains 195 kilograms of nitrogen. Cow manure is used by growers for homestead gardening, tree plantations, and seedbeds, which means in most cases only around 8 tonnes is available for rice cultivation on the 2 hectare plots. Indeed Although ox carts can take about 250 kilograms at a time, for a 3 tonnes per hectare rice yield, 4 consider the logistics in applying 4 to 13 tonnes of cow manure to tonnes of cow manure per hectare is sufficient. For a 5 tonnes per hectare one hectare. That is 16 to 52 trips from the home to the field. yield, a rice crop requires 200 kilograms of nitrogen5 and thus, 13 tonnes of cow manure per hectare is required. Similarly, the same would be true for amounts of That is 16 to 52 trips from the home to Cambodian farmers are faced with a phosphorus and potassium, the other 2 the field. All of this has to be shovelled choice. For farmers who are able to major nutrients required by rice crops. into the cart, dumped off and then later access adequate quantities of manure the spread by hand over the field. With more minimal use of fertilisers remains a than 10 cattle needed to produce enough possibility. However, for the majority of manure for higher yields in addition to farmers, there is an urgent need to adopt For the majority of farmers, the labour required to spread it, generally the judicious use of chemical fertilisers to only the rich growers in Cambodia are increase the productivity and profitability there is an urgent need to able to rely on organic fertilisers alone. of rice for the future. Without these adopt the judicious use of The poor thus have little choice but to external farm inputs, it is difficult to invest in chemical fertilisers that are easier imagine how Cambodia can regain its chemical fertilisers to carry and apply to their fields. position as a major rice exporter by 2015. Lastly, why not diversify Cambodia’s agricultural system away from Secondly, the transport and rice to more productive and higher value spreading of 4 to 13 tonnes of cow crops? Cambodia has an intensive wet manure is difficult as labour shortages season with 1,500 millimetre of rainfall This Article was written by Dr. Craig A. exist at planting time. Although ox carts over 4 months. Its soils are mostly sticky Meisner, Sector Manager for Research and can take about 250 kilograms at a time, clay soils that retain water well. Extension at the Australian Centre for consider the logistics in applying 4 to 13 Additionally, most of Cambodian soils are International Agriculture Research, Cambodia. tonnes of cow manure to one hectare. extremely low in phosphorus, which [email protected]. means that highland crops, such as legumes, are less suitable compared to flooded paddy rice. Those that promote the use of only organic fertiliser also emphasise the use of green leguminous Notes and References manure crops; however, these will not do 1 Technology Package for Increasing Rice ProducƟvity well due to the poor fertility of by the Cambodian Agriculture and Development InsƟtute (2010). Combined Techniques for Intensifying Cambodia’s soils. Even if they did do Rice by the General Directorate of Agriculture. well, it is difficult to turn under green 2 Personal communicaƟon. manure crops by cattle plough or hand 3 Personal communicaƟon. 4 Measured by Dr. Seng Vang, Soil ScienƟst, Cambodia tractor. Agriculture and Research Development InsƟtute on Although most growers typical cow manure piled over the dry season. Normalunderstand the benefits of using organic ly, it is closer to 0.5 per cent in literature. inputs to improve the soil, and as such its 5 Not all this amount is uƟlised by plants; some is lost through denitrificaƟon, etc. use should be advocated as much as possible, from the evidence above,

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A Quick Look at Composting for Rural Development Mark Williams discusses how effective composting can contribute to more sustainable outcomes in the rural sector. Agronomists and those who work in rural development often have an understanding of how composting works but generally fail to appreciate how adaptable the process can be, and how it may benefit their projects. Composting is an ancient practice that was first documented in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago. It is still widely used to maintain and improve soil structure, and to provide nutrients to crops. In 1840, the German chemist, Jutus von Liebig, proved that plants absorb nutrients from chemicals in solution, rather than, as previously believed, from ‘eating’ humus. Consequently, agricultural practises changed significantly towards an increased use and dependence on chemical fertilisers – a reliance that has contributed to a reduction in soil organic matter content and soil biodiversity, poor soil structure, and a loss of topsoil through erosion. Over-use of chemical fertilisers can also result in pollution of ground-water and nutrient loading of aquatic systems through leaching and run -off. Aerobic composting is a natural process. Bacteria, fungi, insects and worms act together to break down organic materials in the presence of air and moisture. The bacteria are the workhorses and are categorised as mesophyllic (medium temperature loving) or thermophyllic (heat loving). Mesophiles thrive between 10°C and 50˚C and account for most of the breakdown as they oxidise the organic material. Nitrogen is recycled and heat is produced by the exothermic reaction. As a compost heap reaches 35˚C, the mesophiles start to die and thermophiles predominate. The theomorphic bacteria raise the heat to above 60˚C, a key temperature that kills pathogens and weed seeds. In addition, humic acid is produced, a compound that makes nutrients in the finished compost more readily available to plants. After three to five days, the compost starts to cool. Actinomycetes and fungi then take over and break down lignin and cellulose.

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The end result is a humus-rich, nonoffensive material which can be used to improve soil structure, particularly on eroded or compacted soils. Compost is also a valuable source of slow release nutrients that can reduce the need, or complement the use of chemical fertilisers. The soil’s cation exchange capacity (a soil’s ability to attract positively charged ions such as NH4+, K+, Fe+) is greatly enhanced which slows the leaching of chemical fertilisers from the top layers. Soil biodiversity is increased which reduces pests and diseases in subsequent crops. Five factors control composting; all must be close to optimum if the process is to be successful. Carbon to nitrogen ratio – a ratio of 25:1 is ideal (high carbon sources, e.g. sawdust, paper and straw, are known as ‘brown materials’; high nitrogen materials, e.g. food waste and grass, as ‘green’). Moisture content – around 60 per cent (a squeezed handful of starting material releases no more than a few drops of water). Aeration – 15 per cent oxygen content (measure with an oxygen metre or turn the heap when the temperature drops). Temperature – a starting temperature above 10°C, preferably 15˚C, is needed to activate the mesophyllic bacteria. Bulk density/particle size – the particle size should be adequate to allow air to pass through the system while still providing plenty of surface area for microbes to inhabit. An improved understanding of how these five factors may be controlled and optimised now makes it possible to exert a high degree of control over the composting process. This, in turn, has led

to an improvement in traditional agricultural composting. It has also allowed composting to expand into nontraditional sectors, such as soil remediation, the control of invasive species, and rural energy generation.

Bio-remediation One of the new uses of composting technology is to decontaminate land polluted by hydrocarbons. The process is known as remediation. The polluted soil can be treated ex-situ by co-composting it with a bulking agent like wood chips, a nitrogen source, such as urea, along with biologically rich, freshly produced compost, or in-situ by ploughing in freshly produced, biologically rich, freshly produced compost. In both cases, the micro-organisms metabolise and breakdown the contaminating hydrocarbons into water and carbon dioxide. Land contaminated by petroleum products, organic pesticides and explosives have all been treated with a 99 per cent reduction of pollutants in the most successful cases.

Control of invasive plants Water hyacinth (Eichhonia crassipes), a floating aquatic plant native to South America but now pan-tropic, is a pernicious weed with an ability to double its biomass every six days. Thick beds frequently choke watercourses and lakes which restricts navigation. They also alter water chemistry, deplete fisheries, increase flood risk, and provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and lower biodiversity. Biological control is slow and uncertain, and chemical control poses risks to aquatic organisms. The hyacinth is thus most commonly harvested by hand or machine and left to rot. Composting the waste and then selling the product is a feasible alternative that off-sets the cost of harvesting and provides a monetary return to the local economy. The plant is chopped and dried before composting on a base of twigs between layers of sawdust, manure, soil,

or organic domestic waste. The heap is turned every fourteen days and the process takes around sixteen weeks.

Composting to provide energy A novel advance in composting was pioneered by the French forester Jean Pain in the 1970s. He designed a simple, effective system to heat water to 60°C at a rate of 4 litres per minute using a 9 metre wide, 3 metre high pile of compost. The system also produced methane from a digester located in the centre of the heap, and the gas was used to generate electricity, cook, and to fuel a truck. The technique can be readily tailored to larger agricultural and horticultural applications and be used to heat and enrich the carbon dioxide levels in greenhouses, and to supply cooking and heating fuels in areas where there is a shortage of fuel wood.

Mark Williams (BSc Hons) has worked in waste management and composting for 15 years in Europe and Asia. He is currently the Director of Biogator Ltd, where he designs systems for composting and organics recycling [email protected]

In-vessel composting The use of in-vessel composters (IVCs) has become increasingly popular over the last decade to treat a variety of challenging organic wastes. The procedure is aerobic but is enclosed, and it is thus straightforward to contain the process air and direct it through a bio-filter treatment system. Sewage, animal and vegetable food leftovers and by-products of the food processing industry - hair, feathers and carcasses - can be processed satisfactorily. It is also the most suitable composting system for the bio-remediation of contaminated soils. All IVCs are enclosed, and temperature and oxygen levels can be controlled. Designs vary from silos and chambers, to purpose-built structures. The most popular, however, is the rotating drum. The tubular drum made from steel is insulated to retain the heat generated by the composting. More advanced designs incorporate an air exchange system that removes ‘stale’ air and replaces it with fresh air to maintain the rate of reaction. The exchange system can also be used to reduce the moisture content of the composting mix to an optimum level by drawing out saturated air. Water can be added if the mix is too dry. Aeration is regulated by adjusting the frequency and speed of drum rotation. A small IVC processes around 2 cubic metres of waste per batch, and a large unit 300 cubic metres. Units can be linked inparallel for batch processing or in-series for continuous feed processing. The method takes between seven and twenty-one days depending on the feedstock, after which the compost is piled and then left to cool and mature for three to twelve weeks. The end product is stable and sanitised and can be used as a soil conditioner in arable agriculture. If the facility is accredited by the British Standards Institute (PAS 100), the compost can be sold on the market. Two major advantages of IVC are odour control - a necessity in urban areas - and, as temperatures reach 60-70˚C, the reduction of pathogenic bacteria and fungi in the finished compost to safe levels. IVC is one of three options for the treatment of domestic food wastes permitted under the United Kingdom Animal By-products Regulations. It is considerably more cost-effective than the rendering or incineration options. IVCs are now widely used by local authorities in Britain to treat the organic fraction from household refuse collections. A bulking agent/carbon source, often wood chips, is added if the residue is predominantly food waste; no addition is needed where food leftovers are collected along with garden waste. From increasing yields through better soil structure and enhanced fertility to improving the efficiency of waste management, composting offers excellent and attainable opportunities. As a tool in development, composting can contribute to more sustainable outcomes.

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InternaƟonal Consultancy at the RAC Ever since opening our doors to students in 1845 the Royal Agricultural College has been at the forefront of seeking to understand agriculture and rural development both locally and globally. Indeed, many agricultural universiƟes founded during the following decades used the ‘RAC model’ of scienƟfic agriculture with pracƟcal training. To this day, the RAC has maintained an acƟve involvement in educaƟon development, research and consultancy internaƟonally. Our track record embraces governments and insƟtuƟonal and private sector clients, as well as working with rural communiƟes. By uƟlising the experƟse of our academic resources supported by sound commercial and project management, we work across a range of sectors, including: x x x x x x

EducaƟon Development & Capacity Building Agriculture and Agribusiness Development Food Chain & Consumer Studies Countryside and Rural Economy Real Estate Equine Industry

Examples of our work are listed below: Academic Research

Contract Research & Consultancy

Agricultural EducaƟon and Training Strategy with South African partners University development in the Mekong Delta Food safety at farm level

Zambian Small Scale Growers (ZSSG) linking small scale growers to UK markets VerificaƟon of Jatropha yields in India Ukraine land appraisal CommercialisaƟon of EgypƟan subsistence dairy producƟon Sustainable supply chain strategy for a leading UK food manufacturer Review of the poultry industry in Sub-Saharan Africa

Email Sally.Story@ rac.ac.uk

Tel +44 (0)1285 889 906/ +44 (0)1285 889 890