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The Eco-Friendly Intensification and Climate-resilient Agricultural Systems (EFICAS) project was an action-research project jointly implemented by CIRAD (Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement) and DALaM (Department of Agricultural Land Management under Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR) and co-funded by The French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union (EU) from 2014 to 2019.The EFICAS project aimed to engage farming communities into the participatory design of agro-ecological alternatives for sustainable agricultural intensification in the mountainous provinces of northern Laos. Over the past 5 years, the project has been working on how to translate the participatory land use planning (PLUP) into action plans and notably into Community-based Agricultural Development Plans (CADPs) which is an adaptive learning process.This manual - from the EFICAS Know-How Series - aims to provide to field practitioners basic information and tips on how successfully plan, implement, and monitor a CADP.

It is commonly accepted that climate smart agriculture (CSA) is much more than a new variety or cropping practice such as those that made the Green Revolution possible in the 1960s. CSA is about managing trade-offs between (i) intensification (i.e. sustainable productivity increase), (ii) mitigation and (iii) adaptation to climate change. The synergies between these three pillars of CSA have been explored through a territorial approach to agroecology that combines participatory land use planning and sustainable intensification of agriculture. The approach developed by the Eco-Friendly Intensification and Climate resilient Agricultural Systems (EFICAS) Project is based on an in-depth understanding of the patterns and drivers of land use changes in the northern uplands of Laos. It was shown for example that labor productivity gains from agricultural innovations (e.g. mechanization, use of chemical inputs) have systematically been reinvested by farmers into an expansion of cropping areas which is detrimental to the forest covers. It is therefore essential to first engage local communities in collectively planning their land use by defining an acceptable combination of land sparing between sustainably managed forested and agricultural areas, and land sharing featuring complex agroforestry systems integrated with livestock. Then, multiple stakeholder groups (including extension agents, development partners, policy makers and private sector) are involved in negotiating and supervising landscape level intensification patterns that synergize mitigation (e.g. carbon sequestration, soil conservation) and adaptation (e.g. resilience enhancement) to climate change. Last, multiple scenarios and implementation pathways based on agroecology practices are explored collectively through a theory of change process. (Texte intégral)

In the four southern districts (Kenthao, Paklay, Boten, and Thongmixay) of Xayabury province, the current cropping systems are based on cash crop production. Maize is the main crop under rainfed conditions and covers more than 30,000 ha in the region. Land preparation is based mainly on plowing, which degrades soil and destroys infrastructures (paddy fields and roads). These deteriorations result from growing pressure on agricultural systems and farmers' lack of access to affordable labour. This study sought to analyze soil aggregation, soil water-holding capacity, and soil biological activity under tillage and notillage conditions in relation to the cropping sequence. Three cropping sequences were investigated: 1. maize monoculture; 2. two-year rotational sequence, maize - rice bean; 3. two-year rotational sequence, maize + Brachiaria ruziziensis - rice bean.). Each year of the sequence was represented under no-till (NT) and tillage (CT) practices. Independent of depth, soil aggregation was greater under no-till conditions and enhanced by crop rotation and higher dry matter production (maize + B. ruziziensis / rice bean). Soil macrofauna, that is, the number of species and amount of biomass, was increased with no-till and the cropping sequence. Earthworms increased with no-till and for some cropping sequences amounted to more than 50% of the total macrofauna biomass. The cropping sequences produced a limited amount of dry matter. The main challenge was to increase biomass productivity (above-ground and below-ground) to recover ecosystem functions (recycling of nutrients, carbon sequestration, high biological activity, integrated weed and pest management, etc.) in a medium-term process (five years). Generating and adapting intensive cropping sequences (high production of aboveground and belowground biomass combined with a high diversity) under no-tillage systems with smallholders is an essential step in achieving long-term land sustainability, to obtain more reliable harvests and higher farm profits.

Over the past fifteen years, farming systems have changed drastically in the Lao PDR, with swidden systems giving way to more modern agricultural technologies in many areas. In southern Xayabury, agricultural intensification is causing rotational cultivation systems and fallow periods to disappear. These are gradually being replaced by 'resource-mining' agriculture that has serious social and environmental costs, including increased soil erosion (leading to destruction of roads and paddy fields), loss of soil fertility, and chemical pollution of the environment. On elevated plains in the upper part of the Nam Ngum river basin (Xieng Khouang province), large areas of savannah grasslands are under-utilised by smallholders whose main farming systems are based on lowland paddy fields, livestock production with extensive grazing on savannah grasslands, and off-farm activities. Given this situation, the Lao National Agro-Ecology Programme (PRONAE) has implemented an iterative research-development approach based on conservation agriculture. The objectives are to find innovative systems that can revert the present 'resource-mining' practices in southern Xayabury to systems based on conservation agriculture, and to develop alternatives systems for the plains of Xieng Khouang province. Direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems with residue management were evaluated and validated by farmer groups in five villages in southern Xayabury over four seasons. Positive results (increased net income and labour productivity) are evident from these direct seeding systems, and with growing interest observed there is potential for widespread adoption. Results show that the level of dissemination of direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems differs greatly among the villages surveyed depending on their environmental and socio-economic conditions. On the elevated plains of Xieng Khouang province, the economic and technical viability of cattle fattening was analysed. Fattening on improved pastureland (using Brachiaria ruziziensis) during the rainy season appears very efficient, with high growth rates recorded. During trials in 2005 weight gain and seed production of B. ruziziensis earned a gross income of US$879 over 1.5 ha, covering all expenses for fencing, fertiliser, seeds, and bull management for the first year. The income generated by this fattening programme in 2006 was $362/ha, the equivalent of a paddy rice yield of 1.8 t/ha, which is unlikely in this ecology. Development of specific market channels for seeds could indirectly improve pasture management, avoid high stocking rates and generate new income that could be invested in fertilisers and animal care. The approach followed by PRONAE highlights the collaboration process progressively developed with all of the stakeholders (smallholders, agronomists, District Agriculture and Extension Office staff, development projects, policy-makers and the private sector). One of the main challenges involved with this approach is the transfer to extension agencies and the private sector, over the medium term, of a research-development programme with systems and technologies based on the main principles of conservation agriculture (permanent soil cover, no soil disturbance, and diversified crop rotations with use of relay and/or cover crops).

Since the 1990s, in the southern districts of Xayabury province in the Mekong corridor, traditional farming systems have changed through extensive agricultural development based on cash crops. This development, by way of intensification, depends on local market accessibility, transfer of technologies from Thailand and the increasing financial capacities of local enterprises. Thai inputs, heavy mechanisation and technical skills are imported and cropping is largely opportunistic, following Thai market demand. Due to its low labour requirements and high labour productivity, maize is widely sown and spreads to new areas every year (more than 15,000 ha was sown in southern Xayabury in 2004), while crop rotation tends to be abandoned. Land preparation, based on burning residues and ploughing on steep slopes, has allowed for cultivation of large upland areas. As a result of this development, combined with land allocation and increasing population density, fallow periods are disappearing. Such 'resource-mining' agriculture generates land erosion - leading to destruction of roads and paddy fields - and is also responsible for fertility loss, yield decline and chemical pollution. To rehabilitate the areas most degraded by these practices, combinations of multicropping, animal husbandry and off-farm activities can provide a balanced distribution of farming activities over time and space. Such strategies reduce climatic and economic risks in a fragile ecosystem. In light of this, the Lao National Agro-Ecology Programme has implemented a holistic research approach which emphasises generation and adaptation of direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems with village communities and groups of smallholders. From a large range of technologies that were tested, maize production using direct seeded grain on former crop residues under no-tillage systems has been implemented. Results achieved under various conditions are presented in this paper: yields, labour inputs, costs, net income and labour productivity are all observed. Positive results are evident from DMC on residues. Despite agronomic and economic successes, however, various constraints limit the dissemination of these systems. A gender-disaggregated survey was carried out with all groups of smallholders to identify the main constraints of this first level of DMC systems on residues. The major limiting factors appear to be: i) drudgery of labour for land preparation, so limiting cultivated area; ii) access to inputs (market and financial constraints); iii) problems of appropriate equipment for sowing; iv) technical skills required; and v) calendar flexibility.

Since the 1990s, in the southern districts of Xayabury province in the Mekong corridor, traditional farming systems have changed through extensive agricultural development based on cash-crop production. This development, by way of intensification, depends on local market accessibility, transfer of technologies from Thailand and the financial capacities of local enterprises. Thai Inputs, heavy mechanisation and technical skills are imported and cropping is largely opportunistic, following Thai market demand. Land preparation, based on burning residues and ploughing on steep slopes, has allowed for cultivation of large upland areas. As a result of this development, combined with land allocation and increasing population density, fallow periods are disappearing. Furthermore, this 'resource-mining' generates land erosion, fertility loss, yield decline and chemical pollution as well as destruction of roads and paddy fields. In light of this, the Lao National Programme of Agroecology has implemented a holistic research approach in order to propose various systems for integrating crops and livestock production to farmers. From a large range of technologies that were tested, maize production using direct seeded grain on former crop residues under no-tillage systems has been implemented. Results achieved under the various conditions are presented in this paper: the yields obtained are close to and sometimes even higher than those obtained in conventional systems. Labour, costs, soil erosion, net income and labour productivity are also all observed.