Subsistence-oriented rice farming in the rainfed lowlands of central and southern Laos—a policy dilemma

Despite rapid economic, social and political change in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) in recent decades, the cultivation of glutinous rice for subsistence remains the basis for rural livelihoods in the rainfed lowlands. Even with increased output from the partial adoption of green revolution technologies, lowland rice production in central and southern Laos remains an economically marginal activity, providing limited economic incentive for farmers to intensify production beyond household consumption needs, particularly as the opportunities for employment in non-farm activities increase. In this paper, we demonstrate that attempting to improve rural livelihoods and overcome poverty by increasing rice production per unit area through increased application of modern inputs and the commercialisation of rice production systems is unlikely to be a successful approach. Nevertheless, there is a need to improve the productivity and stability of this important subsistence-oriented activity to enhance the capacity of rural households to engage in both farm and livelihood diversification