CIAT News by Madelline Romero | May 28, 2018

Sinh Somphavong, a farmer for 33 years in Xieng Khouang province northeast of Laos, farms on 0.8 ha of land, and earns about 50 million kip (around US$6,000) each year from selling rice, vegetables, forages, and livestock. Livestock is his major income earner; he rears more than 20 cattle, 5 buffaloes, 2 pigs, 50 chickens, and 20 ducks, and would love to raise more cattle to fatten and sell, except that he’s concerned about the additional labor that that would entail.

Pathways to increased profitability and sustainability

But, in fact, livestock intensification could be done in a way that could both increase profitability and reduce labor demands, as shown in a study of farming systems in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, completed by CIAT last year.

A bio-economic modeling exercise using the FarmDESIGN model on farming systems in Ea Kar district explored two possible pathways of livestock intensification, forage-based and grain-based cattle fattening, both of which led to higher operating profits – +35 percent for forage-based cattle fattening and +59 percent for grain-based cattle fattening.

Figure: Xieng Khouang province northeast of Laos - CIAT

“Quantitative modeling of complex mixed farming systems can help assess the potential impact of intensification strategies,” notes Birthe Paul, farming systems scientist at CIAT and co-author of the working paper, Bio-economic evaluation, and optimization of livestock intensification in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. “It can support decision-making, targeting, and prioritization, considering the farmer’s interests and objectives.”

Because there are trade-offs to consider. For example, in the case of the studied farms in Ea Kar, while grain-based fattening increased profits and lowered labor demands, it also negatively affected the soil organic matter (SOM) balance, reducing it by 99 percent. On the other hand, forage-based fattening increased the SOM balance by more than 200 percent.

SOM helps improve soil structure to ensure suitability for planting and minimize erosion. SOM is also a storehouse of all essential plant nutrients.

See more: http://blog.ciat.cgiar.org/farming-in-transition-how-smallholder-farms-in-the-mekong-could-thrive-amid-a-changing-landscape/