Is the Diversity of Shifting Cultivation Held in High Enough Esteem in Lao PDR?

Abstract

Shifting cultivation is often described as “traditional”, inflexible and outdated, in contrast with “modern”, mechanised and chemical agriculture. This belief leads to overlooking farmer know-how, accumulated over generations to exploit natural resources while adapting itself to the mutations of the physical, social and economic environment.Research conducted in Phongsaly provides an idea about how complex and consistent a shifting cultivation system can be and how farmers optimise family labour but also limit their risks. External interventions—policies, projects, etc.—are aimed at improving the farmers’ livelihood by converting their farming practices. When these interventions overlook how diversified slash-and-burn agriculture is, they often lead to oversimplifying the farming systems, impoverishing people and exposing them to natural and economic risks. These actions are then counterproductive. In the interest of the Lao nation, as a community, the policies and their implementation should be rethought so as to hold highland farmers of ethnic minorities in higher esteem and to widen the viewpoint, currently limited to a caricature of the mountains and forest, upheld by the culturally and politically dominant lowland inhabitants.