Author : Outhai Soukkhy

Summary : This study was conducted in the predominantly rice-producing province of Luangprabang, Lao PDR, with 11 districts, 1,208 villages and 61,132 households. Three districts were selected namely: Pak-Ou, Luangprabang and Chomphet and from each district, one village was selected, Mok-Meung, PAk-Chek and Hat-Xua, respectively from November 2002 to January 2003, data were gathered through focus group discussions (FGD) and individual farmer's interview (IFI) using a pre-tested questionnaire from 157 farmers chosen based on set criteria. In the individual farmer's interview (IFI), specific data on crop yield, financial expenditures and the energy used were asked. Data obtained during IFI was used in the comparative evaluation of the three farming systems namely: organic farming, LEISA and high external input/modern agriculture. High external input/modern method of rice production yielded the highest rice harvest compared with LEISA and organic method or rice production. But the cash cost to grow rice the modern way was the highest at USD 62.73 ha. the least expensive rice to grow was in organic method at USD 2.00 ha and LEISA was at the middle at USD 36.27 ha. As a result, organic farms earned the highest net revenue at USD 225.78 ha that is almost 86% higher than HEIA and 77% for LEISA. HEIA farms spent USD 41.18 to produce a ton of paddy rice while only USD 36.78 for LEISA. The least expensive was in organic farms at USD 27.60. Due to the lower cash expenditure in organic farms, their break-even yield was likewise low at 0.861 ton ha as against 1.320 to ha in HEIA and 1.119 t ha in LEISA farms.