From the Field Living Fences Fortify Laotian Livestock Farms
In the highlands of northern Laos, women farmers are championing greener choices towards sustainable transformation of livestock farming. For Rural Women’s Day (October 15, 2024), we traveled to Phonxay District in Luang Prabang province to visit a farmer who's brought her voice from the margins to the center, highlighting the critical role of women in the predominantly male world of cattle rearing.
Nestled in the tranquil Laotian Houayno village, three bulls bask in the morning quiet amid a landscape of rolling hills and a low-lying bed of clouds stretching across the rural district of Phonxay. To the untrained eye, the hilly terrain offers the perfect countryside experience, but 46-year-old Chansone believes the highlands are nature’s gift, crucial to raising herds of healthy cattle in the landlocked mountainous Lao region.
By 9:30, the herd got the signal - it was breakfast time. Wearing her go-to patterned top and a hat, Chansone joined her husband in scything a wad of Urochloa hybrid “Camello” grass, which has become a staple in the cattle's morning and afternoon routine. By this time, the herd of nine cows had gathered just outside the four-foot-tall barbed wire fence, where rows of forages were grown on experimental plots.
Part of the bulls' morning routine involves relaxing against the tranquil, picturesque landscapes of Nambo village. Photo by: Alie Galeon
“We feed them twice a day. During the hours in between, we tie them to the trees along the perimeter for rest or let them graze freely in the shade,” said Chansone.
Teak trees (Tectona grandis), classified as endangered under the IUCN Red List, make the five-hectare farmland greener as they sprawl along the pastures or at the edges. This tropical hardwood species has become a common resting place for cattle, especially during the dry season, due to its sturdy straight trunk and broad canopy.
“I also planted gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) in the pasture area to create fences and shade for the livestock, as well as to grow crops for fodder during the dry season,” Chansone shared, while feeding her cattle with the freshly cut grass. “This helps ensure good health for our cattle, and, in turn, we get a good price.”
In Her Element. Chansone watches her cattle approach, knowing her son will soon tie them to the tree for a well-earned rest. Photo by: Alie Galeon
Towards greener livestock farms
Integrating site-adapted tree species on farms is a critical component for establishing silvopastoral systems - the integration of trees, forages, and shrubs on livestock pasture - in highland communities of northern Laos. Through the CGIAR Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (SI-MFS) initiative, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, in partnership with the Forestry Research Centre (FRC) of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), identified different opportunities to scale optimal tree-grass combinations and management practices for improved livestock productivity.
All in the Family. From tending forages to caring for cattle, Chansone’s family works together to sustain their livelihood through livestock. Photo by: Alie Galeon
Chansone harvests a wad of forages from their farm’s experimental plots. Photo by: Alie Galeon
Culturally, livestock raising is important as it continues to be a family business for many rural communities in the country. It also provides a steady source of livelihood, ensuring Laotian households always have food on their tables.
However, women farmers like Chansone are keener on the adoption and implementation of living fences for mixed farming systems. The intervention uses trees to form fence lines in farmlands.
While cattle rearing is a predominantly men’s activity due to land access and mobility needs, women are crucial as they invest significant labor in livestock production and often have detailed knowledge on forage plant species, said Dr Riina Jalonen, a Researcher from the Alliance's 'multifunctional landscapes' research area.
“Many tree species that are suitable for silvopastoral systems also have other uses such as producing fruits and firewood for subsistence use and markets. Hence, women are important decision-makers in selecting species for silvopastoral systems which benefit the farming family,” she added.
Women make up over 50% of Laos’ agricultural workforce. It is within this context that the Alliance and its partners have involved women to actively participate in the selection of locally adapted action plans for silvopasture development to find potential links between environmental sustainability, income generation and livestock productivity in two rural areas.
Ethnic minority group farmers, community leaders, and technical experts in Luang Prabang’s Phonxay District and Xiengkhouang’s Nonghet District collectively assessed opportunities to improve pasture management through the integration of trees. The establishment of living fences is among the preferred choices for livestock farmers in Phonxay, considering the challenging terrain and poor soils that hinder large-scale crop cultivation in the uplands.
Alliance experts and Vientiane-based NAFRI researchers assert that living fences are a cost-efficient intervention as they eliminate the need for regular replacement of posts and wires, consequently reducing long-term maintenance costs. Beyond this function, living fences also introduce sustainable income diversification, as the production of timber, fruits, forages, and other tree products provide additional income.
A range of high-value native tree species are suitable for this intervention, including Mai Doo (Pterocarpus macrocarpus), Mai Tae Kha (Afzelia xylocarpa), Mai Mak Kork (Spondias pinnata), Mai So (Gmelina arborea). These trees are among the 83 species commonly used by seed and seedling producers to supply various forest restoration projects and individual farmers in Luang Prabang.
This joint Alliance-FRC research found that integrating native tree species in production systems also contributes to the conservation of endangered tree species.
Living fences form a sustainable, cost-effective border that blend seamlessly with the green hills on Chansone’s property. Photo by: Alie Galeon
Transforming sustainable livestock in Laos
Maximizing the use of trees is particularly beneficial for a country such as Laos, which has set ambitious goals to increase forest cover to 70% of the country’s total land area by 2025, but still lacks specific strategies and programs to promote green transitions in the agriculture and forestry sectors.
On the path to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Lao Government implemented the Agriculture Development Strategy to 2025 and vision to the year 2030 (ADS) to help inform its decisions in increasing the rearing of cattle and buffalo. The plan entails identifying more areas suitable for large animal raising, developing new forage plantations and improving cattle production methods.
In Houayno village’s steep slopes, adding trees provides more environmental protection in reducing soil erosion and conserving water resources. As eroded soil can damage pastures and diminish productivity, Alliance and NAFRI researchers proposed planting more fodder tree species intercropped with forage grass to improve pasture productivity and drought tolerance. As the ongoing on-farm forage trials - involving 133 livestock farmers like Chansone - reveal which species are particularly suitable for silvopastoral systems, experts believe that this will dispel uncertainties on the influence of trees in reducing fodder grass yields due to supposed competition for light and nutrients.
Beefing up Laotians' livestock landscape
With less than six years to the end of the 2030 agenda timeframe, Laos is still confronted with challenges from all fronts - decreasing availability of suitable land, climate-change induced drought and prolonged dry season, and increased pressure on livestock production with heightened environmental degradation risk.
While developing more drought-tolerant forage species is crucial, Alliance experts and partners reiterate the need for increased tree cover in livestock farms as equally vital to sustainably transform the sector. However, if the current landscape is any indication, Laotian farmers require a well-established seed market, training on seed propagation, and reliable sources for high-quality native tree seeds.
"The Mixed Farming Systems initiative works with NAFRI and local government units to help women from ethnic minority groups to sustainably intensify their livestock systems, improving productivity while mitigating negative environmental impacts through better access to resources, skills training, and decision-making processes,” Jalonen underscored.
Farmers like Chansone do not feel the pressure of meeting any targets for 2030, but her simple aspirations capture exactly what every livestock grower needs and wants towards an inclusive and sustainable sector.
“I hope to have sufficient quality forage crops for the dry season and facilities for distributing medicine to treat animal diseases,” she said, hoping to also receive financial support to acquire a hay bale machine for animal feeding during the dry season.
As the initiative in Laos draws to a close, Chansone vows to continue to uphold the added knowledge she gained from the experience, along with her continued interest in participating in future capacity training workshops—be it in seedling management or silage production. Unassuming yet resilient, Chansone hopes to champion socially equitable livestock practices to keep the lifeblood of her family’s livelihood thriving for years to come.
