Laos - Floods deplete rice seed stocks

Farmers in many parts of Laos are in desperate need of rice seeds for their dry season crop after losing their wet season rice in heavy flooding, but their usual source of seeds has also been inundated.

The Rice and Cash Crops Research Centre in Xaythany district, Vientiane, is the largest supplier of rice seeds to farmers in Vientiane and the southern provinces. The centre is the source of seeds for agricultural research centres in the south of the country, which then distribute the seed to local farmers.

But this year, 30 per cent of the centre's rice fields were ruined when the Nam Ngum burst its banks.

Normally, the centre produces 150-200 tonnes of rice seed a year but this year expects to produce only 95 tonnes, its Director Dr Phoummy Inthapanya told Vientiane Times on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 hectares of rice in Xaythany district were inundated during recent tropical storms.

Rice fields in other districts along the Nam Ngum River were also affected, mainly Thoulakhom and Pakngum.

District authorities are now asking the government to provide assistance with sourcing rice seeds for the upcoming dry season crop.

"We encouraged farmers to replant after the first bout of flooding but their fields were inundated again when the Nam Ngum I dam gates were opened to release water from the reservoir," Phoummy said. Low-lying areas in Thangone and Thadokkam districts were particularly affected.

Last wet season, the Rice and Cash Crops Research Centre distributed more than 100 tonnes of rice seed to agricultural centres in the central and southern provinces. Phoummy couldn't say whether other centres' rice fields had also been affected by flooding.

However, he believed provincial centres would be able to supply sufficient rice seed to farmers this dry season as some farmers store their own.

More than 50 per cent of farmers collect rice seeds using traditional methods, but Phoummy believes that thousands will face a shortage this dry season.

To remedy the situation, the government--in particular the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry--is trying to source seeds from various agricultural research centres to supply affected farmers.

Khamphone Syvongxay

Vientiane Times

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