Conservation Farming in Vietnam

From November 5^th to mid-morning of November 7^th, the group shifted from the field to the hotel meeting room in Cagayan de Oro.

Among the major highlights were the presentations by the Vietnamese participants on November 5^th. A rich array of Vietnamese experiences in conservation farming on sloping lands were presented through 2 overview papers and 10 case studies (see Figure 2  below for case study locations).

Figure 2. Main Agro-ecological Zones for VACB Conservation Farming Activities and Locations of Case Studies Presented

In the Vietnam context, conservation farming is viewed as farming systems that incorporate suitable combinations of crops (forest, agricultural, medicinal and pastoral) in order to use natural resources more efficiently with appropriate technologies, thereby increasing both farmers' income and environmental protection. As 73 percent of the country is classified as sloping lands, conservation farming is critical to sustainable agricultural development and natural resource management.

There are 7 major agroecological zones in Vietnam (see Figure 2), determined by topography, soils and climate, with the following distribution from north to south:

                          Zone                                                         Million ha

1. Northern highlands/midlands                                      10.2

2. Red River delta                                                            1.2

3. North-central coast                                                      5.2

4. South-central coast                                                     7.5

5. Central highlands                                                         5.6

6. NE portion of the South                                                2.4

7. Mekong River delta                                                       4.0

The two agroecological zones of highest priority for conservation farming are the northern highlands/midlands and the central highlands. In the northern mountainous region, the population density is about 120 people per square kilometer and the forest cover is only 9 percent. An estimated 60 percent of the lands within this zone suffer from soil degradation as a result of deforestation and shifting cultivation, with annual soil loss rates reaching 100 to 150 tons per hectare. Similar situation and problems are found in the central highlands zone.

The forest cover in Vietnam had been drastically reduced from 43 percent of the total area in 1945 to about 20% in 1997. Vietnam's cultivated land per capita of 0.1 ha is among the lowest in the world. The cropping intensity exceeds 140 percent, and the general agricultural production is nearing the potential ceiling of 14-15 tons/ha/year. Poverty is still pervasive in the mountainous areas, where many ethnic minorities reside. Given this set of conditions, the development and dissemination of appropriate conservation farming systems on sloping lands in the northern and central highlands is urgently needed.

To date, various conservation farming practices have been developed by farmers and researchers in different parts of Vietnam. Some of these practices were highlighted in the case studies presented during the roving workshop, including the following:

• terracing in valley bottoms and adjacent foothills, and mini-terracing on more stony and sloping lands (up to 60 degrees slope)

• testing and adapting various sloping agricultural land technologies (SALT) originally developed in the Philippines

• using forage cover crops—mainly legumes—in fallows, or intercropping/relay planting them with food crops, e.g., pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)

• introducing controlled grazing or stall-feeding by growing fast-growing forage plants for cut-and-carry

• planting multipurpose trees and/or shrubs in various agroforestry arrangements , e.g., cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia)

The Vietnamese group emphasized the importance of indigenous knowledge in developing appropriate and sustainable conservation farming practices. For example, the intercropping of cinnamon with agricultural crops in the uplands of Yen Bai Province has been successfully developed by the Dzao ethnic group.