Roving for Knowledge—In the Field

Field Wrap-Up Discussions

The wrap-up discussions regarding the site visits were held at the ICRAF-Claveria office on the MOSCAT campus. Lively discussions ensued on whether the Landcare model could be replicated in Vietnam. The Vietnamese group felt that the organizational aspects of CLCA were not applicable to the conditions in their countries. However, they appreciated the underlying principles and approach of Landcare and thought those were generally applicable to the Vietnamese situation— particularly the emphasis on generating voluntary contributions from farmers to promote conservation farming.

Vietnamese colleagues were most interested in questions such as: the genesis of Landcare in Claveria, whether it was indigenous or imported, the criteria for choosing farmer members, subsidies and inputs provided to farmers, and what benefits are realized by Landcare members. Marcelino Patindol and ICRAF colleagues provided their answers and perspectives to all the probing questions.

There was also considerable discussion on the various technologies that were seen in the field. In the past, many Vietnamese colleagues were exposed to the sloping agricultural land technologies (SALT) developed in the Philippines, and SALT variants have been tested in Vietnam. The group felt that NVS-based systems could be a viable alternate to test and adapt in different agroecological zones of Vietnam, especially where labor availability is a constraining factor.