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INSTITUTIONALIZING THE FARILIIIVG SYSTEhlS RESEARCH APPROACH
IN INDOCHINA
A. hl. iIlandac1
Farming systems research (FSR) is a coordinated and integrated
effort to develop tschnolop that will enable farmers to increase
production. FSR addresses itself to each farm enterprise and to the
interrelationships among them and between the farm and its
environment. The research uses information about the various
production and consumption systems, the animal production system,
the cropping system, and the secondary production activities that add
value to the primary product, to identify ways to increase the
efficiency with which the farm uses its resources. The research is
carried out by a coordinated group of scientists from various
disciplines:
At least si~ distinct research and implementation phases
characterize the FSR methodology: site selection and description;
economic and biological component studies; design and testing of the
farming systems; multilocation testing; implementation of pilot
production programs; and full production programs. The broad
objective of this paper is to describe farming systems research in
Indochina (Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam).
Basic data for the Indochinese countries are given in Table 1. Cambodia has an area
of 181,000 km2 comprising a large central plain, has one of the largest freshwater
lakes in Asia (Lake Tonle Sap), and mountains in the northeast and southwest. The
population is estimated at 7.2 million with an annual growth rate of about 37~. The
average population density is 40 people/km2, with no more than 100 people/km2 in
the more densely populated central plain and Tonle Sap provinces. The majority of
the population is of Khmer origin. with minority ethnic groups making up less than
5%. The birth rate is high (about 6%), however, the infant mortality is also hi~h (about 2%) because of poor sanitation, scarce medical services, and malnutrition.
Lao PDR is a predominantly mountainous country coverifig 236,800 km2.
There are plains bordering the Mekong River near Vientiane ancl Snvannakhet
where most of the lowland rice is grown. The population is about 3.7 mil!ion. Lao
PDR has one of the lowest population density in Asia (16 pe~ple/km2). Average
'~nternational Programs Management Office, International Rice Research Institute,
P.O. Box 933, Manila, Philippines.