Civil society organizations: Farmer organization
Location: Laos
Fact sheet: Download
Mr. Boutdy Simmalavong, head of farmers’ group
“I and my family have cultivated rice since I was young with the traditional method called “Organic by default” because we don’t put any chemical fertilizer on the production steps.
I apply directly the rice straws and the cattle manure on the rice field after the harvest season. I have learnt the compost and the bio-extracted fertilizer production in 2004 when the CUSO project promoted the SRI system in Santhong district. In additional, PRORICE project promoted the organic rice production in 2006;
Currently I have 3 ha of certified organic rice with the yield of 3.1 t/ha. I sell about 2/3 of my production to Lao Farmer’s Product company and Agro-Asie Company. The price of organic rice is 3,600 kip per kg in 2014. I started the production of vegetable seeds in 2013 for the vegetable farmer group in Vientiane Capital”.
Future perspectives: The group covers 10 villages of the Santhong district, which includes 284 households and 369.6 ha of organic land. Around 1,108 tons of organic rice is produced annually. Currently, the group plans to extend the organic production to the neighboring village (Nong Boa village) in 2016. Some of Nong Boa farmers have learnt the compost and the bio-extracted liquid fertilizer production.