mountainous areas, through an increased demand for food, fodder and other raw
materials, plus an increase in labor opportunities in urban areas (Minot et al. 2006).
Changes in policy have facilitated or driven these economic developments,
while economic development has, in turn, also facilitated policy change. For
instance, the de-collectivization of agriculture in Vietnam with the passing of
Resolution 10 by the Communist Party in 1988, shifted farm decision-making
from the collective level back to the household level, thus recognizing that
collective control had been steadily eroding since the mid-1970s (Saint-Macary
et al. 2010; Sikor and Truong 2002). De-collectivization, together with the lifting
of barriers to private trade and improvements in the road infrastructure, has
allowed farm households in mountainous areas to intensify their production
(Muller and Zeller 2002); however, forest conservation has become increasingly
prominent in both Thailand and Vietnam, as well as in the other countries of
Southeast Asia, and these countries’ governments have demarcated conservation
areas, while discouraging farmers from practicing swidden agriculture (Forsyth
and Walker 2008; Fox and Vogler 2005). This has been accompanied by the
promotion of permanent field agriculture and attempts to intensify cultivation
through the introduction of high value crops (Minot et al. 2006).
The introduction of new technologies has been the third driver of land use
change in mountainous areas over recent years. Few external inputs are used in
traditional swidden agriculture, but where agriculture has intensified this has
been accompanied by the introduction of new seeds and mineral fertilizers and
pesticides, as well as irrigation equipment in some areas such as sprinklers, and
mechanization in the form of hand-held tractors and rice mills. Sikor and Truong
(2002), and Muller and Zeller (2002), described how in the absence of new
technologies, land use in the mountainous areas of Vietnam became more
extensive during the 1970s and 1980s, but then intensified in the 1990s when
farmers started using fertilizers and improved seeds, and the amount of available
land became more limited.
Population growth is the fourth driver of land use change in mountainous
areas, as it has led to increased land scarcity, which in turn has created a need
to intensify land use and shorten traditional fallow cycles (Nikolic et al. 2008;
Wezel et al. 2002a). Shorter fallow cycles and the more intensive tillage of
mountain sides can rapidly deplete soil fertility, as soils easily erode from the
steep terrain. This is accompanied by increased topsoil disturbances under
conditions of heavy rainfall, leading to a downward trend in terms of crop
yields. This situation has the potential to create a vicious circle of lower
productivity, lower incomes and food insecurity, and a subsequent need to
further shorten fallow cycles (Pandey and van Minh 1998; Ziegler et al.
2009). However, because of the three other drivers of land use change, actual
incomes have generally increased and poverty has declined, as farmers have
been able to obtain better prices, adopt improved crop varieties and fertilizers,
and earn cash by working outside their own farms (Minot et al. 2006; Sikor and
Truong 2002).
1 From Challenges to Sustainable Solutions for Upland Agriculture. . .
13
materials, plus an increase in labor opportunities in urban areas (Minot et al. 2006).
Changes in policy have facilitated or driven these economic developments,
while economic development has, in turn, also facilitated policy change. For
instance, the de-collectivization of agriculture in Vietnam with the passing of
Resolution 10 by the Communist Party in 1988, shifted farm decision-making
from the collective level back to the household level, thus recognizing that
collective control had been steadily eroding since the mid-1970s (Saint-Macary
et al. 2010; Sikor and Truong 2002). De-collectivization, together with the lifting
of barriers to private trade and improvements in the road infrastructure, has
allowed farm households in mountainous areas to intensify their production
(Muller and Zeller 2002); however, forest conservation has become increasingly
prominent in both Thailand and Vietnam, as well as in the other countries of
Southeast Asia, and these countries’ governments have demarcated conservation
areas, while discouraging farmers from practicing swidden agriculture (Forsyth
and Walker 2008; Fox and Vogler 2005). This has been accompanied by the
promotion of permanent field agriculture and attempts to intensify cultivation
through the introduction of high value crops (Minot et al. 2006).
The introduction of new technologies has been the third driver of land use
change in mountainous areas over recent years. Few external inputs are used in
traditional swidden agriculture, but where agriculture has intensified this has
been accompanied by the introduction of new seeds and mineral fertilizers and
pesticides, as well as irrigation equipment in some areas such as sprinklers, and
mechanization in the form of hand-held tractors and rice mills. Sikor and Truong
(2002), and Muller and Zeller (2002), described how in the absence of new
technologies, land use in the mountainous areas of Vietnam became more
extensive during the 1970s and 1980s, but then intensified in the 1990s when
farmers started using fertilizers and improved seeds, and the amount of available
land became more limited.
Population growth is the fourth driver of land use change in mountainous
areas, as it has led to increased land scarcity, which in turn has created a need
to intensify land use and shorten traditional fallow cycles (Nikolic et al. 2008;
Wezel et al. 2002a). Shorter fallow cycles and the more intensive tillage of
mountain sides can rapidly deplete soil fertility, as soils easily erode from the
steep terrain. This is accompanied by increased topsoil disturbances under
conditions of heavy rainfall, leading to a downward trend in terms of crop
yields. This situation has the potential to create a vicious circle of lower
productivity, lower incomes and food insecurity, and a subsequent need to
further shorten fallow cycles (Pandey and van Minh 1998; Ziegler et al.
2009). However, because of the three other drivers of land use change, actual
incomes have generally increased and poverty has declined, as farmers have
been able to obtain better prices, adopt improved crop varieties and fertilizers,
and earn cash by working outside their own farms (Minot et al. 2006; Sikor and
Truong 2002).
1 From Challenges to Sustainable Solutions for Upland Agriculture. . .
13