Improved soil and nutrient management practices increase rice yields in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Arabic Edition)

Rice, the main staple crop in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), is key to food security and employment. Over 80 per cent of the country's farmers grow rice, which takes up about 60 per cent of the cultivated area in the country. However, the country's mountainous topography, tropical climate with frequent monsoons, soil erosion, lack of suitable rice varieties and insufficient use of fertilizers have limited rice yields, threatening livelihoods in this agrarian society. Since 72 per cent of the rice-growing area in the country is dependent on natural rainfall, increasingly variable rainfall patterns owing to a changing climate are predicted to have a devastating impact on rice production. The IAEA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has supported farmers in Lao PDR in increasing rice yields by 60 per cent through better soil and nutrient management practices identified using nuclear techniques. Trials conducted on farmers' fields have shown that by applying chemical fertilizers and manure in an optimized way, rice yields have increased from 3.16 to 5.1 tonnes per hectare.