John Libbey Eurotext




The changes in agriculture in the hills of the Red River basin: extension and development education.
Cahiers Agricultures. Volume 6, Number 5, 137-44, Septembre-Octobre 1997, Agricultures de colline et de petite montagne
Résumé Article gratuit
Author(s) : Patrice Lamballe
Summary : In the hill region of the Red River basin (Tam Dao district), crop production systems are very diverse, showing a good integration of activities and great potential for change and transformation. Since the 1988 reforms, farming systems have developed considerably: a third crop is now grown (winter maize), rice-rice-maize rotations have been progressively intensified, and crop production has been diversified or adapted. Crops and livestock are closely integrated, and production is intensive, livestock enterprises set up on different farms complement each other. At the same time, social differences between families are increasing. Since the redistribution of hill land in 1993, a new form of integration has taken place with hill plantations of fruit trees and fish farming which was made possible by the amalgamation of farms. However, a large number of families in financial difficulty, particularly young farmers, are excluded from the process of insensifying production and accumulating land. The diversification and compexity of production systems requires adapted extension services and cannot simply be based on technical information and the distribution of new varieties. The support offered to development requires an inter-disciplinary approach, farming systems should be examined as whole units (polyvalence), and specific work such as integrated on-farm consultancy should be adapted to help families in financial difficulty or young farmers. This requires a thorough understanding of farming systems as a whole and the possibility of receiving services on account (supplies of new inputs, different types of credit adapted to particular needs, various sources for financing investment, etc.).
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The changes in agriculture in the hills of the Red River basin: extension and development education.