Floods in 2018 affected villages in the Xebangfai district which destroyed crops and property alike. Livelihood sources of farmers across the district were affected. Mr. Bounbeng and many other farmers and their families in Dangtha village were left on their own to face the affects of the natural disaster.

Bounbeg recalled the horrors : “After the vast flooding in the last rainy season, farmers  were despondent, and had no idea where to find rice seed to grow their crops.

However FAO’s Agriculture Input and Technical support program brought much needed relief through training to farmers of villages across the Xebenfai district. In addition, seeds and fertilizers were provided to the vulnerable farming communities. The TDK-8 variety seeds provided through the project have good germination with an expanded range of tillers, which are uniform compared to the seeds available in the local markets.

As a result almost farmers are back to cultivating rice. The seeds and fertilizers were distributed during the first week of November, just in time for the growing season. ‘’The vilagers are happy and want to continue using the rice variety in the coming wet seasons as well.’’ Said Mr. Bounbeng.

Another affected farmer from Naphorktha village, Mrs.  Douangchanh, stated that growth of the crop had increased significantly after using the seeds and fertilizers. She received 30 kilos of seed and hopes to transplant half a hectare of land with that. She expects the crops to exceed 4.5 tonne of paddy rice per hectare.

With a vastly improved quality and quantity of crop, she hopes for increased returns this season.“ We pray to god Naga does not come to play in our paddy fields again for next years rainy season’’, stated a hopefull Mrs. Doungchang.

Other than the provision of good quality seeds, the farmers were provided useful agriculture input, and training to use new technology for rice cultivation, bio extract production, application of fertilizer, integrated pest management, and the use of post harvest technology. The trainings were crucial for improving productivity, as well as securing the investment costs of the farmers.

Mr. Khan from Nakheu village, Hinboun district is relieved: “ We had no idea how to apply chemical fertilizer, or what fertilizer formula should be applied before and after transplanting. Now we know that urea phosphourus should be applied as a base, and urea after transplanting.”

Additionally, vegetable seeds such as sweet corn were distributed to farmers, keeping in mind that growing vegetables in the upper part of the paddy field is crucial for improving food security and nutrition for farmer families.

Farmers are now using irrigated areas more effeciently, using water pumped from the nearby rivers for vegetabe and cash crop growth in order to cope with natural disasters, and ultimately adapt methods to improve their livelihood.

Agriculture communities in Khammoune are now resilient and ready to cope with natural disasters with an improved capacity to ensure sustainable livelihoods for their families.