A community-based pilot project in Laos is assisting farmers with irrigation using
groundwater during the dry season.
Compiled by Tarren Bolton
L
aos has vast surface water
resources, with a very large
amount per capita
compared with
other
countries
of the Greater
M e k o n g
Subregion. So,
why would groundwater irrigation
interest farmers in this country? The
answer is because of exceptions to
the general rule. Some locations are
prone to seasonal water scarcity,
leaving communities vulnerable
to drought and limiting their
options to improve food security
and livelihoods through crop
production in the dry season.
Such is the lot of Ekxang
village, situated about 55km
from
Vientiane,
Laos’s
capital city. Its access to surface
water is minimal and most of its 236
households depend on rainfall for rice
cultivation during the wet season. In
the dry season, villagers also grow
a wide range of vegetables and
herbs (including cash crops such as
cucumber and watermelon) in home
gardens and increasingly on riceland.
Climate change poses a
growing threat to crop
production in these villages,
altering wet season rainfall
A way forward for
a dry village
This supplementary resource helps farmers become more resilient to unpredictable
climates and increases their productivity during the dry season.
24
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2019
www.waterafrica.co.za