I stumbled across this photo album by MCC that touches on the same theme.

Last year, villages in Xiengkhouang and all across Laos decided to take advantage of the high market price of corn and increase their planting area dramatically. We saw corn fields more than double in size, in some cases up to ten times more than previous years. Farmers made significant investments in buying hybrid corn seeds from Vietnam (LVN-10). Some farmers chose to plant only corn and not plant any rice, a major change from their traditional ways. CRWRC staff warned farmers of the risks involved in planting only one crop, and tried to promote alternatives (hot peppers, peanuts, sunflower seeds, fattening cattle with improved grass varieties, etc).

Unfortunately, in the summer of 2008 the rains came 2-3 months earlier than normal and were quite heavy in July and August. This reduced corn yields significantly below previous years. In addition, there are rumors that some defective seeds were sold as if they were good-quality hybrid seeds (note: this is entirely unconfirmed!). Finally, when harvest time arrived, the market price of corn worldwide plummeted drastically, partly because of high local supply, and partly because the previous high price may have been artificially elevated by speculation in commodities markets (note: I may be wrong on this point; an agricultural economist may know better). The end result was that farmers received half the price they got last year: 500 kip/Kg (about $0.05 USD) instead of 1000 kip/Kg (and they were expecting to get 1500-2000 kip/Kg).

In two village meetings that I’ve attended recently, it was clear that farmers feel burned by the corn bubble and want to diversify their income base by trying new crops. This is a good opportunity for CRWRC to help them ask hard questions about how to grow things that will give them reliable income and not too much risk. Of course, farming is an inherently risky income source because it’s affected by the weather, land, seeds, farming skills, and the vagaries of global supply and demand. These two villages, Vieng and Namthoum, will probably continue to plant some corn, but in combination with upland rice (their main food source), pumpkins, peanuts, sunflowers, and hot peppers. Namthoum requested that CRWRC investigate the possibilities of planting cassava root and see if there are any potential buyers in the province. Raising cattle and pigs for sale with improved grasses and legumes has also proven to be a reliable source of income and is one of CRWRC’s Agriculture team’s lasting contributions to these villages.

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Originally uploaded by James Zwier.

This boy was standing alone and not playing with the other chidren. His serious face gave him a mature air. The perspective and wide angle on this picture make him seem much taller than he is. I took this picture while squatting down and was about at his height.

There’s also a landscape version of this picture on flickr. Which one do you like better? Leave your opinion in the comments.

It’s difficult to get good pictures of kids… this one took three tries to get right. These boys followed me around for a while after watching me take pictures. I showed them how the camera worked and they weren’t afraid of it after that.

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Life these days, briefly: we’re back in Laos for the long run and are settling into our home in Xiengkhuang. I am now a full-time CRWRC staff person – a Program Advisor for our Xiengkhuang office. This year I’ll be focusing on improving community health, particularly nutrition and mother/child health, and on strengthening community leadership.

Grandfather (that is what I must call older men in Laos) told me that the last time he met a white person was in 1954, when he was 18 years old. He remembers meeting a French soldier who came from Dien Bien Phou in Vietnam (historical note: this is the same year that the Vietnamese defeated the French in Dien Bien Phou).

I did not expect to be visiting villages so remote that most people hadn’t seen a white person. Of course, every village had a few TVs and satellite dishes, so I’m sure they had seen pictures and movies of white people. Mostly I didn’t have a crowd of observers, except one village where I think at least fifty people were watching me bathe in the river. Needless to say, I felt a bit shy, but what could I do about it?