Organic Vegetable Production for Sustainable Development of Farmers in Vientiane Capital Area Lao People's Democratic Republic DOI:

Abstract

         The objectives of this research were to study 1) characteristics of basic personal, economic, and social information; 2) levels of knowledge and understanding about organic vegetable production of farmers; 3) acceptance of organic vegetable production by farmers, and 4) problems, obstacles and suggestions about organic vegetable production as perceived by farmers. The sample group used in the study consisted of 175 organic vegetable farmers in Vientiane capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that most of the farmers were male (50.9%), aged between 31-40 years old (36.6%), and had completed lower secondary education (37.7%). Additionally, most of them had other occupations besides organic vegetable farming (66.9%). About 40.6% had been growing organic vegetables for 6-10 years. Before growing organic vegetables, 56.6% of the farmers had previous experience in growing conventional vegetables. Almost all of the participants were members of organic vegetable producers (99.4%). Most of them own 89.7% of the land used for organic vegetable cultivation. The average annual income ranged from 72,867,485-97,156,000 kip/year (29.1%), with the majority earning more than 19,431,685 kip/ year from growing organic vegetables (76.0%). They primarily used their capital for organic vegetable cultivation (84.0%) and have debts of less than or equal to 24,289,000 kip/ year (65.1%) Farmers demonstrated good knowledge and understanding of organic vegetable production practices at a high level. As a result, they expressed concerns about the environment, emphasized maintaining the balance of nature and biodiversity in the production system, highlighted the use of organic matter to enhance soil fertility, and focused on utilizing renewable resources for maximum benefit within the local area rather than relying on imports from outside the area. Almost organic vegetable farmers (100%) expressed acceptance of organic vegetable production practices. The problems and obstacles identified by the farmers regarding sustainable organic vegetable production could be divided into six issues, namely control systems in production techniques, quality and standard control systems, marketing, accounting and financial systems, credit, and organizational protection and management.