Swidden farming (“or slash-and-burn” or “shifting cultivation”) was an excellent form of agriculture for Vietnam’s uplands when population density was low and forest cover was high; today it is clearly unsustainable, ill-suited for the current socioeconomic and environmental conditions of the mountainous regions. Growing population pressure in the uplands, along with the reduction of forest cover, have gradually reduced fallow periods from 15-20 years to only 4-5 years. Loss of forest and soil fertility, along with erosion--factors that rapidly reduce crop productivity--are inevitable consequences of swidden agriculture when the fallow period is so reduced (to only two or three years in some localities). Thus swidden farmers find it more difficult, day by day, to meet their families’ food requirements. Yet many must continue this practice in order to survive.

Traditional swidden cultivation remains the method practiced by a large segment of the population in Vietnam’s mountainous regions, though the state has continually tried to restrict it, encouraging fixed cultivation and permanent settlement. For this it has established new economic zones aimed at helping ethnic minority people stabilize their production and residency, introducing them to an intensive form of cultivation that, once adopted, would reshape their lives. Despite these efforts, swidden farmers still exist in large numbers and, as their shrinking land degrades, often endure difficult conditions.

This situation calls for a better means of managing fallow fields; methods which create conditions for rapid land restoration will allow the swidden cycle to proceed at its current pace without damaging the environment or lowering yields. In Vietnam, however, the issue of fallow land management has yet to receive the attention it deserves--after the cultivation period most swidden fields simply revert to natural fallow. Yet technical advances in the management of such land, gleaned through local and international experience, enable restoration to occur much more quickly.

These advances are compared in the report. It synthesizes materials regarding the current state of swidden agriculture (also known as “slash and burn” or “shifting cultivation”) in Vietnam’s uplands. The work documents, collects, and analyzes local experience in the management of fallow upland swidden fields (following a cultivation period). It reflects the collaboration of nine Vietnamese research and training organizations, all coordinated by Hanoi University of Agriculture. Further, it addresses the perspectives regarding swidden agriculture, its basic characteristics and current state, and the past policies of the state related to agricultural production and rural development in mountainous

The core of the report describes fallow management successes of ethnic minority people in different ecological regions, international technological advances, and triumphs and failures of the shift from traditional swidden production to intensive forms of permanent field cultivation. Better fallow management techniques include planting forest trees and plants that restore soil fertility and stimulate the soil restoration process. Legumes are used in many localities for this purpose. They are intercropped or planted in alternate rows with traditional food staples in swidden fields, enriching soil nutrients so the cultivation period can be extended.

The report also summarizes the methods some ethnic minority groups use to accelerate the establishment of vegetation cover (such as leaving high stumps and burning bamboo before planting). In addition to fallow management advances, better and more sustainable techniques of growing crops on sloping land--successfully applied in various localities--are also introduced. These include SALT models, integrated agroforestry systems, strip farming, planting hedgerows to restore the soil and prevent erosion, and the cultivation of wet rice in terraces.

Local experiences in changing from traditional swidden cultivation to advanced, highly intensive forms of cultivation are also discussed. These include models for fruit production, industrial crops, and medicinal plants, as well as integrated production models such as VAC, VACR,

forest gardens, and swidden field gardens.

Many upland people--most of them ethnic minorities--have no choice but to continue slash-and-burn cultivation. They need more concrete and effective government policies to help them make this form of agriculture more productive and sustainable under current conditions. Though the government has issued numerous policies regarding the management of natural resources and economic development in the uplands, these policies have mainly concentrated on the exploitation and use of barren land and wilderness--and on replacing traditional swidden cultivation with intensive forms of agriculture. As stated, not enough attention has been paid to swidden agriculture itself, or the management of fallow land. Upland rural development policies have improved the lives of a segment of that population, but most have produced rather meager results. Shortcomings in their implementation include a heavy dependence on subsidies, a lack of integration into any larger framework, and the often unenthusiastic participation of cadres and local people in the planning and execution of these policies. As a result the policies have failed to stimulate people to actively invest in better production activities. Instead have people waited passively for government assistance.

This conclusion of this report offers recommendations for the reformation of swidden agriculture in the uplands of Vietnam. We strongly emphasize the importance of continuing field research into the experience--especially models for the management of fallow land--acquired by ethnic minority peoples in different ecological regions. The

more promising “innovations” may then be subjected to further tests and evaluation. In this manner the dissemination of locally appropriate techniques for managing fallow fields can play an important role in improving livelihoods and increasing the sustainable use of resources in upland areas.

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