Economic Evaluation of Smal卜Scale Irrigation Ponds in Rural SouthernAreas of Lao PDR

摘要

Laos has surface water resources such as rivers in abundance but the extraction of this water for domestic use and agricultural production requires an enormous investment.Investment in irrigation development commenced in 1990 and currently only15% ofall paddy rice fields are irrigated by pump system during the dry season. 59% of total rural villages lack irrigation facilities (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2012). Investment in irrigation is still limited in many remote areas throughout Laos. Farmers in these areas rely exclusively on rainfall to irrigate their crops. Some construct a pond on their farmstead to capture rainfall in order to supplement irrigation for crops during the dry season (Ireson, 1995).