ISSN 2185-159X

erd

International Journal ofEnvironmental and Rural Development

Volume 7 Number 1

June 2016

International Society of Environmental and Rural Development

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development

erdInternational Journal ofEnvironmental and Rural Development
Official Journal of the International Society of Environmental and Rural Development(Accessible from CABI International, Google Scholar, etc.)

Aims and Scope:
The International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, IJERD, is an interdisciplinary journal
concerning environmental and rural development research in the education for sustainable development, ESD.
The IJERD is devoted to publishing peer-reviewed research article, review article and technical report in thefields of environmental and rural development, such as education for sustainable rural development, ruraldevelopment, environmental management or agricultural systems. Every article or report in IJERD must be
accepted by at least 2 reviewers and an editorial member.
The aims of IJERD are to publish the latest research development and achievements, to strengthen
education systems, to promote cooperation in environmental and rural development and to contribute to theprogress in sustainable development. The editorial board of this journal covers a variety of scientificdisciplines.
Thematic Areas:
The following areas are envisioned in IJERD.
Education for Sustainable Rural Development:
Environmental Education, Food and Agricultural Education, Participatory Approach, Capacity Building,Community Empowerment, Agricultural Extension, etc.
Rural Development:
Marketing, Partnership, Value Added Product, Community Development, Access to Technology,
Cultural Preservation, etc.
Environmental Management:
Bio-Diversity, Soil Degradation and Land Conservation, Water Quality Conservation, Deforestation andSustainable Forest Management, Environmental Management, etc.
Agricultural Systems:
Organic Farming, Conservation Tillage, Mechanization, Irrigation and Drainage, Nutrient and Pest
Management, Cattle Breeding, Agro-Forestry, Indigenous Technology, etc.
Infrastructural Systems:
Water Resource Development, Land Reclamation, Road Construction, etc.
Editorial Board:
Editor in Chief:
Prof. Dr. Machito Mihara, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan /Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Japan
Managing Editors:
Dr. Jeeranuch Sakkhamduang, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation,
Southeast Asia Office / Association of Environmental and Rural Development, Thailand
Dr. Junaid Alam Memon, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Pakistan
Dr. Julian Torillo, Jr., Bohol Island State University, Philippines
Dr. Carlos Onan Tovar Mendoza, Honduras Embassy in Japan, Japan
Editorial Advisory Board:
Dr. Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Asian Development Bank Institute, Japan
Dr. Robert J. Farquharson, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Prof. Dr. Keishiro Itagaki, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
Dr. Chuleemas Boonthai Iwai, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Arata Koga, University of Veterinary and Animal Science, Pakistan
Prof. Dr. Robert J. Martin, University of New England, Australia
Prof. Dr. Bunthan Ngo, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
Dr. Hiromu Okazawa, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
Prof. Dr. Salvador Catello, University of the Philippines, Philippines
Dr. Rajendra P. Shrestha, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Murari Suvedi, Michigan State University, USA
Prof. Dr. Mario T. Tabucanon, United Nations University, IAS, Japan
Dr. Vidhaya Trelo-Ges, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Editorial Secretariat:
Dr. Shinobu Terauchi, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Japan

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Contents
Invited Article
Bridging Sustainable Agriculture and Education for Sustainable Development
Mario T. Tabucanon and Machito Mihara

1

Research Articles
Studies on Reducing Cadmium Uptake of Paddy Rice (Oryza sativa L.)
by both Soil Dressing and Mixing Tillage
Kiichi Sasaki, Choichi Sasaki, Chihiro Kato, Akira Endo,
Takeyuki Annaka, Shigeoki Moritani
and Nobuhiko Matsuyama

6

Development of an Emergency Discharging Device and an Early Warning System
for Floods at Irrigation Ponds
Shimizu Katsuyuki, Fukuda Yuki and Yoshioka Yumi

15

Influence of Pig Breeds on Growth Performance and Immunity During Pre-weaning Period
Chanhmany souphannavong and Korawan Sringam

22

Predicting Soil Temperature Condition in Agricultural Land under Climate Change in Japan
Chihiro Kato and Taku Nishimura

29

Prevalence and Determinants of Household Food Security in Resettled Areas
in Sekong Province, Lao PDR
Inpong Siliphouthone and Kumi Yasunobu

37

Potential of a New Slow-release Urea Fertilizer under On-farm Conditions
in a Semi-arid Environment
Insa Kühling, Dmitry Redozubov, Christian Jeismann,
Igor Komissarov and Dieter Trautz

44

Effects of Pyroligneous Acid to Growth and Yield of Soybeans (Glycine max)Jose T. Travero and Machito Mihara

50

Spatial Assessment of Ecosystem Services by New City Development– Case Study in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
Kay Khiang Lwin, Kiichiro Hayashi and Makoto Ooba

55

Effects of Surveying Methods between GNSS and Direct Levelingon Elevation Values over Long Distance in Mountainous Area
Takahiko Kubodera, Hiromu Okazawa, Yoshiharu
Hosokawa, Futoshi Kawana, Eiji Matsuo
and Machito Mihara

62

Challenge and Prevalence of Fasciolosis in Cattle in Pursat Province, Cambodia
Vandara Loeurng, Bunthon Chea, Sothyra Tumand Mom Seng

70

Efficiency of Two-Row Chinese Rice Transplanter Experimented
at Royal University of Agriculture
Lyhour Hin, Lytour Lor and Gerald Hitzler

77

Economic Analysis of Small-scale Pumping Machines Operated in Rice Productionin Chum Kiri District, Kampot, Cambodia
Lyhour Hin, Sarith Moeuk, and Chamnan Sous

83

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Comparison of the OTAKE and SATAKE Rice Mills Performance on Milled Rice Quality
Meng Bun, Dyna Theng, Lyhour Hin, Vary Vun
and Savath Seng

90

An Attempt to Use High Salinity Water for Irrigating A Green-Roof Garden
Shigeoki Moritani, Tahei Yamamoto, Henintsoa Andry
Choichi Sasaki, Chihiro Kato and Hirotaka Saito

97

Mechanism toward Resilience Building in the Face of Climate Change:
A Review for Cambodian Rural Communities
Nimul Chun

104

Farmers’ Soil Conservation Practices of Maize Production, Paklay District,
Sayabouly Province, Lao PDR
Oudtanivanh Luangduangsitthideth, andBudsara Limnirunkul

111

Improving Waxy Maize, the Heritage of South East Asia
Peter Stamp, Sansern Jampatong, Ham Le-Huy,
Sebastian Streb and Choosak Jompuk

117

Carbon Dioxide Release as an Index of Mineralization Rates of Organic Substrates
Sambo Pheap, Gina V. Pangga, Jocelyn D. Labios
and Evalour T. Aspuria

124

Change in Effectiveness of Stung Chinit Irrigation System within a Social Economic
in Santuk District, Kampong Thom Province
Saven Thai, Sokhem Pech, Lytour Lor and Nareth Nut

130

Soil Loss Mitigation by Applying Animal Waste Slurry
Sergio Azael May Cuevas and Machito Mihara

136

The Comparison of Liquid Bio-slurry and Rice Husk Biochar Application on the Production Yield
of Dai Neang Chili Pepper (Capsicum annum L)
Soth Hong, Lytour Lor, Nareth Nut, Dyna Theng,
Vary Vun,Vannary Ung, Lyhour Hin and Dara Phuong142

Proposed the Model for Estimation of Nitrogen Load in the Agro-Forestry Watershed
Yuri Yamazaki, Toshimi Muneoka and Hiromu Okazawa

148

Characteristics of the River Water Quality Under Base Flow Conditionin the Tokachi River Basin, Japan
Yuri Yamazaki, Toshimi Muneoka, Hiromu Okazawa,
Masato Kimura and Osamu Tsuji

154

Can Organic Farming Be an Alternative to Improve Well-Being of Smallholder Farmers
in Disadvantaged Areas? A Case Study of Morogoro Region, Tanzania
Chie Miyashita and Kim Abel Kayunze

160

Impact of Smallholder Agricultural Cooperatives on Market Participation of
Vegetable Farmers in Cambodia: A Case Study of Svay Rieng Agro-Products Cooperative
Dary Phon and Eiji Yamaji

167

Appropriate Extension Approaches in Disseminating Livestock Production Technology
in Cambodia
Putheany Ung, Myra E. David, Rommel C. Sulabo
and Amado A. Angeles

173

SWOT Analysis of Systematic Land Registration’s Procedure under Order 01
for Strengthening Land Tenure Security in Cambodia
Taingaun Sourn, Nara Mao and Nareth Nut

179

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Farmers Perceptions on the Causes and Effects of Cassava Witches’ Broom (CWB)
on Cassava Production in Three Provinces of Cambodia
Pin Chanda, Pin Tara and John M. Shiller

186

Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability in Rural Areas: Cases of Apple Farmingin 4 Municipals in Gyeonggi Province, Korea
Seong Yoon Choi and Eiji Yamaji

192

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Invited article

Bridging Sustainable Agriculture and Education for
Sustainable Development
MARIO T. TABUCANON*
United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, Japan
Email: mario.tabucanon@gmail.com

MACHITO MIHARA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Received 12 January 2016

Accepted 12 February 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract When multi-stakeholders in local communities come together to tackle sustainable
development problems, they not only offer solutions to local constituents, but also create impact
to the broader policymaking process at local, regional and national levels. A United Nations
University flagship project, namely a network of Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) on
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) indicates that local networking for sustainable
development, and in particular for sustainable agriculture, can be an effective approach for local
communities to employ learning tools in ESD to improve the situation and render positive
influence in policymaking. RCEs on ESD, as an innovative platform for multi-stakeholder
networking at the local and regional level, has proven to be an effective vehicle for promoting
sustainable agriculture, linking sustainable livelihood and ESD, involving farmers, school
teachers, students, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders in the community.
Keywords sustainable agriculture, Education for Sustainable Development, ESD,
Regional Centre of Expertise, sustainability, UNU, RCE

UNSUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES – A CASE IN CAMBODIA
Kampong Cham is a rural province of Cambodia with an area of nearly 10,000 square kilometers. Due tothe rapid increase in population, the province faces food security concerns. Farmers have resorted to theuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and other unsustainable practices, to increase farm productivity.
These practices have not only affected the health of farmers and their families, but have contaminated thesoil, jeopardizing the environment and degrading the area as a whole. Specifically in the investigatedtarget areas, located in the Samroung commune of the Kampong Cham province, the use of agricultural
fertilizers and pesticides has rapidly increased over the past decade, contributing to a higher agricultural
productivity in the short term. Local farmers that suffered from several ailments such as throat pain ordermatitis have been eager to shift to a more sustainable farming system, based on natural resource
circulation. However, the lack of knowledge and resources has hampered the shift towards practicing
sustainable agriculture. Government policy to rectify unsustainable agricultural practices was deemed
imperative.
MULTI-STAKEHOLDER NETWORKINGThe RCE network 1 in Cambodia known as RCE Greater Phnom Penh (GPP) initiated a project on
1

A Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) is a network of existing formal and non-formal education organizations mobilized to deliver
ESD in the region or locality where it is situated. It creates a platform for dialogue among regional and local ESD stakeholders andfor exchanging information, experience and good practices on ESD. It develops a regional and local knowledge base and assists inⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1‘Promoting Sustainable Agriculture at Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia’, funded by the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and executed by the stakeholders of RCE GPP led by
ERECON2 and the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) of Cambodia, with the cooperation of thelocal government. The aim of the project, which ran from April 2011 to March 2016, was to promotesustainable agriculture, based on natural resource circulation in 11 villages in the Samroung commune.
The project’s goals were to switch to sustainable farming practices and to increase public awareness on
how a region can achieve acceptable economic benefits together with high and sustained productionlevels, while concurrently conserving the environment. The project gave evidence of successfultransformative learning through sustainable agriculture, by teaching farmers about sustainable practices
without or the use of low chemicals, and integrating sustainable agriculture and ESD in school curriculain the region. Lessons learned from reformed farmers’ practices together with ESD general knowledge
and practices were used by the community schools in the area. The school students were themselves
mostly children of farmers, and so learning conversations and practices continued at home. Knowledge
on sustainable agriculture was also passed on from pupils to their non-farming parents. A number offarmers and farmers’ families as well as schools were identified as models, where other members of thecommunity could learn from on sustainable agriculture and ESD.
This project made a case of addressing national policy towards improving agricultural production,
both in terms of quantity and quality of produce in line with the principles of a Green Economy, resulting
in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks andecological scarcities.3 At the same time, the project addressed several Sustainable Development Goals
such as SDG-2 on Hunger, SDG-4 on Education, and SDG-12 on Sustainable Consumption and
Production and was implemented in line with the goals of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants.4 According to the Rector of the Royal University of Agriculture of Cambodia, theproject “supports the vision of the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries towards
sustainable natural resource management and conservation, and in particular the Ministry’s policy on
agricultural extension. The project has influenced policymaking in the Ministry and created a goodmodel case for promoting the policy of the Cambodian Government on organic agriculture and ESD
transformative learning”.
CAPACITY BUILDING OF FARMERSIn order to effectively change agricultural production practices, farmers’ groups were formed and aseries of workshops conducted, explaining the concept and benefits of sustainable agriculture,including technical aspects as well as how to manage farms and distribute their products. The principal
project proponents – RCE GPP stakeholders such as RUA, ERECON, and local government authorities– worked together to train farmers how to make organic fertilizer, organic pesticides, and utilize
techniques that render the use of chemicals unnecessary, including the use of nets to protect plants andvegetables from various insects. Farmers were also trained how to build and manage composts using
model composts. Learning by using real examples and demonstration models inside the farms proved
effective. In order to widen the participation of farmers across the region, sharing of experiencesamong the farming community was encouraged and ‘workshops-on-the-field’ together with farmers
already practicing agriculture sustainably were organised. A farmers’ committee was set up and acommon pellet compost center built. Training for pellet compost production was conducted for village

promoting vertical alignment of curricula from primary through university education and in linking formal and non-formal sectors of theeducation community.
2
Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with branch office in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia.
3
UNEP, 2011
4
Stockholm Convention, http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/ThePOPs/TheNewPOPs/tabid/2511/Default.aspxⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

leaders and members of farmers’ groups. Transformative learning and real change hinged on capacity
building and in turn influenced the local government to adopt and promote sustainable practices.
PROMOTING EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Food, agriculture and environmental education that focuses on sustainable agriculture based on natural
resource circulation was promoted in form of experiential learning using local schools as living
laboratories. With the support of the farmers’ groups, school teachers managed organic school gardensand compost boxes to teach students on the different practices of sustainable agriculture. Together with
farmers, workshops were conducted at selected schools and students demonstrated learning outcomesusing poems and songs pertaining to ESD. In addition, training activities on mixed cropping wereintroduced in schools where students shared their experience from a field visit to Thailand as part ofthe project ESD learning activities. The stakeholders of RCE GPP, mainly RUA, ERECON Cambodia,
school teachers and project advisers, developed teaching materials for the schools. The projecttransformed the schools in the region to adopt ESD in their curricula. It is important to underscore thefact that a majority of these elementary school students do not pursue secondary let alone tertiary
education, and a vast majority of them become farmers themselves. Thus there is a real need to ingrain
the moral imperative of ESD amongst the Youth, so that they create sustainable lifestyles andlivelihoods and carry these on into adult life.
PROMOTING DISTRIBUTION OF GREEN NO/LOW-CHEMICAL INPUT PRODUCTS
By improving the distribution of products with no or low chemical input, the number of farmers who
sold their products on the green market increased. Market surveys were conducted by RCE GPP
stakeholders and the results were shared with the farmers’ respective communities. Farmers wereencouraged to join the Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA) to market chemical-freeand organic products with COrAA certification. Market research was carried out to develop a plan forsustainable agriculture product fairs. The Samroung Safe Agricultural Products (SSAP) Shop wasestablished to serve as the main outlet for green agricultural products. During regular meetings, thefarmers shared information on trends of sales of different types of vegetables sold at the SSAP Shop.
The shop has great potential to expand as more farmers come on board and consumers become moreaware of the benefits of healthy organic products. Local governments were advised to promote these
activities considering the benefit of healthy communities, by drafting policies that encourage thepopulation to consume chemical-free and organic agricultural products.
POLICY RELEVANCE, IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY
Leading by example is an effective approach to policymaking. Stakeholders of the policy-relevant
initiative were not simply beneficiaries, but were also directly involved in project activities on the
ground. This project is a good example of a local-based network on ESD, RCE GPP assuming
leadership and demonstrating the important role of communities in shaping national and local policies
on sustainable development, specifically in the area of sustainable agriculture. Lessons learned fromthis project can be used to shape government policies that can be implemented in other regions acrossthe country and elsewhere. Farmers have become increasingly committed to sustainable agriculture andnow sell products through the SSAP outlet and other third party buyers. They have also pledged tocontinue the scheme, even beyond the official end of the project, believing wholeheartedly that organic
farming is a pathway to creating sustainable agriculture communities.
Ⓒ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on experiences and lessons learned from this project, the following policy recommendations to
implement sustainable agriculture may be considered:・ The use of agricultural chemicals is damaging the soil and water environment of farmlands andhas direct impact on the health of not only of farmers and their families but also the consumers.
Effective policies to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of these chemicals need to be
formulated. This would not only address the relevant goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development
Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals, but also of the purpose of the Stockholm Convention
on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
・ Regional challenges need to be addressed in a broader context. This can be achieved by addressing
the issues in a triangular manner – sustainable farming, ESD and the social use of sustainable
lifestyle and livelihood.
・ To increase the adaptability of local farmers and the understanding of students to sustainableagriculture, the policy should reflect the need for a multi-stakeholder networking approach that
leads to a series of activities through awareness-raising and learning among farmers, curriculumtransformation in schools, and implementing the notion of sustainable livelihood.
・ For promoting sustainable agriculture practices through organic farming at primary schools, fieldpractices such as vegetable gardening are effective to supplement classroom teaching as life-skill
education. Training for primary school teachers are to be promoted.
・ To move towards ascertaining the quality of education with increasing teachers’ and students’
understanding, offering ESD knowledge and practices conjunctively and providing materials andequipment in an organized and coordinated fashion enhances motivation and learning.
・ On the local community level, workshops on sustainable agriculture, demonstrating how to makea compost box, the use of compost and pellet compost, liquid bio-fertilizer and liquid bio-pesticide,
establishing a model garden, organizing leadership training and study tours will increase theawareness and understanding of sustainable agriculture.
Overall, it is recommended that to aspire for sustainability at the local and regional (subnational)
level, national policy must embrace a type of multi-stakeholder approach, and have a strong evidencedbased, science-society-policy interface. Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD, a global network on
ESD at the local and regional level, can play an important role by bringing all concerned stakeholders
together and join community efforts to make transformative changes.
REFFERENCESERECON. 2015. Grass roots project on promoting sustainable agriculture at Kampong Cham Province inCambodia, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter,
Vol. 4.
Fadeeva, Z., Payyappallimana, U. and Petry, R. (Eds.) 2012. Towards more sustainable consumption andproduction systems and sustainable livelihoods – Learning contributions of regional centres of expertise on
education for sustainable development. UNU-IAS, Yokohama, Japan.
Fadeeva, Z., Payyappallimana, U., Tabucanon, M.T. and Chhokar, K.B. (Eds.) 2014. Building a resilient future
through multistakeholder learning and action, Ten years of regional centres of expertise on education forsustainable development. United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability.
Tabucanon, M.T. 2010. Education for sustainable development, Challenges for transformative education andresearch, International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, 1 (1), 1-6.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

UNEP. 2011. Towards a green economy, Pathways to sustainable development and poverty eradication. A
Synthesis for Policy Makers, www.unep.org/greeneconomy.

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Research article
erdStudies on Reducing Cadmium Uptake of Paddy Rice(Oryza sativa L.) by both Soil Dressing and Mixing Tillage
KIICHI SASAKI*The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan
Email: watersapphire0919@gmail.com

CHOICHI SASAKI
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, JapanCHIHIRO KATO
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, JapanAKIRA ENDO
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan

TAKEYUKI ANNAKA
Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, JapanSHIGEOKI MORITANI
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, JapanNOBUHIKO MATSUYAMA
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan
Received 13 November 2015

Accepted 27 February 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Though soil dressing is one of the most effective methods for reducing cadmium (Cd)uptake in rice plants of Cd contaminated paddy fields, it needs large amount of soil and thus
often requires a high cost and heavy environmental loads. In this study, we investigated any
possibility of minimizing the thickness of soil dressing by utilizing mixing tillage before thesoil dressing. 15 cm-thick mixed contaminated soil and overlying 12.5 cm-thick soil dressing(the conventional thickness of soil dressing being 20-30 cm in Japan) were used to form theusual stratified paddy field of the three layers (plow layer, plowsole, and subsoil). Cd
concentration of the contaminated soil was adjusted to approximately 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5 mg/kg by
mixing tillage. Then rice plants were grown under ponding condition during the cultivation andthe experiments of each treatment were conducted under two different water flow systems, open
and closed systems. As a result, Cd concentration in brown rice with water flow in an open
system was 0.07 mg/kg, 0.05 mg/kg, and 0.17 mg/kg when Cd concentration of soil was 0.5,
1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg, respectively. Cd concentration in brown rice of 2.0 mg/kg soil was 5%
significantly higher by 5% than those of other treatments. These results indicated that it was
effective to dilute soil Cd concentration to 1.0 mg/kg for reducing Cd uptake of rice plants.
There was no significant difference in growth and yield a way these treatments. However, weconclude that mixing tillage may have potential to minimize the thickness of soil dressing tohalf of the conventional thickness, 20 -30 cm, under ponding condition during the cultivation.
Keywords Cadmium, rice, water flow system, mixing tillage, soil dressingⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

INTRODUCTION
Heavy metal contamination of agricultural lands resulting from human activities has been causing
serious health damages all over the world. Alarmed by this situation, Codex Alimentarius Commission
has decided upon the limits of the cadmium (Cd) contents in food, e.g. 0.4 mg/kg in rice (MAFF,
2015a). Separately from the international standard, some countries have employed stricter standards
and thus with a view to international trading, it is necessary for any country to reduce Cd
contamination level of agricultural products as much as possible.
Cd health damages in Japan have mainly resulted from the intake of rice, Japanese staple food. Cdfrom mine waste water had accumulated in the paddy field soil, and the intake of the high-Cd ricecaused the famous Itai-itai Disease (Kobayashi, 1978). In Japan, soil dressing of 20-30 cm-thick has
been employed as the usual countermeasures for Cd contaminated agricultural fields. Though soil
dressing is effective to reduce the Cd uptake of rice, it needs such a large amount of soil and therefore
it costs much and causes heavy environmental loads.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery in Japan recommends that rice should becultivated under ponding condition as a treatment for reducing the Cd uptake of rice (MAFF, 2015b)
since solubility of Cd is low under reduction condition. However, Pongpattanasiri et al. (2005), Sasaki
et al. (2010, 2012) and Paul et al. (2011) pointed out that even under ponding condition, the plowsole
and subsoil layers showed oxidation condition when water flow in these layers was the open-systempercolation and thus Cd might be dissolved in the soil water and absorbed by roots. Sasaki et al. (2010)
and Paul et al. (2011) conducted rice growing experiments using paddy field models with 12.5 cmthick soil dressing and reported that the percolation pattern in the plowsole and subsoil affected thedegree of the Cd uptake of rice. In these cases, however, the Cd concentration of the subsoil was 3.39
mg/kg, which was twice as high as that of the average contaminated soils in Japan (Shibuya et al.,1980). Other than those mentioned above, there are few studies which considered the percolation
patterns (Adachi and Sasaki, 1999; Sasaki et al., 2001).
In this study, aiming at the reduction of Cd uptake in rice plants, we investigated any possibility tominimizing the thickness of soil dressing by both utilizing soil dressing and mixing tillage andcultivation under ponding condition regulating the percolation systems in the subsoil.
METHODOLOGY
Soil Properties
In this study, the soil from plow layer of the Cd contaminated paddy field, where the mine waste water
had been used as the irrigation water, was sampled for the experiments. Non-contaminated soil for soil
dressing and gravel were obtained from the plow layer of a paddy field and a mountainous district inTohoku region, or the north-eastern part of Japan.
Table 1 Physical and chemical properties of soil samples and gravel
Density

Soil
Texture3(g/cm )Non Polluted
Soil
Polluted Soil
GravelNote: * mg/kg

MgO

Na2O

CaO

K2O

Cd

T-C

T-N

*

*

*

*

*

(%)

(%)

C/N

OM
(%)

2.62

LiC

120

64

400

120

0.14

2.07

0.16

13.27

3.6

2.44
2.68

CL
-

640
147

128
18

2280
539

288
600

1.81
0.13

5.30
-

0.39
0.00

13.57
-

9.1
0.1

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Table 1 shows the physical and chemical properties of the soil samples and gravel. The soil
textures of contaminated and non-contaminated soils were CL and LiC, respectively, and their contents
of soil organic matter were 9.2% and 3.6%, respectively. The Cd concentration of the contaminated,
non-contaminated and gravel were, 1.81, 0.14, and 0.13 mg/kg, respectively. By mixing these twokinds of soils, the Cd concentration of the experimented soils was adjusted to the aforementioned threelevels. The experimental apparatus was designed after the fashion of paddy fields near a river and thus
gravel was also used for the lower layer.
Experimental Design
Two kinds of stratified paddy field models were used for the experiments (Fig.1). The air entry values
were determined by the method of Sasaki (1992). These models consisted of an iron box (30 cm × 50
cm × 70 cm) filled with soils and gravel in three layers. Plow layer (1st layer) was from 0 cm to 10 cm
deep (dry density was 1.02 Mg/m3 ): plowsole (2nd layer) was from 10.0 cm to 20.0 cm deep (drydensity at the depth from 10.0 cm to 12.5 cm and from 12.5 cm to 20.0 cm were 1.23 Mg/m3 and 0.75
Mg/m3, respectively) : subsoil (3rd layer) was from 20.0 cm to 62.5 cm deep (dry density from 20.0 cm
to 27.5 cm was 0.75 Mg/m3 and that from 27.5 cm to 62.5 cm was 1.4 Mg/m3, those layers wereformed by compaction). The thickness of non-polluted soil dressing was 12.5 cm deep, and beneath thesoil dressing there lay the polluted soil of 15.0 cm depth, the gravel layer was placed beneath thepolluted soil layer.
In order to make three different levels of contaminated concentration of the plowsole and subsoil
in the stratified paddy field models, polluted and non-polluted soils were mixed. The authors definedO-1 and C-1 as the setting value of 0.5 mg/kg of the stratified paddy field model (the actual Cd
concentration after mixture became 0.57 mg/kg). Similarly, O-2 and C-2 were defined as the setting
value of 1 mg/kg of Cd concentration (the actual Cd concentration after mixture became 1.21 mg/kg).
Moreover, we defined O-3 and C-3 (the actual Cd concentration 1.81 mg/kg) as the polluted soil
without dilution. Note that ‘O’ and ‘C’ mean the open-system and the closed-system percolation,
respectively. The ground water levels of the open-system and the closed-system percolation models
were controlled at 57.5 cm and 20.0 cm depths, respectively. In the closed-system percolation models,
the holes in the side walls of iron box were blocked in order to prevent the penetration of theatmosphere. On the other hand, in the open-system percolation models the holes in the side walls of theiron box were open in the lower part of the 2nd layer and the upper part of the 3rd layer in order to aerate
those layers.

Fig. 1 Layout of the experimental designⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

After the two types of models were prepared, fifteen paddy seedlings (plant length and leaf stage
were from 14.0 to 18.0 cm and from 5.4 to 6.8 leaves, respectively) named ‘Oryza sativa L. Tsugaru
Roman’ were transplanted. The paddy seedlings were transplanted by 10.0 cm intervals. As for
fertilizer, 2.0 g of N, 2.0 g of P2O5 and 2.0 g of K2O was put per model and mixed with the wholeplowed layer before transplanting. While the cultivation period, the water ponding condition wasconstantly adopted, and the mid-summer drainage was not done. Transplanting of the paddy seedlings
and harvesting were conducted at the end of May and at the end of September, respectively. This
experiment was conducted without repetition, and Tukey-Kramer methods were used to test thestatistical significance of the data of growth and yields of rice plants.
Measuring Method
The ORP meter (Central Kagaku co Ltd, model UC-203) was used for measuring oxidation -reduction
potential (Eh), and it was set at each soil layer. We measured plant length, leaf number, the number ofstems and panicles, the weight of straws, the number and weight of brown rice. Before the quantitative
analyses of Cd concentrations in the stems and leaves, roots, brown rice and soils, the samples weretreated with HNO3 and HCl to extract Cd as sample preparation, and then absorbance of extracted
solution was measured with atomic absorption spectroscopy (MAFF, 1979). Other measurements i.e.,(density of soil particle, soil texture, grain size analysis, C/N ratio) were also conducted in standard
methods in Japan.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Oxidation-reduction Potential (Eh)The oxidation-reduction state in the soil is an important factor for Cd mobility. In the oxidized layer,
the solubility of Cd increases in soil solution (the main form of Cd component is CdSO4) and so theuptake of Cd from plant roots is promoted. On the other hand, in the reduced layer, the solubility of Cd
decreases (the main form of Cd component is CdS) and so the uptake of Cd from plant roots is limited(Iimura, 1981). From these, the measurement of oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) is very importantfor judging the mobility of Cd. The oxidized layer in paddy fields is defined as the layer whose Ehvalue is higher than +300 mV (Yamane, 1982).

Fig. 2 Oxidation-reduction values in soil layers of the open system percolation modelⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

The trends of Eh in each soil layer of O-1, O-2 and O-3, and of C-1, C-2 and C-3 were similarchange from the transplanting to the harvest. Therefore, we have used below the Eh of open-systempercolation model (O-3) in Fig. 2 and the Eh of closed-system percolation model (C-3) in Fig. 3. In the
open-system percolation model, the Eh of the first layer (5.0 cm depth) had been about -100 mV during
cultivation of paddy rice and so the first layer was a reduced layer. The Eh of the second layer (15 cm
and 20 cm depth) and the third layer (27.5 cm, 37.5 cm and 47.5 cm depth) had been higher than +400
mV and those layers were oxidized layers. On the other hand, in the closed system percolation model,
the Eh of all layers had been lower than -100 mV since 20 days after transplanting to harvest and so
those layers were reduced layers.
It is said that Cd uptake of paddy rice is relatively high during three weeks before and after
heading (MAFF, 2015b). In the open-system percolation model (Fig. 2), the second layer and the thirdlayer were oxidized layers during three weeks before and after heading. On the other hand, all layers of
the closed-system percolation model (Fig. 3) were reduced layers during the period. From these results,
it is estimated that soluble Cd affects to paddy rice in the open-system percolation model.

Fig. 3 Oxidation-reduction values in soil layers of the closed system percolation model
Table 2 Parameters of rice plant growth
Model

Plant length

No. of stems

Dry weightof straw(cm)(Stems/hill)(g)

94.8±4.0ab15.2±2.3aO-2

97.5±3.2b14.8±3.2a16.4±3.9aO-398.1±3.6b

17.1±2.5a

17.3±3.8a

C-1

92.5±2.5a17.5±2.5a18.1±4.6a

C-2

94.9±2.9ab

13.8±3.9a

20.9±4.7a

b

a

O-1

16.1±3.9a

C-3
98.3±3.517.1±3.2
20.7±6.3a
Note: Tukey-Kramer test was performed at 5% level; letter
indicates significant difference (n=10). The numerical value of± shows standard deviation.

Growth of Paddy Rice
Table 2 shows the growth of paddy rice in the open-system percolation model and the closed-systempercolation model. The average plant length ranged from 92.5c m to 98.3 cm in the two types ofⒸ ISERD

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models. The average number of stem ranged from 13.8 to the 17.5 in the two types. The average dryweight of straw ranged from 16.1 g to 20.9 g in two types. There were no significant differences in thegrowth parameters between the open-system percolation model and the closed-system percolation
model. Paul et al. (2011) reported that the growth parameters of the closed-system percolation model
were significantly higher than those of the open-system percolation model in the case of 3.39 mg/kg inplowsole. Furthermore, Ito and Iimura (1976) and Asami et al. (1995) reported that the increase of Cd
concentration in the soil caused the decrease of plant length, number of stems and dry weight of straw.
Those previous researches had different results from ours and that in probably because in our
experiments the root system mainly existed in the non-polluted soil dressing and the Cd concentrationin the soil was relatively low (less than 2 mg/kg).
Yield Components of Paddy Rice
Table 3 shows the yield components of paddy rice both in the open-system percolation model and theclosed-system percolation model. The average number of panicles ranged from 9.9 to 13.2 in the two
types of models. The average weight of brown rice ranged from 15.0 g to 21.7 g in the two types. The
average number of brown rice grain ranged from 634 to 938 in the two types. The average 1000 grain
weight of brown rice ranged from 18.7 g to 19.6 g in the two types. There were no significant
differences in the yield components between the open-system percolation model and the closed-systempercolation model. However, Paul et al. (2011) reported that the yield components of the closed-systempercolation model were significantly higher than those of the open-system percolation model. Sasaki etal. (2010) and Pongpattanasiri et al. (2005) also reported that the average number of panicles in theclosed-system percolation model was significantly higher than that of the open-system percolation
model. Furthermore, Ito and Iimura (1976) and Asami et al. (1995) reported that the increase of Cd
concentration in the soil caused the decrease of the weight of brown rice. The reasons why there wereno significant differences in our experiments in the yield components between the two types of models
was thought to be the effects of soil dressing and the relatively low Cd concentration of less than 2
mg/kg in the plowsole and subsoil.
Table 3 Parameters of rice plant yieldModel

No. ofPaniclesWeight ofbrown rice perunit hill(Panicles/ hill)(g)1000 grain
weight ofbrown rice(g)

10.1±2.2aO-2

10.0±1.9aO-3

12.9±2.5ab

17.4±4.2ab790±189ab18.9±0.4a

C-1

10.1±2.2

a

ab

ab

18.7±2.1aC-2

9.9±2.9ab

15.9±2.9ab

701±110ab18.7±0.9a

b

b

a

O-1

15.0±4.2
16.6±4.4
17.5±3.7aNumber ofbrown ricegrain per unit
hill

ab

634±173b

19.6±1.4aab19.3±0.4a

720±189740±173C-3
13.2±2.7
21.7±6.3
938±26019.4±1.1a
Note: Tukey-Kramer test was performed at 5% level; letter indicates significant
difference (n=10). The numerical value of ± shows standard deviation.

Cadmium Concentration in Rice Plants
Root: Table 4 shows the Cd concentration in roots in each soil layer: a range of 1.8-3.7 mg/kg wasobserved in the plow layer, though these values were not appreciably different among the experimental
models; in the plowsole, a range of 1.70-17.00 mg/kg was observed. The result of larger amount of CdⒸ ISERD

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concentration in O-3 than other could be explained by the experimental condition of open-systempercolation. In the subsoil, a range of 1.2-4.5 mg/kg was observed, which was 10 times higher than thatof 0.13 mg/kg in the gravel layer. This result proved the occurrence of Cd movement fromcontaminated soil layer in the direction of downward or upward. The similar tendency was reported by
Sasaki (2010, 2012) and Paul et al. (2011). This fact may provide a new perspective regarding thephytoremediation. The concentration factor, which is defined as the ratio of Cd concentration in roots
in each soil layer, showed the ranges of 12.9-26.4, 2.0-9.4, and 9.2-34.6 from the plow layer to subsoil,
respectively. The concentration factor in the plowsole was lower than both the plow layer and subsoil.
Table 4 Cd concentration in roots of different soil layers in the
open and closed system percolation models
Model
O-1
O-2
O-3
C-1
C-2
C-3

Plow layer
Non-polluted soil
(mg/kg)
2.90
3.20
3.00
3.00
1.80
3.70

Plowsole
polluted soil
(mg/kg)
4.20
2.70
17.00
1.70
6.00
3.60

SubsoilGravel(mg/kg)
1.20
1.60
4.50
1.80
1.70
2.20

Stem and Leaves: Table 5 shows the Cd concentration of stem and leaves. Except for O-3 (0.86
mg/kg), the range of Cd concentration was 0.18-0.33 mg/kg in the rest of five kinds of models. Thus,
there was a significant difference between O-3 and the other models. It was inferred that the obvious
Cd increment in stems and leaves became remarkable at a Cd concentration above 2 mg/kg in thecontaminated soil layer. The similar tendency of a Cd increment had been recognized in open-systempercolation (Sasaki et al., 2010; Paul et al., 2011). They reported similar values of Cd concentrations ofstem and leaves under almost the same formation of soil layers except for the Cd concentration of 3.39
mg/kg in the contaminated soil layer. As Shibuya et al. (1980) pointed out that, the Cd concentration incontaminated soils higher than 1.5-2.0 mg/kg provides an appropriate lower limit and may be valid forour results in the stratified paddy field models.
Table 5 Cd concentration in the stem and rice grain(mg/kg)Stem andleaves(mg/kg)O-1

0.07±0.04b

0.33±0.13b

O-2

0.05±0.01ab

0.28±0.14b

O-3

0.17±0.05c

0.86±0.45a

C-1

0.05±0.01ab

0.21±0.10b

C-2

ab

0.18±0.03b

Model

Rice grains

0.04±0.01

C-3
0.03±0.01a
0.24±0.13b
Note: Tukey-Kramer test was performed at 5% level;letter
indicates significant difference (n=10). The numerical valueof ± shows standard deviation.

Rice Grains: Table 5 shows the Cd concentration of rice grain. Except for O-3 (0.17 mg/kg), the Cd
concentrations of rice grains were less than 0.07 mg/kg in the rest of five models. However, Cd
concentrations in rice grains harvested from the contaminated soil with Cd concentration of below 1.0
mg/kg were similar regardless of percolation types. These values were consistent with the value of 0.06
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

mg/kg produced in non-contaminant paddy fields in Japan (MAFF, 2015b). There was a statisticallysignificant difference between O-3 and the other five models.
Itou and Iimura (1976) reported that the value dividing Cd concentration of rice grains by that ofstraw was ranged between 0.1 and 0.2. Our experimental data brought about the same result, 0.1-0.2.
This suggested that the ratio range of 0.1-0.2 may be common under widely variable cultivation
conditions, such as pot experiments, field experiments (Tokunaga et al., 1977) and model experiments
for stratified paddy fields (Sasaki et al., 2012).
CONCLUSIONAs the countermeasures against Cd-polluted paddy fields, we experimented with six models ofstratified paddy fields that had ponding during cultivation and soil dressing (12.5 cm), thickness being
half of the conventional soil dressing in Japan, and also two different percolation patterns, closedsystem percolation and open-system percolation of the plowsole and the subsoil. Those models had Cd
concentration of 0.57 mg/kg, 1.21 mg/kg and 1.81 mg/kg in the plowsole and the subsoil.
As a result, the open-system percolation layers became an oxidation condition and the closedsystem percolation layers became a reduction condition. But we could not recognize statisticallysignificant difference in growth and yield in rice plants with those models. Cd concentration in ricegrains, stems and leaves in the open-system percolation models with 2.0 mg/kg Cd-polluted soil was
statistically significant and higher than those models of the others. Consequently, we found that with
Cd-polluted soil models of less than 1.0 mg/kg made by mixing tillage we just needed almost half of
the usual amount of soil dressing to significantly reduce the Cd concentration in the rice grains, stems
and leaves. Thus, we found that the countermeasures which combined soil dressing and mixing tillage
were an effective method with economic and safety merits.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Jinhun Fan, Songtao Li, Hideki Takahashi and Hiroaki Hasegawa for
their cooperation throughout this research. In addition, we appreciate the support of this research byboth Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Challenging exploratory research; 26660188) and grants
from the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University.
REFERENCES
Adachi, K. and Sasaki, C. 1999. Percolation and seepage. Advanced Paddy Field Engineering. JSIDRE
publishing, Shinzan-sha Sci. & Tech, Tokyo, Japan. 71-81.
Asami, T., Orikasa, K., and Kubota, M. 1995. Influence of water management on the uptake of cadmium, zinc,lead and copper with rice under Futyu soil and Annaka soil polluted heavy metal. People and Environment,
21 (2), 54-60.
Iimura, K. 1981. Metal stress in rice plants. Jap. Sci. Soc. Press, Tokyo, Japan. 19.
Ito, H. and Iimura K., 1976. The absorption and translation of cadmium in rice plants and its influence on their
growth, in comparison with zinc. Bull. Hokuriku Nat’l Agric, Exp. Stn, 19, 71-139.
Kobayashi, J. 1978. Pollution by cadmium and the Itai-itai disease in Japan. In: Oehme, F.W.(Ed), Toxicity of
Heavy Metals in the Environment, Part 1. Marcel Dekker, New York. 29-35.
MAFF (The ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan). 1979. The foundation of environmental
paddy field and investigation of paddy field, water quality and crop analysis method, In: National
Conference of Paddy Field Preservation, Tokyo, Japan. 113-115.
MAFF (The ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan). 2015a. http://www.maff.go.jp/j/syouan/
nouan /kome/k_cd/kaisetu/gaiyo3/index.html.

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MAFF (The ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan). 2015b. http://www. maff.go.jp/j/syouan/
nouan/kome/k_cd/kaisetu/gaiyo2/index.html.
Paul, S.K., Sasaki, C., Matuyama, N., Noda, K., and Mitra, B.K. 2011. Influence of percolation patterns on
growth and yield of rice plants and uptake of cadmium from polluted paddy fields using soil dressing models.
Pedologist, 222-229.
Pongpattanasiri, S., Sasaki, C., Matsuyama, N., Tonouchi, A. and Noda, K. 2005. Influence of percolation pattern
on removal of soluble elements in downward water and cadmium transfer using a stratified paddy fieldmodel. J. Jpn. Soc. Soil Physics, 101, 17-26.
Sasaki, C. 1992. On the dissolved oxygen content in seepage water of open and the closed system percolation in a
stratified soil column. Trans of JSIDRE, 159, 65-71.
Sasaki, C., Inagaki, M., Enari, K. and Koseki, K. 2001. Influence of percolation pattern on the removal of solubleions in stratified paddy field with rice and gravel under the plowsole. REE. 41, 78-89.
Sasaki, C., Matuyama, N., Kubota, M., Moda, K. and Kato, K. 2010. Influence of a percolation pattern on thecadmium concentration, The growth and the yield of rice plants in cadmium polluted paddy fields with soil
dressing. Trans of JSIDRE, 268, 23-30.
Sasaki, C., Matuyama, N., Kubota, M., Moda, K. and Kadono, M. 2012. Influence of difference in cadmium
polluted thickness on the cadmium concentration, The growth and the yield of rice plants in cadmium
polluted paddy fields. Trans of JSIDRE, 279, 13-20.
Shibuya, M., Oyama, Y. and Watanabe, H. 1980. Method of heavy metal measurement. Hakuyuusya, Tokyo,
Japan. 24-32.
Tokunaga, K., Baba, H., Sato, Y., Koga K., Ishikawa, T., Hirayama, C., Ishikawa, M. and Yoshiwara, M. 1977.
Countermeasure of cadmium polluted paddy field (sequel). JSIDRE, 45 (21), 23-31.
Yamane, I. 1982. Soil science of paddy field. Nobunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. 132-133.

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Research article
erd

Development of an Emergency Discharging Device andan Early Warning System for Floods at Irrigation Ponds
SHIMIZU KATSUYUKI*
Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
Email: shimizu@muses.tottori-u.ac.jp

FUKUDA YUKI
Graduate School of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, JapanYOSHIOKA YUMI
Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
Received 27 November 2015

Accepted 15 March 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The spillways of irrigation ponds in Japan should be repaired to safely pass the 200year flood event, which is the design criteria set by the government. However, extensive time isrequired to repair the spillways owing to the large number of ponds and the high repair costs.
Therefore, we developed a low-cost early warning system (EWS) to reduce the risk tohouseholds in case of floods, as well as a low-cost emergency discharging device (EDD) toprevent or mitigate these floods. The Yutani irrigation pond in Tottori, Japan was selected forthis study. The pond stores runoff from the catchment area and has no inflow from other basins.
A siphon tube with a diameter of 20 cm was employed as the EDD for the pond and thedischarge performance was evaluated. First, 60-min rainfalls at return periods of different years
were estimated. Then, the peak runoff and subsequent arrival time of each year’s 60-min
rainfall and the discharges from the spillway and siphon were estimated. The water balance ofthe pond was calculated using the peak runoff as an inflow element, and the discharges from thespillway and the siphon were used as the outflow elements. The results showed that the pond
will overflow if a 50-year rainfall event occurs under current conditions; however, it will not
overflow when the siphon is employed even if a 60-year rainfall event occurs. Since the siphon
discharge was not large enough to pass a flood event greater than 60 years, we developed an
EWS that informs villagers living near the pond when the water level of the pond reaches theselevels through an alarm lamp and an e-mail. Based on the results of the water balance analysis,the EWS provided information to judge whether villagers should be evacuated or not and thetiming of the evacuation in the case of heavy rainfall events if necessary.
Keywords siphon, probability of rainfall, peak runoff, arrival time, water balance

INTRODUCTION
There are 1,094 irrigation ponds in the Tottori Prefecture, Japan as of September 2014. Heavy rainfall
increases the risk of floods, which could cause damage to the villages located downstream of the ponds.
Two of the possible countermeasures against floods include facility improvements and management offlood preparation plans. The purpose of facility improvements is to construct spillways that will safely
pass the flood events, and proper flood management includes the preparation of hazard maps to show
evacuation routes as well as the water levels at different places and roads when the flood occurs. The
spillways of most irrigation ponds in Japan require repairs to safely pass the 200 year flood event thatmeans the probability of flood occurrence, once per 200 year, which is the design criteria set by theJapanese government (MAFF, 2015). However, due to the large number of ponds and the high repairⒸ ISERD

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costs, extensive time will be required to repair the spillways of every irrigation ponds. Therefore, wedeveloped a low-cost early warning system (EWS) to reduce the potential risks in the case of floods, aswell as a low-cost emergency discharging device (EDD) to help to prevent the floods and mitigate any
damages that may be caused. The results of our research will assist with flood management plans inareas that still require spillway repairs.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to develop a low-cost EWS to reduce risks in the case of floods as well as a low-cost
EDD to help prevent or mitigate the floods. Forecasting or real-time monitoring systems are employedin many EWSs installed at rivers and reservoirs, though they are not often applied to irrigation pondsthat typically rely on water level monitoring and warning systems that can send alerts by sirens, lamps,
and/or e-mails when the water reaches certain levels. However, these systems do not relay information
related to the timing of evacuation to villagers living in the affected areas. Therefore, we developed an
EWS that informs villagers living near the pond, through an alarm lamp and e-mail when the waterlevel of the pond reaches certain levels, and on the basis of the results of a water balance analysis, theEWS also provides information during heavy rainfall events to judge whether villagers should be
evacuated as well as the timing of evacuation if necessary. The function of an EDD was also quantified
in this study to assess the capabilities of the device to prevent or mitigate floods during different
rainfall events.
METHODOLOGY
Study Area
The study area selected was the Yutani irrigation pond in Tottori City, Japan. The storage capacity andthe catchment area of the pond are 3,800 m3 and 0.082 km2, respectively. The pond receives and stores
runoff from the catchment area and does not have inflow from other basins. The residential area of thevillage is located only 200 m downstream from the pond.
Water Balance Analysis
To simulate the water balance and water level of the pond under heavy rainfall, 60-min rainfall eventsat return periods of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 100, and 200 years were estimated using the Iwai method.
The hourly rainfall record over a 71-year range (1943–2013) was downloaded from the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMO), and the top 30 rainfall events were used for analysis.
The peak runoff and associated arrival times of the 60-min rainfall event during each year were
estimated using the Rational equation and the values were used to simultaneously solve both the Talbot(Eq.1) and Kadoya–Fukushima formulas (Eqs.2 and 3), respectively:𝑎

𝐼 = 𝑡+𝑏

Eq. 1
0.22

𝑡𝑝 = 𝐶 ∙ 𝐴
𝑟𝑒 = 𝑓 𝑝 ∙ 𝐼∙ 𝑟−0.35
𝑒

Eq. 2
Eq. 3

where I is the rainfall intensity (mm/h), t is the duration of rainfall (min), a and b are the constantparameters related to the meteorological conditions, tp is the peak flow arrival time (min), C is theparameter related to the land use conditions, A is the catchment area (km2), re is the average effective
rainfall intensity (mm/h), and fp is the peak runoff coefficient.
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The Rational equation for determining the peak discharge from the catchment area and average
effective rainfall intensity is expressed as follows:1

𝑄 = 3.6 ∙ 𝑟𝑒 ∙ 𝐴

Eq. 4

where Q is the peak runoff (m3/s). The discharges from the spillway and the emergency discharging
device (siphon) were estimated using the hydraulic formula as expressed in Eqs. 4 and 5. The siphon
tube was assumed to be 20 cm in inner diameter.
The discharge from the spillway was calculated using rectangular weir or orifice formulas
according to the water level. The EDD comprises a siphon tube that was 20 cm in diameter. Therefore,
the average velocity of the siphon tube was estimated in consideration of all head losses owing toparameters such as friction and the curve of the tube. The formulas used in the calculation are
expressed in Eqs. 5 and 6:
3

𝑄𝑠 = 𝐶𝑠 ∙ 𝑏 ∙ 𝐻2

(if the water level is below 0.54 m)

Qs = 𝐶0 ∙ 𝑏 ∙ √2𝑔(𝐻21.5 − (𝐻2 − 𝐻1 )1.5 )Eq. 5(if the water level is over 0.54 m)

Eq. 6

where Qs is the discharge from the spillway, Cs and Co are the discharge coefficients for the rectangularweir or orifice condition, respectively, g is the gravity acceleration (m/s2), b is the width of the spillway(m), H is the water level of the spillway (m), H1 is the height from the water surface to the top of thespillway (m), and H2 is the height from the water surface to the bottom of the spillway (m).
The water balance and rate of increase of the water level of the pond were calculated using thepeak runoff as the inflow element and the discharges from the spillway and the siphon as the outflow
elements on a secondary basis. Due to the assumption of short and heavy rainfall, evaporation andinfiltration from the pond were ignored. The necessary information to create the height–volume curveof the pond was surveyed. The function of EDD was evaluated and the alert and warning water level ofthe EWS was set on the basis of the results of the simulation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Estimated Rainfall and the Peak Discharge
The 60-min rainfalls at different return periods; the arrival time; the effective rainfall intensity; and thepeak runoff discharge, are shown in Table 1. To meet the design criteria set by the government, the200-year rainfall intensity was estimated to be 85.4 mm/h, and the arrival time of the peak runoff wasestimated to be 34.5 min. The pond was assumed to have a spillway capable of passing discharges at
rates >2.10 m3/s.
Table 1 Estimated rainfall intensity and the peak runoff
Returnperiod
(y)
10
20
30
50
100
200

Rainfallintensity(mm/h)
56.3
62.5
66.2
71.1
78.0
85.4

Arrival
time
(min)
41.5
39.6
38.6
37.4
35.9
34.5

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Effective rainfall
intensity(mm/h)
53.9
61.5
66.2
72.4
81.4
91.1

Peak
runoff(m3/s)
1.24
1.42
1.53
1.67
1.88
2.10

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Function of the Emergency Discharging Device
The water levels of the pond according to the different years of rainfall were simulated based on thewater balance discharge calculated on a secondary basis. Figure 1 shows the peak water level at
different years of rainfall with and without the EDD. As shown in the figure, the pond was notpredicted to overflow when the 30-year rainfall event occurred, regardless of the presence or absenceof the EDD. However, the pond was predicted to overflow during the 50-year rainfall event without thepresence of the EDD, while it was not predicted to overflow until a greater-than- 60-year rainfall event
occurred when the EDD was present.
95
90
Peak water level (cm)

80
70
60
50

40
30

20

Without EDD

10With EDD

0
10

20

30

50
Year

60

100

200

Fig. 1 Peak water levels for different years of rainfall events,
where 95 cm refers to the top of the dike
Figure 2 shows a comparison of the discharges from the spillway and EDD. The EDD was observed todischarge more than the spillway during peak runoff, and when the water level reached the top of thespillway at 54 cm, the discharge from the spillway exceeded the EDD. When the maximum discharge
occurred, the EDD contributed to approximately 20% of the total discharge. The result of the waterbalance simulation indicated the requirement for an EWS to alert the villagers to be evacuated when agreater-than-60-year rainfall event occurs.
0.8
EDD

0.7

Spillway

Discharge (m3 /s)

0.6
0.5

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0

300

600
900
Time (s)1200

Fig. 2 Comparison of the discharges simulated for the spillway and the EDDⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Setting Alert and Warning Water Level of the EWS
The EWS has two water sensors at different water levels. The sensor set at the lower water level isconsidered as the alert water level to indicate the villagers to start preparing for evacuation, while theother sensor set to a higher water level is considered as the warning water level to indicate the timingof the evacuation. Based on the evacuation route found on the hazard map made by the villagers andthe Tottori Prefectural Federation of Land Improvement Association (2014), the time to evacuate fromthe houses to the designated safe places is estimated to be 10 min, with an additional 5 min assumed tobe necessary to prepare for the evacuation. Therefore, the warning water level can be defined as thewater level that is measured 10 min before the flood occurs (95 cm), and the alert water level can be
defined as the water level that is measured 5 min before the water level reaches the warning level. As
explained above, the pond will overflow when a greater- than-60-year rainfall event occurs. If the time
for the water level to rise from alert to warning is less than 5 min during a greater-than-60-year rainfall
event, then it should take longer than 5 min for the water level to rise from alert to warning during aless-than-60-year rainfall event. This means that the villagers can judge whether they need to be
evacuated by the time it takes the water level to rise from the alert to the warning levels. The conceptof setting the warning and alert water levels is illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Concept of setting the warning and alert water levels, where A.W.L. indicates the alert
water level, and W.W.L indicates the warning water level
Table 2 Time required for the water to reach between two different levels
Water level
20 cm
30 cm
40 cm
54 cm
60 cm

30 cm
2 min 8 s-

40 cm
4 min 19 s
2 min 11 s-

54 cm
7 min 27 s
5 min 19 s
3 min 8 s-

60 cm
8 min 52 s
6 min 44 s
4 min 33 s
1 min 25 s-

95 cm
18 min 40 s
16 min 32 s
14 min 21 s
11 min 13 s
9 min 48 s

Table 2 shows the time for the water level to reach 20, 30, 40, 54, 60, and 95 cm under a 60-year
rainfall event. The distance of 54 cm was selected instead of 50 cm because the top of the spillway is
54 cm, and this distance makes it easier for people to gauge the water level immediately. From thetable, the alert water level should be set lower than 54 cm to obtain more than 10 min for evacuation.
Supposing the warning water level is set to 54 cm, the starting water level will be 40 cm to result in arise to 54 cm in less than 5 min. However, the preparation time for evacuation is only 3 min and is tooless for people to prepare for evacuation. Therefore, we set the alert water level to 30 cm. FollowingⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

that, if the time of the water level rise from 30 to 54 cm is less than 6 min, we can judge if evacuationneeds to occur.
Installation of the EDD and the EWS
The EWS and EDD were installed at the studied irrigation pond (see Fig. 4). The opening and closingof the 20-cm diameter siphon tube (KanaLine N. S., Kanaflex Co., ltd.) is controlled by an electric bulb
(Butterfly Valve Electric Actuated Type T-57, Asahi Organic Chemicals Industry Co., ltd.). The EWS
was settled at the dike and sends e-mails to registered people such as villagers, local government
officers, and university officials when the water level rises up to the alert and warning water levels andalso informs the villagers via an alarm lamp.
Alarm lamp

Water sensor

Manual valve

Electric valve

Solar panel

Modem and controller

Fig. 4 Photographs of the EDD (left) and the EWS (right)
CONCLUSION
An EWS and EDD were developed to reduce the risk in case of floods and to prevent or mitigate thefloods at an irrigation pond that did not have a sufficiently large spillway to safely pass a discharge
caused by heavy rainfall. The developed EDD could not satisfy the criteria designed by the government
but could prevent against floods caused by less-than-60-year rainfall events. The EDD enhanced thedrainage function by at least 20% during flood conditions. The previous EWS had just informed therelevant people and agencies when the water level reached a certain level, but the newly developed
EWS presented in this work is a type of epoch-making device in terms of informing the timing ofpotential evacuations. Our results also suggested that multiple countermeasures such as a combinationof EDD, EWS, and hazard maps are required to prevent floods and mitigate flood damage to people.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their deepest gratitude to the Tottori Prefecture of Japan for thefinancial support for this study.
REFERENCES
Japan Meteorological Agency: Search Past meteorological record: http://www. data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/
index.php (in Japanese)
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Japan. 2015. Design criteria of land improvement projectⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1- Irrigation pond improvement. JSIDRE, p. 32, pp. 165-166 (in Japanese).
Yamamoto, H., Miyamoto, H., and Sawa, M. 2014. A case study of making a hazard map for irrigation ponds by
Tottori Prefectural Federation of Land Improvement Association. Annual Research Meeting on JSIDRE
Chugoku-shikoku Region, 97-99 (in Japanese).

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Research article
erd Influence of Pig Breeds on Growth Performance and Immunity

During Pre-weaning Period
CHANHMANY SOUPHANNAVONG
Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University,
Thailand

KORAWAN SRINGARM*
Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University,
Thailand
Email: kanok70@hotmail.com
Received 15 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract This study was conducted to find out the influence of pig breeds on growth
performance and immunity during the pre-weaning period. The experimental designed
consisted of a completely randomized design and was performed with a total of 892 piglets
acquired from 105 Thai native (TN), Meishan (MS), and Large white x Landrace (LWxLR)
sows. After farrowing, the piglets were weighted daily until weaning at 21 days of age and theaverage daily gain (ADG) was calculated. Serum samples were collected from piglets at 12 and24 h and IgG concentrations were determined by the ELISA technique. The growth
performance of LWxLR piglets measured at birth and at seven days (1.43±0.20 and 2.67±0.20,
respectively) was higher (p<0.01) than TN (0.65±0.15 and 1.12±0.15, respectively) and MS(1.07±0.02 and 1.97±0.37, respectively). The growth performance of MS piglets was similar(p>0.01) to LWxLR piglets at fourteen and twenty-one days of ages. The ADG of MS andLWxLR were significantly (p<0.01) higher than TN during all lactation periods. However, thepiglets of MS showed the highest ADG at fourteen days. The IgG concentrations in all breeds at
12 h were less than 24 h but the values were not considered significant (p>0.01) among thebreeds. The present results indicate that different pig breeds did have an effect on growth
performance and ADG. Moreover, this study showed that low birth weight of piglets resulted in
low growth performance, but IgG concentrations were not found to be different among thebreeds.
Keywords piglet, breed, immunity, body weight

INTRODUCTION
The growth potential of pigs is influenced by many factors (breed, sex, and stage of growth), including
housing conditions (floor type, space allowance and group size) and climatic factors (temperature,
relative humidity, air speed). Breed is an important factor that can affect the growth potential of pigs
(Renaudeau et al., 2006). Indigenous breeds of pigs have lower rates of feed conversion efficiency,
growth rates, and growth potential than exotic breeds (Nwakpu, 2013). The breeds of pigs display
different characteristics. Certain cross breeds (Landrace, Large white, Duroc, Pietrain) have high levelsof growth performance, carcass quality and meat quality (McClann et al., 2008), but cross breed has
been known to be least adaptable in hot humid climates (De et al., 2013), while certain local breeds(Thai native, Meishan, Korean native black pigs, Mongcai) possess higher fat content than cross breeds
and adapt well to hot and humid climates, can tolerate low quality feed, and are resistant to disease(Rattanaronchart, 1994). For example, Thai native pigs display significant genetic differences withcertain cross breeds (Large White, Spotted Large White, and Pietrain) (Chaiwatanasin et al., 2002).
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Meishan is the local pig breed of central China (Bazer et al., 1988). The Meishan breed displays low
growth performance, low muscle content, and low quality of ham, but their fat percentage was higher
than that of the Large White and Pietrain breeds, and Meishan also adapted well with trough feeding(McLaren, 1990; Van Milgen et al., 1998). Breed is not the only factor that can be related to growthpotential (Gerbens et al., 1999) and disease resistance of pigs (Lamont, 1998). It has been determinedthat immunity is also related to growth potential and disease resistance in pigs (Porter and Hill, 1970).
Colostrum provides nutrition (Farmer and Quesnel, 2009), energy and maternal antibodies to piglets(Dividich et al., 2005). New-born piglets acquired immunoglobulin from colostrum after parturition on
the fifth day after ingesting colostrum and milk for passive immune protection (Xu et al., 2000).
Immunoglobulin concentrations in the plasma of piglets depend on the amount of colostrum ingestedby the piglet. Immunoglobulin concentrations in the colostrum and the timing of the gut closure (whenintact IgG can no longer be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract of the piglet) are related. However,the capacity of the piglets is revealed when they have absorbed adequate amounts of IgG for diseaseprotection (Rooke and Bland, 2002).
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to find out the influence of pig breeds on growth performance andimmunity during the pre-weaning period.
METHODOLOGY
Experimental Flow
This experiment was conducted at a designated demonstrative and training swine farm at the
Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University. The
experimental design was a completely randomized design involving 3 treatments, and the total piglets
in each breed were used as a replication. One hundred and five sows belonging to Thai native (n=35),
Meishan (n=28), Large white x Landrace (n=42) breeds and their litters (251 piglets from Thai native,
299 piglets from Meishan, and 342 piglets from Large white x Landrace) were observed from birth toweaning at 21 days of age. The day of birth was defined as day 0 of age. During the suckling phase,
piglets were housed in farrowing pens where they were individually penned until weaning. Pens were
equipped with nipples, feeders, creep boxes containing a heat lamp and an opening to permit freeaccess to the piglets. From day 10 of lactation, piglets were offered creep feed but intake values could
not be measured.
During the first 12 weeks of gestation, sows were fed 2 kg/day, and during the last 4 weeks, 3kg/day (formulated to contain 12% CP, 0.53 lysine, 3,190 kcal ME/kg). After farrowing, sows were fed
the same feed formula, but feed intake was distributed according to litter size. Sows had free access tofresh water.
The farrowing process was induced on day 114 of gestation with 1 ml of prostaglandins(Cloprostenol Sodium). Piglets received 2 ml of oxytocin (2 ml of a 10 IU/ml solution; General Drugs
House Co., Ltd) by intramuscular route. Parturitions were watched but observers interfered as little aspossible in the farrowing process and manual birth assistance was only performed when the birthinterval exceeded 1h immediately after birth, piglets were dried with the use of powder, their umbilicalcords were clamped, and they were weighed using a general balance. Piglets were weighed again at 7,
14, and 21 days of age. All the piglets were weaned at 21 days. At three days after birth, all piglets
received iron (Ferric oxide dextran solution with phenol) 2 ml/piglet by intramuscular injection.
IgG concentration was determined in the serum. Blood samples were collected from piglets via
jugular venipuncture at 12 and 24 h after farrowing. The blood samples were centrifuged for 10 min atⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

1,500 rpm and serum samples were stored at -20 oC until analysis. IgG concentration was evaluated by
Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A modified method of Devillers et al. (2004) was
employed. The plates were coated with 100 μl of rabbit anti-pig IgG (whole molecule) in 1% in 0.05 M
sodium bicarbonate solution (pH 9.6) and incubated overnight at 4 oC. After that, the plates were
washed 3 times with a washing buffer. Then, TBS containing 1% BSA was added and the specimens
were incubated for 1 h at 20 oC. Thereafter, the plates were washed 3 times using a washing buffer.
Then, the serum sample was added to the plates and the standard (pig IgG) was placed into duplicate
wells and incubated for 2 h at 20 oC. The plates were then washed 3 times with a washing buffer.
Rabbit anti-pig labeled peroxidase 10 μl was added to each well and the specimens were incubated for
1 h at 20 oC. After that, the plates were washed again 3 times with a washing buffer. Then, thesubstrate OPD was added and the colored reaction was stopped by 100 μl 4 M H2SO4 and theabsorbance was read at 492 nm. Ultimately, the standard curve was calculated for the sample.
Data Analysis
In terms of the statistical method, data were analyzed by using the procedure of SPSS Windows. All
statistical tests were performed with SPSS Statistics 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). For the analysis of
growth performance, piglets were weighed daily from birth to weaning and the average daily gain
(ADG) and IgG were calculated. The observed mean in multiple comparisons was based on the
Duncan Post Hoc test. Using the SPSS for Windows, Pearson’s correlation coefficients were estimatedfor the treatments.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The influence of pig breed on growth performance and average daily gain during the pre-weaning
period is presented in Table 1. The body weights of all treatments increased over time. However, thebody weights of TN piglets were the lowest. The average daily gain (ADG) of TN piglets was lower
than those of the MS and LWxLR breeds at 14 and 21 days. The LWxLR breed was significantly
higher at birth and at seven days (1.43±0.20 and 2.66±0.20, respectively) compared to piglets of TN(0.65±0.15 and 1.12±0.15, respectively) and MS (1.07±0.02 and 1.97±0.37, respectively) breeds(p<0.01). However, in this regard, MS piglets were not found to be significantly different (p<0.01)
from the LWxLR breed at fourteen and twenty-one days of age. For the ADG of the MS and LWxLR
breeds, it was found to be significantly higher than the that of the TN breed during the pre-weaning
period (p<0.01), but ADG of the MS and LWxLR breeds were not found to be significantly different
during all lactation periods and the piglets of the MS breed (0.20±0.05) had the highest ADG atfourteen days.
The results of our study indicated that there is a significant effect of breed on performance traits.
The body weights of piglets from each breed for all treatments during the pre-weaning period wereboth negatively and significantly correlated with birth weight in accordance with previous results
obtained in our study (Skorjanc et al., 2007). In our study, birth weights of TN pigs were lower thanthose of the cross-bred piglets, and TN pigs were also lower in growth potential and ADG than the
cross-bred piglets, which were similar to the findings of the report of Skok et al. (2008) who studied
the growth performance of piglets during the lactation period. Their results showed that heavy piglets
at birth were still heavier at the end of lactation in comparison to light piglets. Vaclavkova et al. (2012)
reported that low birth weight piglets grew at lower rates than pigs with higher birth weights and thatlow birth weight piglets gained less weight during all periods of production, and they also had lesslongissimus muscle (Fix et al., 2010). The results reported herein are also in agreement with the study
conducted by Kaensombath and Lindberg (2012) that studied the growth performance of exotic andnative breeds and found that cross-bred piglets displayed higher growth performance than native breeds.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

The native breed piglets had lower performance and production inputs, but displayed excellent
adaptation traits when compared with exotic breeds (Keonouchanh et al., 2011). Nwakpu (2013)
studied the characteristics of inbred and cross-bred native piglets with regard to pre-weaning andweaning growth performance levels in pigs. They found that the effects of growth potential among
native pigs were more affected inbred than exotic breeds, and that pre-weaning and weaning
performance values of the cross-bred piglets were better than those of the native pig breeds because of
the dominant genes that were acquired from the exotic parent. The significant differences observed
among the genetic delivery of four pig breeds in Thailand suggested that Thai native pigs displayed thehighest genetic diversity between Large White (LW), Spotted Large White (SLW), and Pietrain breeds(there was a great genetic differentiation observed between Thai native breeds and the other three
breeds) (Chaiwatanasin et al., 2002). Leenhouwers et al. (2002) reported that high genetic merit ofpiglets could improve the ability to cope with hazards during birth and the first days of life. Renaudeau
et al. (2006) showed that the performance and the feeding records of pigs raised in tropical climates
were affected significantly by their breeds. The native breeds better tolerated hot conditions than the
cross breeds. The best heat tolerance was observed in indigenous breeds and this was associated with agreater ability to lose heat.
Table 1 Body weight and Average daily gain (ADG) of each breed during lactation period
VariableBW, kgAge, day

TN

MS

LWxLR

Birth weight714
210.65±0.15c(d)1.12±0.15c(c)1.61±0.15b(b)2.20±0.15b(a)1.07±0.02b(d)1.97±0.37b(c)3.74±0.48a(b)4.55±1.18a(a)1.43±0.20a(d)2.66±0.20a(c)3.84±0.18a(b)5.05±0.42a(a)SEMP-value

0.065
0.068
0.106
0.134

0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000

0.016
0.018
0.016

0.05
0.00
0.05

ADG, kg7
0.07±0.00b
0.13±0.05ab
0.18±0.24a
14
0.07±0.01b
0.20±0.05a
0.17±0.01a
21
0.07±0.01b
0.17±0.06a
0.17±0.21a
a,b,c Means with different superscripts within a row differ, p<0.01(a),(b),(c), (d) Means with different superscripts within a column differ, p<0.01
Breeds: TN=Thai Native, MS=Meishan, LWxLR=Large whitexLandrace

Table 2 IgG concentrations of piglet serum at different times in each breed
Immunoglobulin G, mg/ml
Stage oflactation(h)
TN
MS
LWxLR
12
16.98±2.98
17.90±2.4315.28±3.33
2421.32±3.29
20.90±2.29
20.06±3.73
Breeds: TN=Thai native, MS=Meishan, LWxLR=Large whitexLandrace

SEM

P-value

0.759
0.768

0.388
0.817

The concentrations of IgG in each breed at 12 h were less than 24 h of all breeds (Table 2). The
IgG concentration in the serum of piglets increased over time. However, IgG concentration was not
significantly different for different breeds (p>0.01). The immunoglobulin is secreted from the
mammary tissue in the mammary gland (Foisnet et al., 2010). The transport of maternal
immunoglobulin to the neonate occurs by two routes: the blood stream and colostrum, andimmunoglobulin transfer in quantity in the blood stream or via the colostrum is mainly of the IgG classand has lower concentrations of IgA and IgM (Bourne and Curtis, 1973). Markowska-Daniel andPomorska-Mol (2010) reported the average concentrations of IgA, IgM, and IgG in sow serum 10 days
before parturition were 1.58, 6.12 and 39.56 mg/ml, respectively. After farrowing 7 days, the averageof IgG concentrations level was lower (34.94 mg/ml), but concentrations of IgA and IgM level
increased to 2.25 and 7.25 mg/ml. For the colostrum of sows at farrowing, the IgG concentration was
118.5 mg/ml, the IgA concentration was 23.8 mg/ml and decreased to 7.85 mg/ml at 6 h and to 4.59
mg/ml at 24 h, and concentration of IgM was 12.1 mg/ml and decreased to 4.23 mg/ml at 24 h
postpartum. Cabrera et al. (2012) studied the influence of colostrum and serum immunoglobulin G on
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

neonatal piglet survival. It was confirmed that the concentration of IgG in the serum was 1,000 mg/dl
and displayed a 67% piglet survival rate at weaning. Serum IgG concentrations were recorded at
between 2,250 to 2,500 mg/dl and displayed a 91% survival rate at weaning. Farmer et al. (2007)
studied the influence of genotype on colostrum and the milk composition of primiparous sows (Belgian
Landrace, Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire). They found that colostrum and day-2 milk from Duroc
sows contained more protein and less amounts of lactose than sows of other genotypes. The first-born
piglet had low energy stores and was devoid of serum immunoglobulin (Dividich et al., 2005).
Colostrum samples contained nutrition and immunoglobulin. Both of them are comprised of importantenergy and maternal antibodies that are provided for the survival and development of neo-natal piglets(Devillers et al., 2011). Csapo et al. (1995) researched the composition of colostrum in porcines. The
results showed that the first colostrum samples contained 16.65% of total protein. The high protein
content in colostrum was largely produced by the immunoglobulin. During the first 6 h after farrowing,
IgG accounted for nearly all the protein in the colostrum (Klobasa et al., 1987). Kielland et al. (2015)
investigated the association between IgG in sow colostrum and piglet plasma. They found that thecolostrum IgG and piglet IgG had a strong association and that when the IgG level in the colostrum
was increased, the levels of IgG in the piglets would improve and this would potentially increase thesurvival rates of the piglets. Quesnel et al. (2012) and Devillers et al. (2007) reported that theconsumption of 200 g of colostrum per piglet during the first day after birth significantly reduced therisk of mortality before weaning, while the consumption of 250 g of colostrum was an indicator ofgood health and pre-weaning and post-weaning growth among piglets.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the presented data has demonstrated the breeds of pigs influenced body weight and
ADG during pre-weaning period. The MS and LWxLR showed better growth performance than TN.
However, the pig breeds did not affect the IgG concentration in serum of piglets at 12 and 24 h.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge IDRC-SEARCA for providing financial support. Special
thanks are extended to the Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang
Mai University for the helpful assistance provided during the course of this research study.
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performance and feeding behaviour of group housed growing pigs in a tropical climate. Asian-Aust. J. Anim.
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mammary glands. Acta Agriculturae Scand Section A, 57, 129-135.

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Skorjanc, D., Brus, M. and Potokar, M. C. 2007. Effect of birth weight and sex on pre-weaning growth rate ofpiglets. Arch Tierz, 50, 476-486.
SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). 2007. Spss Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Vaclavkova, E., Danek, P. and Rozkof, M. 2012. The influence of piglet birth weight on growth performance.
Res. Pig Breed, 6.
Van Milgen, J., Bernier, J., Lecozler, Y., Dubois, S. and Noblet, J. 1998. Major determinants of fasting heatproduction and energetic cost of activity in growing pigs of different body weight and breed/castration
combination. British Journal of Nutrition, 79 (06), 509-517.
Xu, R., Wang, F. and Zhang, S. 2000. Postnatal adaptation of the gastrointestinal tract in neonatal pigs: A
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Research article
erd

Predicting Soil Temperature Condition in Agricultural Land
under Climate Change in JapanCHIHIRO KATO*
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Aomori, JAPAN
Email: chihirok@hirosaki-u.ac.jp

TAKU NISHIMURA
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JAPANReceived 11 October 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Decomposition of soil organic carbon as well as growth of crops are affected by soil
physical condition such as soil moisture and soil temperature. Thus predicting soil moisture andtemperature condition of arable lands under future climate change is important for both
mitigation and adaptation of climate change in agriculture. In this study, we attempted to
predict soil temperature condition in arbitrary arable lands in Japan. Soybean fields of Toyama
city, middle part of Japan facing Japan Sea were chosen as the experimental site. There,
monitoring of soil temperature and measurement of soil thermal properties which is a functionof soil moisture, was conducted. For the future application to arbitrary locations, the thermal
properties were also predicted with a mathematical model, by using soil physical properties
such as the ratio of sand: silt :clay, soil particle density and dry bulk density in soil physicaldatabase. Then, numerical simulation of soil moisture and temperature was conducted withpredicted soil hydraulic and thermal properties. The model with estimated thermal properties
described the measured soil temperature fairly well especially when the soil condition was wet.
Keywords climate change, thermal conductivity, soil temperature, soil database,numerical simulation

INTRODUCTION
Soil is a foundation of agriculture and ecosystem. Growth of crops and vegetables, and/or incidence ofinsect and pest as well as decomposition of soil organic matter are affected by soil physical condition
such as soil moisture and soil temperature (e.g. Allmaras et al., 1964; Singh and Dhaliwal, 1972;
Simunek and Suarez, 1993). Climate change including temperature rise and change in rainfall patterns
will alter soil physical conditions. For example, Bai et al. (2014) showed that soil temperature at depthof 50 cm has increased at an average rate of 0.79 ℃ per decade from 1982 to 2000 in Mojav Desert
region in USA and mentioned that the temporal changes of soil temperature was correlated with thoseof air temperature. The available observed data of soil temperature and soil moisture has been limited
spatially and temporarily compared to the meteorological data.
Numerical simulation of soil water and heat movement with GCM (General Circulation Model)
projections as boundary condition is one of the effective way to predict future soil physical condition.
Kato and Nishimura (2015) proposed the methods of temporal downscaling of GCM prediction,
especially the rainfall data, for producing boundary conditions for numerical simulations of soil
moisture, and applied the downscaled projections to prediction of future soil moisture of an agriculturalland in Japan. Kato and Nishimura (2016) attempted to estimate soil hydraulic parameters fornumerical simulation of soil moisture in arbitrary agricultural lands by using soil physical properties
database Solphy J (Eguchi et al., 2011). As for the soil temperature, Kato et al. (2011), for example,Ⓒ ISERD

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conducted the numerical simulation of soil temperature of agricultural field to reproduce the pasttemperature records with measured soil thermal conductivity. For the further application, it is beneficial
to predict soil temperature in arbitrary locations without measurement of soil thermal properties. Since
soil thermal properties are generally affected by soil physical properties such as soil texture, soil bulk
density, etc., soil physical properties databases are probably useful for estimation of soil thermal
properties and subsequent simulation of soil temperature.
Based on the above, in this study, we investigated the possibility of estimation of soil thermal
properties by using available soil physical properties databases and prediction of soil temperature
under climate change in arbitrary agricultural lands.
METHODOLOGY
Study Site
One of the plain agricultural field in Toyama city, the middle part of Japan facing Japan Sea, waschosen as the study site (Fig. 1). Hokuriku District, including Toyama city is the representative grain
growing area in Japan and has often been chosen as research sites for effects of climate change on
agriculture (MEXT, 2015). Recently, a multiple cropping system of paddy rice-barley-soybean in two
years has often been employing in the region around our study site. Barley and soy beans were grownfrom November 2010 to May 2011, and from June to October 2011, respectively, at Agricultural
Research Institute of Toyama Prefectural Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Research Center inToyama City. There, soil moisture and temperature at depths of 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40cm was monitoredcontinuously with ECH2O 5TE sensors (Decagon Devices, Inc., USA) from April to October, 2011.
Undisturbed 100 cm3 core samples and disturbed soil were sampled from a pit in the field and then soil
samples were brought back and their physical properties (soil texture, particle density, water retention,
saturated hydraulic conductivity) were measured in the laboratory (Kato and Nishimura, 2016). Soil
thermal conductivity λmeas was also measured with KD2 heat probe (Decagon Devices Inc. USA).
Japan

Hokuriku
District
ToyamaJapan Sea

Fig. 1 The location of Toyama City (Kato and Nishimura, 2016, modified)Fig.1 The location of Toyama City (Kato and Nishimura, 2016, modified)Numerical ModelHYDRUS-1D model has widely been used for calculation of soil moisture and temperature, and in thisstudy, the ver. 4.xx (Šimůnek et al., 2013) was used. Since heat is also transported with water, and soil
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thermal properties often changes with soil moisture condition, both soil moisture and soil temperature
were simulated simultaneously. The governing equation of liquid and vapor water movement in soils
was an extended Richrads’ equation with root water uptake S(h) (Eq. (1)).
wT T h
wt

w ª
wh
wT º
K  K vh (  1)  K LT  K vT
S h
wx «¬
wx
wx »¼

(1)

where h is the pressure head [L], θT is the total volumetric water content, or the sum of the volumetricwater content of liquid (θ) and vapor (θv) water [L3L-3], respectively. T is temperature [K], K and KLT
are the isothermal and thermal hydraulic conductivity of the liquid phase [LT-1], Kvh and KvT are theisothermal and thermal vapor hydraulic conductivity, respectively[LT-1].
Heat transfer with vapor transport was described with heat flow equation (Eq. (2)).
wTwT
 L0 v
wt
wt

Cp T

wq T
wq
w ª
wT º
wT
OT
 Cw
 C v v  L0 v
«
»
wx ¬
wx ¼
wx
wx
wx

(2)

where C is the volumetric heat capacity and subscript p, w, and v mean porous medium, liquid waterand vapor, respectively, L0 is the volumetric latent heat of vaporization of liquid water [ML-1T-2] and qv
is the vapor flux density [LT-1]. λ is the apparent thermal conductivity of the soil [M LT-3K-1] which isthe sum of the thermal conductivity of the porous medium under no flow condition λ0 (θ) and themacrodispersivity. The details can be found in Šimůnek et al. (2013).
Soil Hydraulic Parameters
In this study, van Genuchten-Mualem (VG-M) model (van Genuchten, 1980) Eq. (3) and (4) was
employed for predicting water retention curves and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.

Se

T Tr
Ts TrK (h)1  Dh

n m

(3)

>

K s S el 1  (1  S e1 m ) m

@

2

(4)

where θr and θs are the residual and saturated volumetric water content [L3L-3], Ks is the saturated
hydraulic conductivity [LT-1], Se is the effective saturation [dimensionless], α [L-1], l, m=1-1/n, and n[dimensionless] are empirical parameters.
Hydraulic parameters of VG-M model for soils of each layer were determined based on the digital
soil map (Takata et al., 2009) and the agricultural soil-profile physical properties database, Japan“SolphyJ” (Eguchi et al., 2011). Here, calculation area was divided into three layers according toSolphyJ database and dataset of water retention, i.e., volumetric water contents at suctions of 32, 500,
16000 and 320000 cmH2O of each soil layer were prepared. Then “RETC program” (Yates et al.,1992), which can predict parameters of soil hydraulic functions such as VG-M model by fitting
observed water retention by nonlinear least-squares method, was used for determining the VG-M
parameters. The saturated hydraulic conductivity “Ks” value was predicted with a neural network basedmodel “Rosetta” (Schaap et al., 1998). The recommended value 0.5 was employed as l. The details canbe found in Kato and Nishimura (2016).
Soil Thermal Parameters
Volumetric heat capacity C (θ) and thermal conductivity λ0 (θ) vary among soils. Considering theapplication to arbitrary locations, both C and λ 0 were determined with the soil properties database.
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Volumetric heat capacity of soil can be described as the sum of heat capacities of the constituents
as follows (Šimůnek et al., 2013),

Csoil

CnT n  CoTo  CwT  Ca av | 1.92T n  2.51To  4.18T 106 (J m-3K-1)(5)where C means heat capacity and subscription of n, o, w and a are solid, organic matter, water and air,respectively and av is the volumetric fraction of air. θn can be found in SolphyJ database and θo can also
be obtained assuming that particle density of organic matter is 1.63 (g cm-3).
Models have been proposed to estimate soil thermal conductivity. In this study, Chung and Horton(1980) (C-H) model and Campbell (1985) model were employed.
Chung and Horton (1980) described soil thermal conductivity as follows (Eq.(6)).
OCH

b1  b2T  b3T 1 / 2(6)

where b1, b2 and b3 are empirical parameters. Chung and Horton (1980) proposed the sample set of
b1~b3 corresponding with “sand”, “loam”, and “clay” and hereafter we call those λCH as λsand, λloam andλclay, respectively.
According to Campbell (1985), soil thermal conductivity is describes as follows (Eq. (7)).
O campA^A  BT  A  D exp  CT

0.57  1.73T q  0.93T m
1  0.74T q  0.49T m

C 1  2.6T c

1 / 2, DE`

 2.8T n 1  T n ,20.03  0.7T n , E

B

2.8T n4(7)where subscription q, m and c represent quartz, minerals other than quartz, and clay, respectively, andρd and ρs are soil dry bulk density and soil particle density, respectively. θq, θm, and θc can be calculated
as equations (8) assuming that the entire sand fraction is originated from quartz, while silt and clay arefrom other minerals
θn =ρd/ρ , θq=θn×θSand (%) , θm＝θn – θq , θc=θn×θClay (%)(8)

where θsand and θclay are the volumetric fraction of sand and clay, respectively. Here, mass ratio of sandand clay in SolphyJ database were substitute for θsand and θclay, respectively. Though both ρd and ρs canbe found in Solphy J database, here, three different ρd (ρd1, ρd2, and ρd3) were employed for Eq. (8) as
follows since soil bulk density easily changes with cultivation.
ρd2 = ρd1 – 0.10, ρd3 = ρd2 - 0.10

(9)where dry bulk density value in Solphy J database were employed for ρd1. In this study, ρd1=1.02,
ρd2=0.92, and ρd3= 0.82 were used for the simulation. Hereafter we call λcamp which were predicted withρd1, ρd2, ρd3 as λ1.02, λ0.92, λ0.82, respectively.
Scenario Study
Using determined parameters, scenario study was conducted to predict soil moisture and temperatureof arable lands in Toyama under climate change. ELPIS-JP (Iizumi et al., 2012) is approximately 20
km scale daily GCM projection dataset of “50 time series” of 110 years. The “50 time series”
represents variability of meteorological phenomena incident to temporal downscaling of GCM
projections (Iizumi et al., 2012). Corresponding to Toyama weather station, MIROC 3.2 hires and A1Bof Toyama weather station data were employed for GCM and IPCC SRES Scenario, respectively.
Since temporal scale of soil water and heat movement in agricultural lands are usually shorter than aⒸ ISERD

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day, daily ELPIS-JP dataset was temporally downscaled into hourly or shorter scale by using weather
generator CLIGEN (Nick et al., 1995). Details of temporal downscaling methods can be found in Katoand Nishimura (2015). According to the climate scenario of the possible monthly rainfall depth of thesoybean growing period (June, July, August and September), expected maximum values in present(1981-2000) are 291, 405, 346 and 363 mm, respectively, and those values in future (2071 to 2090)
tend to increase to 1.3 ~ 1.6 times of those of present, except August. Average monthly air temperatureof four months from June in present are projected to be 24.4, 28.6, 30.4 and 25.9 ℃, respectively andare likely to rise 3~5 ℃ through a year in late 21st century. Here, we attempted to predict soil moistureand temperature with an assumption of maximum monthly rainfall in June both in “present” and“future” (Kato and Nishimura, 2015).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Determined hydraulic parameters are shown in Table 1 and Kato and Nishimura (2016) reported thatthe model described soil moisture well with RMSE (root mean square error) of 0.01 cm3 cm-3.
Table 1 Determined soil hydraulic parameters of each layer
3

-3

3

-3

1

-1

LocationLevelθr (cm cm )θs(cm cm )αnKs (10 cm d )lToyama

1
2
3

0.027
0.029
0.009

0.470
0.361
0.468

0.043
0.032
0.046

1.11
1.11
1.12

18.9
11.6
72.0

0.5
0.5
0.5

Soil thermal diffusivity Ka, which is calculated by the ratio of thermal conductivity λa tovolumetric heat capacity Ca, is an indicator of the ability of soil to have temperature change with heat
inflow. Hereafter we call the thermal diffusivities calculated with λsand, λloam, λclay, λ1.02 , λ0.92, and λ0.82 as
Ksand, Kloam, Kclay, K1.02, K0.92, and K0.82, respectively. Figure 2 shows the comparison of soil thermal
diffusivities among those determined with (a) C-H model (Ksand, Kloam and Kclay) and (b) Campbell
model (K1.02, K0.92, and K0.82). Both figures also show Kmeas, which were calculated with measured soil
thermal conductivity λmeas fitted with C-H model. Compared with the measured values, C-H model
overestimated thermal conductivities and thus thermal diffusivities (Fig. 2 (a)). Especially, Ksand is fourtimes larger than Kmeas. This discrepancy is probably due to the difference in soil bulk density and typeof minerals which constitute the soil. Campbell model, which can partly consider some of physicalproperties, tended to describe the thermal diffusivities better than C-H model and the predicted values
were improved by assuming the lower dry bulk density, especially when soil moisture is high (Jury andHorton, 2004) (Fig. 2(b)).
1.6

Thermal diffusivity ( 10-6 m-2 s-1)

1.4

(a)

1.2

Ksand
Ksand

Kloam
Kloam

Kclay
Kclay

Kmeas
Kmeas

Thermal diffusivity ( 10-6 m-2 s-1)

1.6

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

1.4

(b)

K1.02
1st
layer (ρ d=1.02)
1stlayer(ρ d=0.9)
K0.92
1st
layer(ρ d=0.8)
K0.82
Measured
K

1.2

meas

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

0

0.2
0.4
Volumetric water content (cm3 cm-3)

0.6

0

0.2
0.4
Volumetric water content (cm3 cm-3)

0.6

Fig. 2 Estimated thermal diffusivities with (a) Chung and Horton and (b) Campbell modelsⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Figure 3 shows the comparison of measured and simulated soil temperature at depth of 10cm inthe study field. Simulated values were calculated by using measured thermal conductivity λmeas. The
model described the measured soil temperature well with RMSE = 1.7 ℃.
Figure 4 shows the comparison of the simulated vertical distribution of soil temperature among
those calculated with five different thermal conductivity, or λsand, λ1.02, λ0.92, λ0.82 and λmeas on a (a) dryday (the sunny day after a few sunny days in succession) and (b) wet day (the day after a rainy day),and Fig.4(c) shows the simulated vertical distribution of volumetric water content of the dry day (a)and the wet day (b) of Fig. 4. Simulated soil temperature with λsand was larger than other simulated
results regardless of the soil moisture condition. On the other hand, simulated results with Campbell
model (λ1.02, λ0.92, and λ0.82) agreed well with that with λmeas under wet soil condition. It might bereflected that the thermal diffusivities K1.02, K0.92, and K0.82 at high water content are more similar toKmeas than those at low water content (Fig. 2). Campbell model gives smaller thermal diffusivity at low
water content due to the exponential function with water content as a variable (Eq.7). Probably thismade it quite difficult to evaluate thermal conductivity of soil under dry condition. Changes in dry bulk
density in the estimation of soil thermal conductivity did not affect predicted soil temperature so much(<1 ℃ ) compared to changes in soil moisture condition (Jury and Horton, 2004).Those results
indicated that in wetted seasons or humid regions such as Japan, soil temperature can be predicted withacceptable preciseness by using soil thermal conductivity which estimated with Campbell model byusing SolphyJ database.

Soil temperature [℃]

30

20

10

10cm_sim
Simulated

10cm measured
Observed

091
2011/4/1

111
4/21

131
5/11

151
5/31

171
6/20

Fig. 3 Comparison of the simulated and observed soil temperature at depth of 10 cm
Soil temperature （℃）
20
25

30

0

20

(a)5/21 12:00
(Dry)

10
λsand sand
C-H

30

1.02
λ1.02

40

0.9
λ0.92

50
60

Soil temperature (℃)
1520Volumetric water content（cm3 cm-3）

0.8
λ0.82
Measured
λmeas

0

25

0.2

0.4

0.6

0

0

Depth (cm)Depth (cm)1010(b) 5/10 12:00
(Wet)

10

20

30

λsandsand
C-H
λ1.02
1.02

40

0.9
λ0.92

50

λ0.82
0.8
λmeas
Measured60

Depth (cm)

15

(c)

20
30
40
50

(a) 5/21
5月21日(b) 5/10
5月10日

60

Fig. 4 Comparison of the simulated vertical distribution of the soil temperature predicted withestimated thermal conductivities on a dry day (a) and a wet day (b), and the simulated
vertical distribution of soil moisture of both days (c)Ⓒ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Soil temperature（℃）

353010cm depth

Future (2071-2090)

25
20
15

Present (1981-2000)

10
5
0

153
6/1

158
6/6

163
6/11

168
6/16

173
6/21

178
6/26

Fig. 5 Comparison of the simulated and observed soil temperature at depth of 10cm between“future” and “present”
Figure 5 shows the comparison of simulated soil temperature at depth of 10cm between “present”
and “future”. λ1.02 was employed in this scenario study. In the future, soil temperature may rise three tofive degrees accompanies with rising air temperature. In this way, the quantitative discussion about soil
temperature in the future in arbitrary agricultural lands maybe possible with estimated thermal
conductivity.
CONCLUSION
In this study, we investigated the proper method of estimating soil thermal properties by using digital
soil map and the soil physical database in order to predict soil temperature in arbitrary agriculturallands. Soil thermal conductivity could be estimated with mathematical model by using soil physicalproperties such as the ratio of sand: silt :clay, soil particle density and dry bulk density in the soil
physical database. Soil temperature was well described the past soil temperature records withnumerical simulation by using estimated parameters especially when the soil is wet. This result
indicated that it may be possible to predict soil moisture and soil temperature quantatively with the
combination of soil physical properties database and downscaled climate model projections especiallyfor the high humid regions such as Asian countries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by Research Program on Climate Change Adaptation (RECCA) of Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. We appreciate Toyama Prefectural
Agricultural Institute for their help in using the fields.
REFERENCES
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Sci. Soc. Am. Proc.,28 (2), 271-275.
Bai, Y., Scott, T.A. and Min, Q. 2014, Climate change implications of soil temperature in the Mojave Desert,
U.S.A. Front. Earth Sci., 8 (2), 302-308.
Campbell, G.S. 1985. Soil physics with basic; Transport models for soil-plant systems. Elsevier, New York, USA.
Chung, S.O. and Horton, R. 1987. Soil heat and water flow with a partial surface mulch. Water Resour. Res., 23,2175-2186.
Eguchi, S., Aoki, K. and Kohyama, K. 2011. Agricultural soil-profile physical properties database, Japan:
SolphyJ. Proceedings of Annual Meeting of JSDIRE. 302-303 (In Japanese).
Iizumi, T., Semenov, M.A., Nishimori, M., Ishigooka, Y. and Kuwagata, T. 2012. ELPIS-JP: A dataset of localscale daily climate scenarios for Japan. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, 370, 1121–1139.
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Jury, W.A. and Horton, R. 2004. Soil physics 6th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, USA.
Kato, C. and Nishimura, T. 2015. Temporal downscaling methods of GCM projections for predicting soil
moisture in agricultural land. Trans. JSIDRE, 295, (in Japanese with English abstract).
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under monsoon climate in Japan. Vadose Zone J., 10, 541-551.
Kato, C. and Nishimura, T. 2016. Predicting soil moisture condition in arbitrary agricultural lands using thedigital soil map and soil physical properties database. Paddy and Water Environment (in press), doi:
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MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). 2015. Research program of climatechange adaptation. https://www.restec.or.jp/recca/eng/staticpages/index/report_ninomiya_e.html, (Accessed
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Hillslope Profile and Watershed Model Documentation. NSERL Report, #10.
Schaap, M.G., Leij, F.J. and van Genuchten, M.Th. 1998. Neural network analysis for hierarchical prediction ofsoil water retention and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J, 62, 847-855.
Šimůnek, J. and Suarez, D.L. 1993. Modeling of carbon dioxide transport and production in soil: 1. Modeldevelopment. Water Resour. Res., 29, 487-497.
Šimůnek, J., Šejna, M., Saito, H., Sakai, M. and van Genuchten, M.Th. 2013. The HYDRUS-1D software
package for simulating the one-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variablysaturated media.
Singh, N.T. and Dhaliwal, G.S. 1972. Effect of soil temperature on seedling emergence in different crops. Plant
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Research article
erd

Prevalence and Determinants of Household Food Security in
Resettled Areas in Sekong Province, Lao PDR
INPONG SILIPHOUTHONE*
The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
Email: inpong007@gmail.com

KUMI YASUNOBUFaculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
Received 11 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Relocating isolated villagers from upland to lowland areas is an important ruraldevelopment strategy to eradicate poverty and food insecurity in Laos. However, previous
research found several social and livelihood problems after resettlement, including poverty andfood insecurity. This study investigated the level of food insecurity after resettlement andidentified factors influencing household food security. We surveyed 60 households through astructured questionnaire in Tok Ong Keo village of Lamam district, Sekong province. The U.S.
Food Security/Hunger Survey Module was employed to measure the severity of food insecurity.
In addition, we applied a logistic regression model to examine the factors influencing foodsecurity. The results show that about 55% of the sample households experienced rice shortages
for about 1–3 months and 61.7% were food insecure with moderate hunger. The education levelof household heads, household size, and livestock ownership all had statistically significant
influences on food security.
Keywords food security, determinants, resettlement, upland areas, Sekong province, Laos

INTRODUCTION
Food security is defined as “a situation that exists when all people, at all time, have physical andeconomic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for an active and health life.” Food security
remains one of the critical challenges for developing countries owing to multifaceted factors, such as
persistent poverty, rapid population growth, and natural disasters (Smith et al., 2000). More than 868
million people (or 12.5% of the global population) are estimated to suffer from chronic
undernourishment in terms of dietary energy supply. Approximately 64.8% of undernourished people(563 million people) live in rural areas in Asia, including Lao PDR (FAO, 2012). Lao PDR is a poor
country in Southeast Asia with an estimated per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 1,320 in2012, and with roughly 68% of the population residing in rural areas. According to the Lao
Expenditure and Consumption Survey 2007/08, about 27.6% of Lao people live below the national
poverty line and 24.6% are classified as food insecure (Government of Laos, 2010). The highest foodinsecurity levels are found mostly in mountainous areas, in particular, in Sekong province, where foodinsecurity affects 50.3% of people, about 60% of children less than 5 years of age are stunted, andnearly half are underweight. The mountainous terrain is a major constraint in eradicating foodinsecurity; most upland villagers live in scattered small villages where they are unable to access roads,
markets, and social services, such as education and health care.
In order to improve the livelihood of villagers, the government has combined households fromvarious ethnic groups and scattered villages in the remote highlands to lowland areas and along roads.
Through implementation of the policy, there have been several positive changes in villagers’ lives,Ⓒ ISERD

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including improvement of roads, electricity, education, health services, water, and sanitation.
Nevertheless, it is expected that the level of food insecurity will remain high at the start of relocationfor various reasons. For example, based on a literature review, a number of land-use conflicts andsocial and livelihood problems have occurred in the resettled areas (Douangsila, 2012). High mortality
rates and the prevalence of water-borne diseases and malaria have arisen (Romagny, 2006). Some
newcomers in resettled villages have had access to less land and a shorter fallow period of shifting
cultivation, resulting in rice deficiency (Evrard, 2004). In addition, there has been inadequate
availability of natural resources and social services (World Food Programme, 2007). Even so, there islimited literature on household-level food security among resettled households. In addition,
understanding the cause of food insecurity at the household level is essential to provide information to
local, national, and international organizations in order to eradicate food insecurity and improve thelivelihoods of rural people.
Our research sought to address the following two questions. First, what is the food insecurity
situation after resettlement? Second, what are the socioeconomic factors and individual resource
factors that influence food security among resettled households? Therefore, the aims of this study wereto 1) investigate the incidence of food insecurity in resettled villages, and 2) identify the factors
affecting household food security.
METHODOLOGY
Background Information of the Study Village
This study was conducted in Sekong province, which is located in the southern region of Laos and has
an area of 8,742 km2, comprising 229 villages, 17,158 households, and a total population of 104,499 in
2012. In this province, people from several small mountainous villages were moved to villages in thelowland areas, which have more opportunities to access social services. For our study area, we selected
Tok Ong Keo village of the Lamam district in Sekong province.
In 1978, the villagers were relocated from the original highland areas to a plains area near roads(about 2 km away from the original highland place). For the first year of resettlement, the local
government provided households with zinc roofing sheets and, in some cases, goats and pigs. All
villagers continued to cultivate upland rice through shifting cultivation methods in their original uplandfields; the total land available for cultivation was about 336 ha with an average fallow period of 6–10
years. Thereafter, in 2010, all villagers were moved again to a larger permanent location, which was
about 1 km away from the previously settled place. This was because the government had selected thevillage for implementing the Focal Site Development (FSD) project, and the previous location of thehouses was reclaimed for lowland paddy fields. Of the total village area of 2,100 ha, about 48 ha areused to grow rice in the lowland paddy field, but only 36 households are able to use the areas owing to
insufficient land for development. Consequently, all villagers continue to rely on upland ricecultivation for their primary livelihood activities. However, the land available for upland rice has
reduced from 336 ha during 1978–2010 to 220 ha after resettlement in 2010 as a result of thegovernment policy to promote resettlement, which has led to the reduction of shifting cultivation.
Accordingly, the average fallow period has been shortened to 3–5 years. Above all, we consider thedata of our study, which was collected in 2013, as the initial stage of resettlement because more than
30 years has passed between the first and second resettlement stage.
Measurement of Food Insecurity at Household Level
To measure the severity of food insecurity, a subjective method, namely the U.S. Household Food
Security/Hunger Survey Module (U.S. FSSM) was used. The U.S. FSSM is one of the most reliableⒸ ISERD

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indicators and has widely used to access food security. It was first developed in the early 1990s by thefederal interagency Food Security Measurement Project (Bickel et al., 2000). The reliability andvalidity of this indicator has been proven by previous research, and a mean score of the U.S. FSSM has
a statistically significant correlation with calorie and nutrient intake, income poverty and weekly foodexpenditure (Tarasuk, 1999; Edward et al., 2007).
The concept of the U.S. FSSM is essentially used for 18 items related to experience of food deficit
among adults and children due to lack of resources (money and food) over a specific period of 30 daysor 12 months. Household food security is categorized by ranging a scale score of the affirmative
responses from 0 to 10, with 0 representing no evidence of food insecurity and scores close to 10
indicating cumulative evidence of the severest degree of hunger. The answer from 18 items provides acontinuous measure scale score that can be used to classify households into four categories, as follows:
1. Food secure (0–2.32): Households show no or least evidence of food insecurity.
2. Food insecure without hunger (2.33–4.56): Household members are concerned about theadequacy of household food supply and have adjusted to household food management,
including reduced quality of food and increased unusual coping patterns.
3. Food insecure with moderate hunger (4.57–6.53): Adults have decreased food intake, meaning
they have repeatedly experienced the physical sensation of hunger.
4. Food insecure with severe hunger (6.54–10): All households with children have reduced thechildren’s food intake to an extent indicating that children have experienced hunger.
Data Collection and Analysis
The primary data were gathered through a field survey conducted in January 2013. Of the total 82
households living in the village, 22 households were excluded from the survey because they were notavailable during the survey; thus, only 60 were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The
questionnaire consists of information on household composition, upland/lowland rice areas, riceproduction, household income, and experience of food insecurity over 12 months.
We employed a logistic regression model to identify the determinants of household food security.
To set up a dependent variable, the food security status was reorganized from four categories into two.
Households that were food insecure with moderate and severe hunger were combined into a single
broader category and classified as a food insecure or households with hunger (Y = 0). In contrast,
households that were both food secure and insecure without hunger were classified as food secure orhouseholds without hunger (Y = 1). With regard to the independent variables, education, household
size, number of relatives and friends, cultivated upland areas, upland rice yield, cultivated rain-fed
lowland rice, and livestock ownership were selected.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results show that about 55% of households experienced at least 1–3 months of rice shortages, and38.3% reported longer rice shortage periods of more than 3 months, from July to October (Table 1).
Having said that, only 6.7% households were able to produce sufficient rice to meet the requirementsof their households all year round. The results of the U.S. FSSM reveal that about 61.7% of households
were categorized as “food insecure with moderate hunger.” This means that most adults in the study
area frequently experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They employed rationing as a coping
strategy, which includes limiting the amount of food given to each household member at mealtimes
and reducing the number of meals eaten in a day. Moreover, about 11.7% of households surveyed were
“food insecure with severe hunger,” indicating that the amount for food intake for children living inthese households was reduced owing to lack of food and money to purchase food. Conversely, aboutⒸ ISERD

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21.6% and 5% of households surveyed were categorized as “food insecure without hunger” and “foodsecure,” respectively.
Table 1 Rice shortage and food insecurity
Month of rice shortage (month)
N = 60%No experience
4
6.7
1-3 months
33 55.0
More than 3 months
23 38.3
Food security status (scale score)
Food secure
3
5.0
Food insecure without hunger
13 21.6
Food insecure with moderate hunger
37 61.7
Food insecure with severe hunger
7 11.7
Source: Author’s calculation based on 2013 household survey

The anxiety, experiences, perceptions, and adjustment regarding food insecurity and hunger
reported by respondents are illustrated in Table 2. Of the sample households, 96.7% reported that they
could not afford balanced meals for both adults and children and they relied on a few kinds of low-cost
food for children. In addition, the majority of respondents (93.3%) had worried that food would run out,
about 83.3% stated that the food they bought did not last owing to lack of money to purchase more,
75% had cut or skipped meals for adults, and 43.3% had felt hungry but did not eat. Moreover,approximately 66% of households with hunger acknowledged that they had cut the size of children’s
meals and skipped meals for children (50%). This implies that half of households in the resettled areas
relied on non-nutritious food for their children and children did not have enough to eat. Declining foodconsumption among children can lead to poor health and malnutrition in the future. It was observedthat rice was often eaten together with chili paste, vegetables, bamboo shoots, and sometimes, fish andchicken. However, meat was eaten only occasionally, mainly at such events as traditional spirit
sacrifices, wedding parties, and village festivals.
Table 2 Affirmative response from the U.S. FSSM questionnaires
Question
No. (Q) a

List of 18 questions from the FSSM

N = 60(%)

2
Worried food would run out
56 (93.3)
3
Food bought did not last
50 (83.3)
4
Could not afford to eat balanced meals b
58 (96.7)
5
Few kinds of low-cost food for children
58 (96.7)
6
Could not feed children a balanced meal
58 (96.7)
7
Children were not eating enough
33 (55.0)8Adult(s) cut or skipped meals
45 (75.0)8aAdult(s) cut or skipped meals, 3+ months
0 (0)9You ate less than felt you should
44 (73.3)
10
You were hungry but did not eat
26 (43.3)
11
You lost weight because not enough food
N/S
12Adult(s) not eat for whole day
18 (30.0)12aAdult(s) not eat for whole day, 3+months
0 (0)13
Cut size of children’s meals
29 (48.3)
14Children skip meals
22 (36.7)
14aChildren skip meals, 3+months
0 (0)15Children ever hungry
21 (35.0)
16Children not eat for whole day
1 (1.7)
Source : Author’s calculation based on 2013 household survey.

Household without
hunger c
N =16 (26.7%)
12 (75.0)
12 (75.0)
15 (93.7)
14 (97.5)
14 (87.5)
4 (25.0)
6 (37.5)0 (0)5 (31.5)
2 (12.5)
N/S
1 (6.3)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)

Household withhunger d
N = 44 (73.4%)
44 (100)
38 (86.4)
43 (97.7)
44 (100)
44 (100)
29 (65.9)
39 (88.6)0 (0)39 (88.6)
24 (54.5)
N/S
17 (38.6)
0 (0)29 (65.9)
22 (50.0)0 (0)21 (47.7)
1 (2.7)t-test0.00***
0.30
0.45
0.02**
0.02**
0.00***
0.00***
N/S
0.00***
0.00***
N/S
0.02**
N/S
0.00***
0.00***
N/S
0.00***
0.55

Note : *** and ** denotes significance at 1% and 5%; a The first question (Q1), which is asked whether do you have enough food to
eat or not, is a screening question. This question is not part of the actual scale in the U.S. FSSM so it is excluded from Table 2; bBalanced meal is defined as “at least three types of food group, such as rice, meat, fish, egg, green leafy vegetables”; c “Householdwithout hunger” refers to those households that are food secure and insecure without hunger; d “Household with hunger” refers to
those households that are food insecure with moderate and severe hunger.

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The results of the logistic regression model show that the education level of the household head isa positively significant influence on household food security. From Table 3, the marginal effect showsthat a unit increase in education level of the household head, holding all other variables at their mean,leads to a 6% increase in the probability of the household being food secure. This implies that higher
education levels make household heads more likely to have the capacity to use the resources that he or
she owns more rationally, and to learn more idea about how to increase agricultural productivity.
Moreover, those who are educated seem to have the ability to escape from food insecurity throughparticipating in non-farm income generating activities, such as construction work, petty trade, andother services. It was reported that there were only five people in the village who go to work in towns
or big cities. Language barriers are a possible explanation as about 60% of the respondents, especiallythose among food insecure households, were unable to read and write the official Lao language. As aresult, their access to non-farm work was limited and their average non-farm income was only USD
190 per household per year, whereas that of literate households was USD 370 per year. In addition, theimpact of education on food security can be viewed as a key factor in accessing public information,such as agricultural information, concerning health, nutrition, and hygiene because most information isoften written in Lao language. It was observed that the majority of villagers lived in unhealthy
environments and lacked health knowledge, such as information about how to avoid and treat illnesses.
Some households did not even boil their drinking water. As a result, about 69% and 62% of households
that were food insecure with moderate hunger had experienced malaria and diarrhea, respectively, overthe previous 12 months.
Table 3 Determinants and “Marginal” effect of household food security
Variables
Mean
S.D
Constant
Education (year)
2.35
2.32
Household size (person)
9.95
5.41
Number of relatives and friends
18.35
16.30
(household)
Cultivated upland size (ha)
1.06
0.44
Upland rice yield (kg/ha)
747
0.45
Cultivated rain-fed lowland rice(ha)
0.33
0.35
Livestock ownership (tropical livestock
0.63
0.46
unit, TLUa)
Log-Likelihood: -23.854 Pseudo R2 = 0.314 (Prob.chi : 0.000)

Coeff.
-1.15
0.43
-0.35

t-value- 0.952.19 **-2.88 ***

dy/dx

t-value

0.06
0.05

2.48 **-2.96 ***

-0.04

-1.29

0.01

-1.42 *

0.68
0.38
0.57
2.42

0.52
0.85
0.92
2.62 ***

0.11
0.06
0.09
0.51

0.75
0.46
0.53
2.45 **

Source : Author’s calculation based on 2013 household survey.
Note : ***, **, and * represent significance at the 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10 levels, respectively; a TLU is calculated based on the numberof livestock and the exchange ratio for livestock (e.g., cattle = 0.7, pig = 0.2, and poultry = 0.01)

As expected, household size was statistically significant at the 1%. A one-unit increase in thenumber of household members, computed at sample means, resulted in a 5% decrease in theprobability of the household being food secure. This indicates that larger household size may notprovide more labor for food production but represents more mouths to feed and higher consumption
demand. In the case of the study area, about 51.6% of sample households comprised at least two
families who lived in the same dwelling and shared food. Of these, about 90.3% were among the foodinsecure households. Most were young married couples living with parents and were likely to dependon their parents because of resource constraints to construct a new house. Moreover, the majority did
not generate any income owing to limited non-farm income activities around the village and lack of
micro credit to start livestock farms.
With regard to livestock ownership, the marginal effect reveals that a one-unit increase in the
livestock ownership (TLU), calculated at sample means, resulted in a 51% increase in the possibility offood security. Livestock production, especially pigs and poultry, contributed to about 88% of farm cash
income (USD 66 per household per year), which was used mainly for buying rice and other food toⒸ ISERD

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meet the basic nutritional needs of all household members, resulting in increasing self-consumption.
Another key point to remember is that about 7% of the households surveyed obtained cash income
from selling cattle and buffalo, which was used to cover expenses for building houses. The resultshows that the average number of livestock (cattle=1.7, pigs=3, and poultry=25) reared by food securehouseholds were higher than those of food insecure household (cattle=0.4, pigs=1.8, and poultry=8.3).
The major problems in livestock rearing were insufficient technical knowledge to prevent livestock
disease, lack of funding to purchase young animals, such as calves and piglets, and lack of feed. About
75% of households indicated that their poultry had died from disease, while 50% of households that
kept larger livestock, such as buffaloes and cattle, indicated that there was a lack of feed near thevillage during the dry season. Insufficient number of female laborers was a constraint to keeping morepigs and poultry. In the study area, women played a vital role in not only domestic works, such as foodpreparation and gathering wild food, but also in productive tasks. According to the survey results,
women had 95% of responsibility for poultry and local pig rearing. However, they seem to beoverlooked from agricultural programs because the majority of women did not speak or understand theLao language.
It is essential to note that both the cultivated upland farm size and the upland rice yield were notstatistically significant, but positively influenced food security. The marginal effect shows that a oneunit increase in cultivated upland rice areas and rice yields would lead to the probability of foodsecurity increasing by 11% and 6%, respectively. This implies that households that have larger
cultivated upland rice areas and gain higher yields are likely to have higher production levels to
support their home consumption. However, villagers were not allowed to expand upland rice areas
owing to a ban on shifting cultivation, resulting in a shorter fallow period (3–5 years). The decline infallow period was accelerated by land use restriction and resulted in poor soil fertility, a cause of lowrice productivity (747 kg/ha). In addition, weeds, rodents, wild pigs, ants, and birds were anotherimportant cause of low productivity.
With regard to lowland rice cultivation, the results show that rain-fed lowland areas have nostatistically significant correlation with household food security. This is because many resettled
villagers lacked knowledge on farm management practices, such as methods of land preparation,
fertilizer application, and use of improved rice varieties. They were likely to receive less support fromagricultural officers, especially on how to increase lowland rice productivity. Accordingly, the averagerain-fed lowland yield cultivated by resettled villagers was very low (904 kg/ha). In addition, most of
the resettled villagers from mountainous areas were new rain-fed lowland cultivators, so they could notsuddenly adapt to the new technologies of lowland paddy fields (Douangsila, 2012). The number ofrelatives and friends had a negative influence on household food security. A possible explanation is the
tradition and culture of the Alak ethnic group, whose people depend highly on relatives and friends
when they face food shortages. It was reported that although the total rice production in resettled
households did not cover their annual needs, they shared their own rice or other food with relatives andfriends who experienced food shortage.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The main aims of this study were to investigate household-level food security in a resettled area in
Laos, and to identify the factors influencing whether households were food secure. We concluded thatthe prevalence of food insecurity in the resettled villages was enormously high; approximately 61.7%
were “food insecure with moderate hunger” and 11.7% were “food insecure with severe hunger.”
However, our findings did not indicate that the resettlement program had a negative impact on the foodsecurity of the resettled households. Further studies are needed to monitor whether the prevalence ofhousehold food insecurity persists and the living condition improves.

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Other important findings of this study were that the education level of household heads,
household size, and livestock ownership had a statistically significant influence on household foodsecurity in the resettled area. Hence, in order to improve food security in new resettled villages, theeducation sector should focus on non-formal education for uneducated and unskilled household heads
to improve their ability to access information, deal with the markets, and find alternative income source.
These efforts should also target women who are unable to read and write in the Lao Language in orderto give them access to healthcare information and nutritional knowledge. Agricultural extension
officers should provide information, in particular, new techniques to increase pig and poultry
production and prevent livestock disease. Another key point is that microcredit to start livestock
farming is a vital task that should be considered in the study area.
REFERENCES
Bickel, G., Nord, M., Price, C., Hamilton, W. and Cook, J. 2000. Guide to measuring household food security.
Food Nutrition Service, United State Department of Agriculture Press, U.SA.
Douangsila, T. and Poungchompu, S. 2012. Impact of rural development on the poor farmers in upland of Laos.
Proceeding in Graduate Research Conference, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, 946-955.
Edward, M., Weber, B. and Bernell, S. 2007. Identifying factors that influence state-specific hunger rates in the
U.S., A simple analytic method for understanding a persistent problem. Social indicator research, 81, 579595.
Evrard, O. and Goudineau, Y. 2004. Planned resettlement, unexpected migrations and cultural trauma in Laos.
Development and Change, 35 (5), 937-962.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2012. The state of food insecurity in the world. Rome, Italy.
Government of Laos. 2010. Lao expenditure and consumption survey 2007-2008. Department of statistics,
Ministry of Planning and Investment. Vientian, Laos.
Romagny, L. and Daviau, S. 2006. Synthesis of reports on resettlement in Long District, Luang Namtha Province,
Lao PDR. Action Contre La Faim, Paris, France.
Smith, L.C., El Obeid, A.E. and Jensen, H.H. 2000. The geography and cause of food insecurity in developing
countries. Agricultural Economics, 22, 199-215.
Tarasuk, V. and Beaton, G.H. 1999. Women’s dietary intakes in the context of household food insecurity. Journalof Nutrition, 129, 672-679.
World Food Programme. 2007. Comprehensive food security and vulnerability analysis in Lao PDR. Rome, Italy.

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Research article
erd

Potential of a New Slow-release Urea Fertilizer under On-farm
Conditions in a Semi-arid Environment
INSA KÜHLING*
University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
Email: i.kuehling@hs-osnabrueck.de

DMITRY REDOZUBOVState Agrarian University of the Northern Transurals, Tyumen, Russian Federation

CHRISTIAN JEISMANNSouth Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Soest, Germany

IGOR KOMISSAROVState Agrarian University of the Northern Transurals, Tyumen, Russian Federation

DIETER TRAUTZ
University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
Received 6 January 2016

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Nitrogen (N) fertilizers play an important role to increase grain yield and grain quality
in crop production systems. In Western Siberia, predominantly used N-fertilizers for cereal
production are urea and ammonium-nitrate (‘Selitra’). Due to semi-arid climate, only one
fertilizer application is common, simultaneously with sowing and directly into the seed furrow.
A new kind of slow-release fertilizer is a modified urea with silicate coating and urease
inhibitor and was developed at the State Agrarian University of the Northern Transurals(Russian Federation). In a field trial, the comparative performance of the novel fertilizer type
was tested with spring wheat near the city of Ishim in Tyumen region (Western Siberia) on 3.4
ha under on-farm conditions. 4 levels of the slow-release urea (25/50/75/100%) were compared
to 100% of conventional urea, 100% of Selitra and an unfertilized control in randomized
complete block design with 4 replications. Results showed significant differences in soil nitrateavailability but no differences in ammonium release. Differences between N-levels dispersed
during heading, afterwards only plots with Selitra fertilization showed significant higher nitratevalues. Leaf chlorophyll content as indicator for plant Nitrogen supply showed significant
differences from beginning stem elongation on. The harvested grain yield showed no significant
differences between the compared fertilizer types at the 100% N-level. Even if the grain yieldwith reduced dose of slow-release fertilizer was on the same level, it was not significantly
higher than the unfertilized control. From the results of this field trial there seems to be no
beneficial advantage of the tested slow-release fertilizer so far.
Keywords slow-release fertilizer, silicate coating, urease inhibitor, Nitrogen use efficiency,
spring wheat, Western Siberia

INTRODUCTION
Nitrogen (N) fertilizers play an important role to increase wheat productivity and grain protein content.
In Western Siberia predominantly ammonium-nitrate (‘Selitra’) and urea are used for N-fertilization.

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Due to the dry sub-humid climate (Selezneva, 1973), only one N-application is common,
simultaneously during sowing.
Also from an economic point of view, N-fertilizers play a key role in grain production processes
and due to high inputs of energy, they mainly affect the total economic balance (Lubkowski, 2014).
Urea is the most used Nitrogen fertilizer around the world agriculture, because of the high Nitrogencontent by 46.6% (Trenkel, 1997; Zheng et al., 2009). When urea is applied to a soil, it is almost
immediately hydrolysed into ammonium carbonate, which breaks down to carbon dioxide (CO2) andammonia (NH3), producing high soil pH and ammonia loss (Eriksen and Kjeldby, 1987; Fenn andKissel, 1973). The remainder of the ammonium in the soil can be converted to nitrates by the soil
bacteria. Therefore, reducing water solubility of urea granules by physical or chemical inhibitors isvery important and can improve the Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by preventing or slowing downthese processes.
Such types modified fertilizers are described as ‘enhanced efficiency fertilizers’ which are able toreduce the risk of nutrient losses to the environment, retain nutrients in a less leachable forms, reducesolubility and maintain nutrients in the root zone by physical barriers (coating) (Trenkel, 2010).
Furthermore, three different subtypes are characterised: (1) Stabilised fertilizers have a chemical
inhibitor to slow down the hydrolysis of urea with further transformation to NH4+ and inhibitors to stop
the oxidation of ammonium (NH4+) to nitrate (NO3–); (2) Slow-release fertilizers are less-soluble and N
is initially not plant available but needs to be converted into plant available N forms; (3) Controlledrelease fertilizers are quick soluble fertilizers with a coating of hardly soluble material with apredictable rate of Nitrogen release when used at the manufacturer specified temperature (Trenkel,
1997; 2010).
Prognoses for the development of the fertilizer industry development predict an increase until
2020 to 1.9 – 2.2 million tons of slow- and controlled-release fertilizer products. One of the drawbacks,
particularly for the currently most widespread polymer-coating, is the remaining amount of uselesspolymer that is left in the soil after nutrient consumption (Trenkel, 2010). A perspective alternative although not yet used on a technological scale - is to produce slow-release fertilizers by using Calcium
Silicate (CaSiO3) as a mineral coating material, which can easily be decomposed by silicate bacteria toenvironmental friendly inorganic elements. The new type of such a slow-release urea fertilizer wasdeveloped at the State Agrarian University of the Northern Transurals (Russian Federation). A
combination of a physical barrier by CaSiO3-coating and a chemical urease inhibitor was chosen todelay the release of plant available Nitrogen.
The objective of this study was to compare the performance of the novel slow-release urea
fertilizer against common practice and to evaluate the potential for improving of the Nitrogen use
efficiency under practical conditions.
METHODOLOGY
Study Area
We installed a 3.4 ha field trial with spring wheat in Ishim (Tyumen province, Russia, Fig. 1) in RCBD
with 4 replications to compare 4 levels of coated urea ‘CU’ (100/75/50/25%) against 100% ofconventional uncoated urea ‘UU’, 100% of Selitra ‘S’ and a unfertilized control ‘C’. 100% equals 70
kg/ha N (Table 1). The fertilizer was applied directly into the seed furrow. The seed rate was constantover all variants by 240 kg ha-1 for 600 plants per m . The plots were sown with the regional variety‘Ikarus‘ on May 19th, harvest took place on September 28th, weed regulation was done only once asusual for the region.

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Fig. 1 Location and mean annual agro-climatic conditions of the study area
Souces: CGIAR-CSI (2009), GADM (2012), WorldClim (2013)

Table 1 Investigated variants with amounts of fertilizer and Nitrogen applied
variant
Control
S100
UU100
CU100
CU75
CU50
CU25

fertilizer type

N level [%]no
Selitrauncoated urea
coated urea
coated urea
coated urea
coated urea

0
100
100
100
75
50
25

applied fertilizer[kg ha-1]
0
203
150
153
115
77
38

applied Nitrogen[kg ha-1]
0.0
70.0
70.0
70.0
52.2
35.0
17.5

Fertilizer Production
The fertilizer was produced on the laboratory scale by ’Биотех‘ at the State Agrarian University of theNorthern Transurals. Liquid Na2SiO3 was poured over usual urea in the first step. Secondly, liquid
CaCl2 was added which induced the drying process. Finally, urease inhibitor was applied on thecoating. The coating material was between 1% and 3 % of the total mass of the fertilizer granules.
Analyses and Statistics
Soil Nmin (NO3 + NH4) analysis for 0-30 cm was done reflectometric (Merck) and for determination ofleaf chlorophyll content a SPAD-502 (Minolta) was used at the youngest fully developed leaf.
Comparisons among means were carried out in R using the package agricolae (LSD-Test, p<0.05) (RCore Team, 2013). Between values with the same letter, there is no significant difference.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Soil NitrogenⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

The results of soil analysis showed significant differences in nitrate content but no significant
differences in ammonium content (Fig. 2). Homogeneous preconditions were given by a constant levelof both Nmin fractions before fertilization. During leaf development, the variants Nitrogen availability
differentiated, but only between the fertilizer types and not among the CU variants. Later in thegrowing season, only the S100 plots showed significant higher NO3 content in the soil.

Fig. 2 Soil Nmin components NO3-N and NH4-N in 0-30 cm before sowing/fertilization and at
3 development stages
Boxes show lower and upper quartiles, black line depicts the median, whiskers between min and max.

Even if there were no significant differences between soil ammonium contents, due to thedifferences in nitrate levels, a closer look on the proportions was necessary. Table 2 shows significant
differences in the ammonium share, starting during leaf development, where values in unfertilized
control plots were highest. This trend of low NH4 proportion in conjunction with high nitrate content
continued until the last measurement.
Table 2 NH4-N proportion of total Nmin (0-30 cm) at 3 sampling dates for all variants
development stage
before sowing/fertilization
leaf development
stem elongation
heading

Control
28% a
32% a
27% a
35% ab

S100
27% a
10% b
11% c
23% b

UU100
21% a
12% b
15% bc
27% ab

CU100
23% a
15% b
13% c
28% ab

CU75
27% a
14% b
16% abc
33% ab

CU50
26% a
17% b
26% ab
37% ab

CU25
26% a
19% b
27% a
43% a

Leaf Nitrogen
The SPAD-meter readings of the leaf-chlorophyll content are known to be a good indicator for leaf
Nitrogen content (Uddling et al., 2007; Markwell et al., 1995). The results showed a plausible response
according to the N-level since beginning stem elongation (Fig. 3). Reduced N levels resulted after
heading in significant lower leaf chlorophyll contents.

Fig. 3 SPAD-meter readings at 4 development stages
Boxes show lower and upper quartiles, black line depicts the median, whiskers between min and maxⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Yield Results and N Balance
The harvest results confirmed the observed soil and plant parameters, as there were no significant
differences between the 100% variants of the three fertilizer types for all yield parameters (Table 3).
The only significant differences occurred between unfertilized control and 75-100% fertilized plots forgrain yield and the number of grains per ear.
Table 3 Selected yield parametersCgrain yield [dt ha-1]
26.7 cprotein content [%]9.3 a1000 kernel weight [g] 38.3 abc
ears per m
356.4 agrains per ear
19.9 cS100
39.9 a8.7 a40.4 a393.3 a25.2 aUU100
40.2 a10.8 a39.7 ab398.2 a25.3 aCU100
39.6 a9.1 a39.7 ab406.2 a24.6 aCU75
35.1 ab10.2 a38.1 bc
361.3 a25.4 aCU50
33.5 abc
9.7 a
37.2 c378.2 a23.7 abCU25
30.4 bc
10.6 a39.1 abc
357.3 a21.7 bc

All fertilizer types at 100% N-level resulted in comparable grain yields, among protein contents
there were no differences at all (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 Harvest results for grain yield (left) and protein content (right)
Error bars show 1 standard error of the mean

The last step was to balance the Nitrogen inputs and outputs for all variants and to calculate the N
use efficiency (NUE=N uptake/fertilizer N). Table 4 shows a slight advantage for UU100 with an
optimal NUE of 1.0, but also S100 and CU100 were on a good level. Higher NUE above 1.0 leads tounsustainable soil mining and should be avoided.
Table 4 Nitrogen balance and Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)

C
S100
UU100
CU100
CU75
CU50
CU25

protein yield[dt ha-1]
2.5
3.5
4.3
3.6
3.6
3.1
3.2

N uptake[kg ha-1]
39.9
55.7
69.2
57.5
56.9
49.9
51.4

fertilizer N[kg ha-1]
0.0
70.0
70.0
70.0
52.5
35.0
17.5

Ⓒ ISERD

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soil N[kg ha-1]
32.9
35.2
33.5
32.1
33.3
32.3
33.5

balance

NUE

-6.9
49.5
34.3
44.5
28.9
17.4
-0.4

0.8
1.0
0.8
1.1
1.4
2.9

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

CONCLUSION
The expected possibility to harvest the same with reduced fertilization by an enhanced fertilizer type
did not fulfil since the grain yield was not significant higher than the unfertilized control for reduced
variants. Therefore, we could not derive beneficial effects of the novel slow-release fertilizer from theresults of this field trial. More field site years as well as further research on the laboratory scale tounderstand the short-term behaviour of the coated urea are needed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was conducted as part of project SASCHA (Sustainable land management and adaption
strategies under climate change for the Western Siberian grain belt). We are grateful for funding by theGerman ministry of education and research (BMBF) within their sustainable land management funding
framework (funding reference 01LL0906D).
REFERENCESCGIAR-CSI. 2009. Global aridity index (Global-aridity) and global potential evapo-transpiration (GlobalPET)
methodology and geospatial dataset. Glob. Arid. PET Database. http://www.cgiar-csi.org/data/global-aridityand-pet-database (accessed 1.27.14).
Eriksen, A.B. and Kjeldby, M. 1987. A comparative study of urea hydrolysis rate and ammonia volatilizationfrom urea and urea calcium nitrate. Fertil. Res. 11, 9-24. doi:10.1007/BF01049561
Fenn, L.B. and Kissel, D.E. 1973. Ammonia volatilization from surface applications of ammonium compounds
on calcareous soils: I. General theory1. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 37, 855. doi:10.2136/sssaj1973.03615995003700
060020x
GADM. 2012. Global administrative areas | Boundaries without limits. http://www.gadm.org/ (accessed 1.11.13).
Lubkowski, K. 2014. Coating fertilizer granules with biodegradable materials for controlled fertilizer release.
Environ. Eng. Manag. J. 13, 2573-2581.
Markwell, J., Osterman, J.C. and Mitchell, J.L. 1995. Calibration of the Minolta SPAD-502 leaf chlorophyll
meter. Photosynth. Res. 46, 467-472. doi:10.1007/BF00032301
R Core Team. 2013. R: A language and environment for statistical computing R foundation for statisticalcomputing. Viena, Austria.
Selezneva, N.S. 1973. Lesostep, in: Gwodezkij N. A. (Ed.): Fisiko-Geograficheskoe Rayonirovanie Tyumenskoy
Oblasti (in Russian). Moscow, 144-174.
Trenkel, M.E. 1997. Controlled-release and stabilized fertilizers in agriculture. IFA, Paris, France.
Trenkel, M.E. 2010. Slow- and controlled-release and stabilized fertilizers: An option for enhancing nutrient use
efficiency in agriculture, 2nd ed. ed. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), Paris, France.
Uddling, J., Gelang-Alfredsson, J., Piikki, K. and Pleijel, H. 2007. Evaluating the relationship between leaf
chlorophyll concentration and SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter readings. Photosynth. Res. 91, 37-46. doi:
10.1007/s11120-006-9077-5
WorldClim. 2013. Global climate data free climate data for ecological modeling and GIS. Glob. Clim. Data. http://www.worldclim.org/ (accessed 3.26.13).
Zheng, T., Liang, Y., Ye, S. and He, Z. 2009. Superabsorbent hydrogels as carriers for the controlled-release of
urea: Experiments and a mathematical model describing the release rate. Biosyst. Eng. 102, 44-50. doi:
10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2008.09.027Ⓒ ISERD

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Research article
erd

Effects of Pyroligneous Acid to Growth and Yield of Soybeans(Glycine max)
JOSE T. TRAVERO*
Bohol Island State University, Bohol, Philippines
Email: kinandamata@gmail.com

MACHITO MIHARA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Email: m-mihara@nodai.ac.jp
Received 5 January 2016

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract In the Philippines, there is at present a Soybean Roadmap which has two major
components, namely: Organic Soybean Production and Organic Soybean Utilization,
Processing and Marketing. This research project compliments the Philippine National Soybean
Program by developing appropriate organic technologies especially on its external inputs likefertilizer. The main objective of this research was to find out the effects of pyroligneous acid on
the growth and yield of soybeans. Philippine Seed Board Soya 6 (PSB SY6) or commonly
called Tiwala 8 is an approved variety for use in the country which was planted in field
condition of the university research area in 2 x 2 meter plots. This was four (4) times replicatedby using randomized complete block design (RCBD). Coconut shell vinegar (pyroligneousacid) was used in this study. There were three levels of pyroligneous acid being tested: 10%,
20%, and 30% which represented Treatment 1, Treatment 2 and Treatment 3, respectively.
Treatment 4 served as the control. Statistical analysis revealed that all treatments had notaffected to the growth of the soybean plants. However, it was noted that there was a significant
effect of wood vinegar on the yield.
Keywords pyroligneous acid, soybean road map, external inputs

INTRODUCTION
The Philippine government has installed the National Soybean Development program which createdthe Soybean Roadmap 2010-2014 called “Building Sustainable Soybean Industry in the Philippines”.
This program will enhance the government’s advocacy for sustainable agriculture and therefore
achieve food security of the country.
According to Rosie Aquino of the Department of Agriculture-Cagayan Valley Integrated
Agricultural Research Center, “farmers will have a benefit from the program in terms of enhanced
productivity, improvement of soil fertility, improvement of household nutrition as a result of productconsumption that is protein-rich, and income augmentation through utilization of soybean meal forbackyard swine raising”.
Aquino further emphasized that “The resulting soybean program strives to develop improved
soybean varieties that are resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses, and are favorably responsive toorganic production management practices,” (Go, 2011).
In the province of Bohol, the Department of Agriculture has launched the Soybean Development
Program to promote soybean production as source of protein and as a crop that can withstand adverse
conditions especially drought as soybean is proven to be resistant to heat stress (Cartagenas, DaisyⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

personal communication). Several on site trials have been conducted in collaboration with the farmers
to determine the best performing varieties for mass production.
One of the challenges in organic agriculture program is the availability of organic inputs for thecultural management of crops. As it is desired to pursue organic soybean production, there is a need tolook for effective organic inputs that could positively contribute to the overall performance of the crop
as soybeans. In a study on peanut, it was found out that Foliar application of wood vinegar increased
vegetative growth and this might result in preventing the sunlight reaching the soil surface under theplant canopy and consequently higher in soil moisture content (Jothiyankoon et al., 2008).
Masaki Yokomori, a senior technical adviser of Japan Agricultural Exchange Council has
established a demo farm and introduced the use of Mokusaku (Wood Vinegar) in the vegetable farmsof Benguet, Mountain province. Wood vinegar is accepted by vegetable farmers as it has improved theperformance of their vegetables (Yokomori, 2011).
As there is also a program on Organic Soybean Production, there is a need for organic inputs as asource of fertilizer and pesticides. Wood vinegar, as proven by other researchers, can be a good sourceof such organic inputs. Hence, there is a need to do research on this aspect with the hope of validating
the usefulness of wood vinegar on the performance of soybeans as a crop for attention in the country as
a source of protein and an adaptation to climate change.
METHODOLOGY
A randomized complete design (RCBD) of 2x2 meter plots was installed in the vegetable research areaof Bohol Island State University by using soybeans as test crops. Soybeans were planted at therecommended distance by researchers of Department of Agriculture. Seasoned pyroligneous acid
(Wood vinegar) from coconut shell was applied at one-week interval after planting at the rate of 10%(T1), 20% (T2) and 30% (T3). T4 served as control. Weekly growth of soybeans was taken andrecorded. Yield parameters were taken by treatment and all data were subjected to statistical analysis.

Fig. 1 Research plots laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of wood vinegar from coconut shell as organic
input in the performance of soybeans. Specifically, it aimed to identify the impacts of wood vinegar on
the growth and yield of soybeans and identify the effective level of application of wood vinegar for
better performance of soybeans in terms of its growth and yield.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Weekly plant height (cm) of the plants was taken in all treatments as shown in Table 1. It was
found out that there was a difference of height in all treatments compared with the Control. However,based on the analysis of variance, it was found that the difference was insignificant in all treatments
over the control plots.
Table 1 Plant Height of Soybeans (cm)Treatments
T1 - 10%WV
T2 - 20%WV
T3 - 30%
WV
T4 - Control

I

II

III

IV

Total

Mean

49.58

56.59

47.69

53.32

207.18

51.79

46.26

48.50

48.08

45.17

188.00

47.00

53.66

49.73

47.20

49.98

200.58

50.14

45.62

49.08

48.33

51.35

194.3948.60

A

B
Fig. 2 Soybean plants at the maturity stage (A) and the pods (B) ready for harvest

Yield in dry weight for each treatment was taken as shown in Table 2. Analysis of varianceshowed that Treatments 1, 2 and 3 were significant over that of Control. This means that all treatmentsof wood vinegar have a significant effect to the yield of soybeans. Treatment 3 (30% WV) got thehighest mean yield of 1.26 (0.315 kg/sq.m. or 3.1 tons/ha), followed by Treatment 2 (20% WV) withthe mean yield of 0.97 (0.242 kgs/sq.m. or 2.4 tons/ha) and Treatment 1 (10% WV) got the mean yieldof 0.93 (0.232 kgs/sq.m. or 2.3 tons/ha). Treatment 1 and Treatment 2, however, showed no significant
difference as to yield. Treatment 4 (no application of WV) got the mean yield of 0.55 (0.1375 kgs/sq.m.
or 1.3 tons/ha).
Table 2 Yield of soybeans (kgs)
Treatments
T1 - 10%WV
T2 - 20%WV
T3 - 30%
WV
T4 - Control

I

II

III

IV

Total

Mean

0.90

0.88

0.99

0.95

3.72

0.93

1.00

0.94

0.99

0.95

3.88

0.97

1.05

1.15

1.56

1.28

5.04

1.26

0.65

0.35

0.58

0.65

2.23

0.55

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Table 3 Analysis of variance on the yield of soybeans
SourceBlockTreatment
Error
Corrected
Total

Type III Sum
of Squares
.083
.999
.138
1.220

df
3
3
9
15

Mean Square
.028
.333
.015

F

Sig.

5%

1%

1.803
21.727

.217
.000

3.86

6.99

a. R Squared = .887 (Adjusted R Squared = .812)

Fig. 3 Harvested soybean seeds in all treatments
CONCLUSION
Application of Wood Vinegar has no influence on the growth of soybeans based on weekly recordedheight of plants. The effect was observed on the yield as all treatments showed the significant
difference over its control plots. Plants treated with 10% and 20% wood vinegar showed no significant
difference as to its effect on yield. It is concluded that the increased percentage of wood vinegar
increased the yield of soybeans.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author extends his gratitude to Prof Alan E. Faburada, Administrator of NORSU PamplonaCampus, Negros Oriental, Daisy O. Cartagenas of DA-CENVIARC, Ubay, Bohol for the supply ofsoybean seeds and the Staff of the Soils Laboratory of the City Agriculture, Cebu City for the soil
analysis.
REFERENCES
Cartagenas, D. 2015. Central Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center. Ubay, Bohol, Philippines.
Personal Communication.
Go, M. 2011. http://www.philstar.com/business/648973/da-drafts-5-year-soybean-roadmap
Jothiyangkoon, D.J., Koolachart, R.K., Wanapat, S., Wongkaew, S. and Jogloy, S. 2008. Using wood vinegar inenhancing peanut yield and in controlling the contamination of aflatoxin producing fungus. Department ofPlant Science and Agricultural Resources, Khon Kaen University, Thailand and School of Crop ProductionⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Retrieved November 10,
2015
from
http://www.intlcss.org/files/congress-proceedings/2008-papers/cs3-s6/cs3-s6-o5-daruneejothityangkoon.pdf
Yokomori, M. 2011. Farmers in Benguet practice savers technology. The Japan Agricultural Exchange Council.
Rianella Printing Press, Baguio City, Philippines.

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Research article
erd

Spatial Assessment of Ecosystem Services by New City
Development – Case Study in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
KAY KHAING LWIN*
Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Email: kaykhaing.moecaf@gmail.com

KIICHIRO HAYASHI
Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

MAKOTO OOBANational Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
Received 15 January 2016

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Ecosystems provide many services not only for the environment, but also for humanwell-being. Land use and land cover change caused by development activities, have been
increasing rapidly, and these are recognized as key factors for human-induced impacts on
ecosystems. During the past few decades, ecosystem services (ESs) have deteriorated,
especially as a result of urban development at the global scale, and changes have been severe indeveloping countries. For example, in Myanmar, the new capital city was developed on
previously rural land during 2006. Consequently, large land use changes took place and many
ESs were destroyed. To compare the loss of ESs before and after the development, spatial
analyses of ESs were conducted in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, as a case study. For the spatial
analyses, two satellite images; namely Advance Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) for 2010 andLandsat 7 for 1999 were used for land classification. Information on ESs was collected throughliterature surveys, and existing unit values for ESs were estimated by using simple methods.
Then, priority areas for conservation of ESs were identified by evaluating the spatial analysis
results with the Zonation software. Finally, the overall changes in ES provisions due to land usechanges were estimated along with the changes in priority areas.
Keywords ecosystem services, landuse, spatial analysis, conservation prioritization

INTRODUCTION
Ecosystem services (ESs) are the benefits that ecosystems provide to people both directly or indirectly,
and they can be classified into four types, namely, provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural
services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), 2005).During the past few decades, ESs havedeteriorated because of extensive land use change despite increases in economic and societal prosperity(MA, 2005). Manandhar et al. (2009) demonstrated that land use change is a key driver ofenvironmental change and influences the provisioning of ESs. Methods to identify priority areas for ES
conservation need to be developed (Casalegno et al., 2014). This study attempts to identify priority
conservation areas in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Kong et al. (2013) evaluated land use change in Nay Pyi
Taw and found that forests have gradually decreased due to agriculture expansion, dam construction,
urban development, and so forth; Nay Pyi Taw is a site of new urban development and thus represents
a good area to analyse the changes in ESs.
OBJECTIVEⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

The present study aims to understand the spatial distribution patterns of ESs in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar,and to identify priority areas for conservation. Comparisons were conducted before and after new
urban development in order to understand the changes in ESs throughout the city and in priority areas.
METHODOLOGY
Study Area
This study was conducted in Nay Pyi Taw which is the new capital city of Myanmar (Fig. 1). It issituated at19°44′42.4"N, 96°07′46.8"E (Nay Pyi Taw City Hall). The population size of the city wasapproximately 1.56 million as of 2014 (Department of Population, 2014) and the city covers a total
area of 7,054 km2.
(b)(a)

Fig. 1 Overview map of Myanmar andFig. 2 (a) Landsat imagery and (b) ALOS
Council and city boundaries of Nay Pyi
imagery in Nay Pyi Taw City in red line
Source: (a) University of Maryland, NASA and
Taw in black and red respectively
GOFC-GOLDand (b) JAXA/Distribution RESTEC

Source: Myanmar Information Management Unit
(MIMU)

Research Flow
This research study was conducted in four parts. The first part involved the collection of satellite
images and the development of land use classifications by supervised and unsupervised classification
procedures. The second part involved the determination of unit values for ESs by literature surveys andestimation of land surface temperatures by using Landsat7 data. For the third part, spatial analyses of
ESs were conducted; and for the fourth part, a comprehensive assessment was conducted by using
Zonation software (Moilanen et. al., 2012) to determine the priority areas for the conservation of ES
provisioning potential.
Land use / land cover classification of satellite image: Land classification was conducted in
ArcGIS10.1. For reference data, Google Earth and original satellite images were used and as anancillary data, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), andslope data, calculated from the DEM, were applied. Before final land classifications were made, the
NDVI was used to classify forested and non-forested areas. As there were overlapping values forforested and non-forested areas in the NDVI dataset, slope data were used to further refine the data.
After that, unsupervised classification was used for the Landsat7 1999 image and supervisedclassification was used for the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) 2010 image. In this study,
land classifications were categorized into mainly four types, forest, water, urban, and agriculture areas.
Then, an accuracy assessment for the 2010 land classification was conducted. The overall accuracyⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

was 94.67% based on the ancillary data, such as, google earth.
Satellite images: In this study, two satellite images were used for the analysis. The first satellite image
was taken with the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometertype2 (ANVIR-2) on board the
ALOS (dated 20101110, here in after, ALOS2010) image and the second image was a Landsat7 image(dated 19991230, here in after, Landsat7-1999). The source of ALOS2010was cited as “satellite image
by JAXA/Distribution RESTEC”; its resolution was 10mx10m (Fig. 2(b)). The source of Landsat71999 was “satellite image by University of Maryland, NASA and GOFC-GOLD”and its resolution is
30mx30m (Fig. 2(a)). In this study, as the resolution of two satellite images is different, land use
classification and spatial analysis of ecosystem services were conducted separately for two images.
After that, the comparison was conducted based on each result of spatial analysis of ecosystem services
and priority maps for two periods.
Types of ESs analyzed in this study and the unit values for each ES: Table 1 shows the types of
ESs and the unit values used for the ESs. For the unit values of ESs, except for temperature regulation,
data were collected through literature surveys. Because the unit values of ESs for Myanmar werelimited in the literature, much of the data was estimated from other Asian regions to have enoughinformation for the analysis. These data were based on elevations, forest types and slope conditions
similar to those in Myanmar. In this study, three major types of ESs, namely, provisioning, regulating
and supporting, were used and cultural services were not included in this study due to data limitation.
Table 1 Types of ESs and the unit values of ESs used in this study
Types of ESs
Supporting Services:
GPP (t/ha/yr)

ForestCarbon stock (t/ha)
Regulating Services:
CO2 absorption (t/ha/yr)
Soilerosionfactor (t/ha/yr)
Water infiltration (mm/h)
Temperature regulation (°C)
Provisioning Services:
Agriculture Products (t / ha)Habitat (GDI)*GPP, gross primary production

Agricultural area

Urban

Water

SourceChenetal.
0(2013),
Hirata et al. (2013)
Oo(2009),0
Takeuchi (2012)

30.7

12.093

0

433.7

31.02

0

2.737
0.038
100
3.86

3.250
3.9
38.5
1.14

0
3
1 15
4.73

-

5.38
-

2
0
-

-

Chen0et al. (2013)
Sidle0et al. (2006)
Chaplot et al. (2002)
Calculated by Landsat7
ETM+
FAO (2009)
Li (2014)

Estimation of temperature regulation: Estimations of land surface temperatures were calculated byusing Landsat7’sEnhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) band 6. First, the digital number of band 6
was converted to radiance by using Eq. (1) as follows (Kumar et al., 2012):
𝐿

−𝐿

𝑀𝐴𝑋
𝑀𝐼𝑁
𝐿𝛾 = {𝑄𝐶𝐴𝐿𝑀𝐴𝑋−𝑄𝐶𝐴𝐿𝑀𝐼𝑁} ∗ 𝐷𝑁 − 1 + 𝐿𝑀𝐼𝑁

(1)

The value of LMAX, LMIN, QCALMAX and QCALMIN were obtained from the metadata file of Landsat
image.Secondly, black body temperature was calculated by using Eq.(2) as follows (Kumar, et.al,2012):
𝑇𝐵 =

𝐾2

(2)

𝐾
𝐿𝛾

ln(1+ 1 )The value of calibration constant K1 and K2 were obtained from the Landsat data user’s manual.
Finally, land surface temperatures were calculated based on the Eq. (3) as follows (Yue, et al., 2007):Ⓒ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

𝐿𝑆𝑇 =

𝑇𝐵

(3)

𝑇
𝜌

1+(𝛾 𝐵 )𝑙𝑛𝜀As land surface temperatures change depend on elevation level, an adjustment was conducted.
Adjustment was made based on “going up 1000 m vertically, temperature goes down 6 degree”.Then,the average temperature in each land use type was calculated and the differences of temperatures
among land use types were obtained as temperature regulation units (Table 1).
Green index (GI): In this study, the GI was calculated to determine the habitat distribution. The GI
was calculated based on the results of land classification maps for Landstat7-1999 and ALOS2010 byusing the resample tool in ArcGIS (Li, 2004). In the GI, green areas and non-green areas wereseparated and assigned values of 255 and 0, respectively. In this study, forest and water areas were
determined to represent green areas and other land uses were categorized as non-green areas.
Mapping with ArcGIS: Spatial analysis was conducted with ArcGIS to understand the spatial
distribution of ES provisions. Seven ES maps were developed in total, and the land classification map
data and unit values of ESs were applied. Before applying the unit values, a grid with a mesh size of
300 m × 300 m was developed for the land classification maps.
Determination of priority areas for conservation: Zonation is a software that can be used for theprioritization of conservation areas (Moilanen et al, 2012) The approach used by this software firstly
sums the value of each ES layer and then discards the least valuable cells one-by-one until all cells are
removed. There are four cell removal rules (Moilanen et al., 2012), and the present study used the
additive benefit function (ABF). The ABF tends to produce a higher average proportion of feature
distributions. In this study, equal weight was used for all ESs. By using the ABF, the present study
achieved the best performance on average for all features or ESs. The main result of the Zonation
analysis was a priority ranking map for the entire landscape.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the present study, geographic information system (GIS) based spatial analysis was conducted for theassessment of ES provision potential based on land classifications. Figure 3 shows the results of land
classifications for 1999 and 2010.
(a)

(b)

Fig. 3 Land use classification for (a) 1999 and (b) 2010
Based on the results of the land classification, spatial analysis was conducted by using unit valuesof the ESs on a 500 m mesh. The results are shown in Fig. 4. For food production services, the highest
provisioning of the service was in agricultural areas. For the CO2 absorption service, agricultural areas
had higher levels of service provisioning than the forest areas. Perhaps this was related to the unit value
used for CO2 absorption, which was from Chen et al. (2013). Chen et al. (2013) mentioned that
agricultural areas have high unit values because of the chemicals used for the crops. Even though many
peer-reviewed papers were collected and studied to define the unit values, nevertheless, suitable data
for Nay Pyi Taw were difficult to find. Therefore, we just applied the unit value for CO2 absorptionⒸ ISERD

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from Chen, et al. (2013). For temperature regulation, water areas had the highest regulation rates
followed by forest area. For the other remaining ESs in this study, forests were the highest providers ofservices.
The most important and valuable areas in terms of the potential distribution of ESs andconservation of ESs are shown in Fig. 5, and these data were derived from the Zonation analysis. In
Fig. 5, the dark red color represents the top priority areas for conservation and the violet color
represents the lowest priority areas. The top priority areas were mostly forested areas. It is well-known
that forest ecosystems are the main providers of ESs. Therefore, it makes sense that forested areas wereidentified as the top priority areas for the conservation of ESs. In general, the lowest priority areas were
urban developed areas and bare land.
Comparisons of 1999 and 2010 data showed that the amount of priority area decreased in someforested areas and increased in other areas. In 1999, some parts of agriculture areas were sparsely
included in the top priority areas and some parts (mostly northern parts of the study area) were
included in the least valuable areas. Sparse priority areas in 1999 were converted to the least priority
areas in 2010 because of urban development. According to these results, the priority areas identified in2010 should be protected for ES sustainability. Therefore, if infrastructure development projects arebeing planned, these priority areas should be avoided if at all possible.

a) food production 1999b) food production 2010c) CO2 absorption 1999d) CO2 absroption 2010e) soil-erostion control 1999 f) soil-eorstion control 2010g) water infiltration 1999h) water infiltration 2010i) GPP 1999j) GPP 2010k) carbon stock 1999l) carbon stock 2010m) GI 1999n) GI 2010o) temperature regulation 1999 p) temperature regulation 2010

Fig. 4 Spatial analysis results of ESs in Nay Pyi Taw in 1999 and 2010

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(b)

(a)

Fig. 5 Priority rank layer map for (a) 1999 and (b) 2010
CONCLUSION
In this study, a spatial analysis of ESs was conducted in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, which is an area of
rapid urbanization. Most of the ESs analyzed decreased over time, but food production services
increased because of the expansion of agriculture areas. ES provisioning was at the lowest level in theurban development areas. Priority maps were made to identify the areas most important for ES
conservation; much of this land consisted of forested areas.These priority maps should be useful forland use planning, policy development, and protected areas establishment in the Nay Pyi Taw
region.Comparisons between 1999 and 2010 data showed that ES provisioning had decreased,
especially in urban development areas, and several high priority areas in 1999 had changed to low
priority areas in 2010 because of urbanization. Therefore, before any new development projects are
initiated, we should seek to avoid construction in priority areas for ES provisioning as much as
possible. In future study, we seek to include cultural services in this study and also the demand andsupply of ESs will be estimated to be sustainable use of ESs in Nay Pyi Taw region.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the fund from the EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University.
REFERENCES
Casalegno, S., Bennie, J.J., Inger, R. and Gaston, K.J. 2014. Regional scale prioritization for key ecosystemservices, renewable energy production and urban development. PLoS ONE, 9 (9), e107822.
Chaplot, V., Boonsaner, A., Bricquet, J.P., De Rouw, A., Janeau, J.L., Marchand, P., Phommassack, T. andValentin, C. 2002. Soil erosion under land use change from three catchments in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Proc. of the 12th ISCO Conference, May 26-31, 2002, Beijing, China.
Chen, Z., Yu, G., Ge, J., Sun, X., Hirano, T., Saigusa, N., Wang, Q., Zhu, X., Zhang, Y., Zhang, J., Yan, J., Wang,
H., Zhao, L., Wang, Y., Shi, P. and Zhao, F. 2013. Temperature and precipitation control of the spatial
variation of terrestrial ecosystem carbon exchange in the Asian region. Agric. Forest Meteorol., 182-183,
266-276.
Department of Population. 2014. The population and housing census of Myanmar (2014): Summary of theprovisional results. Ministry of Immigration and Population, Myanmar.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2009. Special report: FAO/WFP crop and food security assessment
mission to Myanmar. FAO and WFP, Rome, Italy.
Hirata, R., Saigusa, N., Yamamoto, S., Ohtani, Y., Ide, R., Asanuma, J., Gamo, M., Hirano, T., Kondo, H.,
Kosugi, Y., Li, S.G., Nakai, Y., Takagi, K., Tani, M. and Wang, H. 2013. Spatial distribution of carbon
balance in forest ecosystems across East Asia. Agric. Forest Meteorol., 148, 761-775.
Kong, I.H, Baek, G.H. and Lee, D.K. 2013. Land cover change and forest fragmentation analysis for Naypyidaw,
Myanmar. J. Environ. Impact Assess., 22 (2), 147-156.
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Kumer, K.S., Bhaskar, P.U. and Padmakumari, K. 2012. Estimation of land surface temperature to study urban
heat island effect using Landsat ETM+ image. Int. J. Eng. Sci. Technol., 4 (2), 771-778.
Li, R. 2014. The potential distributions of mammalian by Maxent model, Case of Nagoya City. M.Sc. Thesis,
Department of Civil Engineering, Nagoya University, Japan.
Manandhar, R., Odeh, I.O.A. and Ancev, T. 2009. Improving the accuracy of land use and land coverclassification of Landsat data using post-classification enhancement. Remote Sens., 1, 330-344.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: Synthesis. Island Press,
Washington, D.C., US A.
Moilanen, A., Meller, L., Leppanen, J., Pouzols, F.M., Arponen, A. and Kujala, H. 2012. Spatial conservation
planning framework and software ZONATION, Version 3.1, User Manual.
Oo, T.N. 2009. Carbon sequestration of tropical deciduous forests and forest plantations in Myanmar. Ph.D.
dissertation. Department of Forest Sciences, Seoul National University, Korea.
Sidle, R.C., Ziegler, A.D., Negishi, J.N., Nik, A.R., Siew, R. and Turkelboom, F. 2006. Erosion processes insteep terrain, Truths, myths, and uncertainties related to forest management in Southeast Asia. Forest Ecol.
Manage., 224, 199-225.
Takeuchi, K. 2012. Forest carbon stocks in shifting cultivation of Thailand and Lao PDR. APN Science Bulletin,
Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, 2-3.
Yue, W., Xu, J., Tan, W. and Xu, L. 2007. The relationship between land surface temperature and NDVI withremote sensing, Application to Shanghai Landsat 7 ETM+ data. Int. J. Remote Sens., 28 (15), 3205-3226.

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Research article
erd

Effects of Surveying Methods between GNSS and Direct
Leveling on Elevation Values over Long Distance inMountainous Area
TAKAHIKO KUBODERA*
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Toyo University, Saitama, Japan
Email: kubodera@toyo.jp

HIROMU OKAZAWA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, JapanYOSHIHARU HOSOKAWA
Emeritus Professor, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, JapanFUTOSHI KAWANA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan

EIJI MATSUO
Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan

MACHITO MIHARA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Received 19 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Water use facilities such as irrigation and drainage channels, water gate, hydraulicdrop etc. are constructed to make water supply to paddy field and upland field. In a planning ofirrigation project, it is necessary to obtain elevation value with accuracy and efficiency aroundproject site. In generally, elevation values are obtained by the direct leveling survey withspecific instruments, e.g. digital or auto level, a couple of staffs and turning plates. The directleveling survey also needs several benchmarks, which are points of reference with highaccuracy location information including latitude, longitude and elevation. There is, however, aserious problem that survey work of the direct leveling survey must begin at several
benchmarks. In the case of survey work in mountainous area, surveyors must carry out thedirect leveling survey over several very-long routes, because there are few benchmarks. On theother hand, in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveying, elevation values canbe obtained indirectly by observing carrier phase from multi positioning satellites such as GPS,GLONASS since 2011. This study started to install the new benchmark on a 920 m highmountain, about 5 km away from some known benchmarks in Karuizawa Town, Nagano
Prefecture. After surveying the new benchmark by the GNSS and the direct leveling, we
compared its elevation values. Furthermore, a streamlined survey process, the influence onmost probable value and standard deviation by the difference of using satellite, “GPS-only” and“GPS and GLONASS” were investigated in the GNSS surveying. As the results, our tests foundthat dramatically streamlined survey process, “GPS-only” can obtain an elevation value that is
consistent with the value from the direct leveling survey. Therefore, the GNSS surveying isuseful to obtain accurate elevation values over long distance like very long channels.
Keywords GPS, GLONASS, rigorous network adjustment, observation durationⒸ ISERD

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INTRODUCTION
In agricultural irrigation projects, channels are planned to distribute water to the upland and paddy
fields within the project area. The channels in such project areas tend to be long. For distributing waterin long channels, it is important to use surveying technologies that clarify the elevations of planned
channel locations. Conventional survey techniques are time- and labor-intensive. Therefore, thedevelopment of survey techniques that are accurate and efficient has been promoted.
It is difficult for developing countries to prepare expensive surveying equipment and use highly
advance surveying systems. Such countries request that advanced nations provide them assistance on
surveying techniques. Japan once conducted a questionnaire survey on the GNSS continuous
observation system in countries receiving overseas development assistance from Japan (Nakagawa elal., 2014). The GNSS continuous observation system uses GNSS-based control stations (i.e.,observation stations with GNSS antennas and receivers) for data acquisition, and the system includes
analysis and provision of the obtained data. The survey showed that 16 of the 23 countries surveyed
had already introduced the GNSS continuous observation system (Nakagawa et al., 2014). Nine ofthose 16 countries reported using the system for agricultural purposes (Nakagawa et al., 2014). Judging
from the questionnaire results, the use of surveying techniques using GNSS in agriculture is being
promoted internationally. It is predicted that surveying using the GNSS continuous observation system
will become the mainstream technique. The introduction of the GNSS continuous observation system
can be expected to drastically eliminate the technical gap between developing countries and developed
countries.
In conventional direct leveling, whereby the elevations of planned locations for channels are
determined, the relative height are directly surveyed by using level, vertical leveling staffs and turning
plates (Okazawa et al., 2014). Observations are made by repeatedly placing the level and the levelingstaff at certain intervals along the route from the benchmark to the new point (Okazawa et al., 2014).
The problem with this method is that considerable work is required to conduct leveling of a route forplanned water channels if the route is in a mountainous area without any benchmarks nearby. The data
used in this method are a series obtained in the observations from the benchmark to the new point;
therefore, observation errors occurring between the benchmark and the new point greatly affect the
final results. Even one error in the routes is not permissible, and the responsibility of the surveyor isalways great. There are other problems, such as difficulties in determining what routes to use to accessthe survey points and the problem of traffic density and traffic safety at the survey points.
In GNSS surveying, which started to be used in 2011, the phases of carrier waves from GPS andGLONASS positioning satellites are observed. All that's required is for the GNSS equipment to be set
at the new point. Three-dimensional coordinates of the new point are determined by obtaining thebaseline vector from the GNSS-based control station to the new point. A geoid model is necessary for
determining the elevation, because the datum of GNSS surveying is a reference ellipsoid and the datum
for the elevation is the geoid. In Japan, Japan geoid model “GSIGEO2011”, which is a high-accuracy
geoid model, was created (Kodama et al., 2014). The new geoid model has made GNSS levelingpossible. GPS and GLONASS are separate systems and the observed data are different. Use of GPSonly or GPS and GLONASS is stipulated for public surveying in Japan. Use of GLONASS-only is not
authorized. Studies have compared the use of GPS to the use of GLONASS (Ikeda and Sada, 2012;
Mylnikova et al., 2015; Yasyukevich et al., 2015).
Based on such circumstances in Japan, GPS-only and combination of GPS and GLONASS wereused in this study. The areas where GNSS leveling is done for agricultural channel planning tend to be
far from the existing benchmark. Therefore, the authors selected a location for a new point at theelevation of about 920 m in a mountainous area. The new point was surrounded by large areas of
paddy fields and of upland fields for cabbage and blueberry cultivation. Even though the target area
already had irrigation channels, the local farmers requested that the accurate elevation of the area bedetermined.
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To examine the conformity of the elevation values surveyed by GNSS leveling and thosesurveyed by direct leveling, both techniques were used in observing the new point. The most probablevalue and the standard deviation of the elevation obtained by each technique were determined byrigorous network adjustment and were compared. In GNSS leveling, the influence of the difference
between GPS-only observation and GPS and GLONASS observation on the most probable value andthe standard deviation was clarified. To investigate the improvements in observation efficiency
achieved by GNSS leveling, the work volume of observation by GNSS leveling and by direct levelingwere determined and compared.
METHODOLOGY
Methodology of GNSS Leveling
The new point location was set near a paddy field area in a mountainous area at an elevation of about
920 m and about 5 km from the first-order benchmark in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture. Table 1
shows the outline of the GNSS leveling and direct leveling done for this study.
Table 1 Outline of the GNSS leveling and direct leveling done for this study
Used known point

Used satellite

Date

GNSS levelingNumber of
new point
1

3 GNSS-based control stations

GPS, GLONASS

23.Sep.2014

Direct leveling1

3 first-order benchmarks

None19-20.Sep.2013

MethodThe observation technique used in GNSS leveling was static relative positioning with carrier phaseobservable. Because the static is most accurate method in GNSS surveying such as the fast static, RTK
and so on. The GNSS leveling equipment used was Trimble R8 GNSS of Nikon Trimble Co., Ltd. (Fig.
1). The geoid model used was Japan geoid model “GSIGEO2011”. The map of network plan for GNSS
leveling was the Y-shaped connected traverse (Fig. 2). The GNSS-based control stations used in the
GNSS leveling were the three points No.960610, No.950269 and No.960613. The new point is denoted
as No.4101. No.4101 is denominated by the author to distinguish it from other points. Fig. 3 shows the
GNSS-based control station No.950269. The provision of GLONASS data, in addition to GPS data, wasstarted in 2013. This study used GPS-only, GPS and GLONASS data from GNSS-based control stations.
Coordinate value

Antenna height

New point 4101

Fig. 1 GNSS leveling survey

Fig. 2 Map of network planfor GNSS levelingⒸ ISERD

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Fig. 3 GNSS-based control
station No.950269

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Methodology of Direct Leveling
The direct leveling was done to compare with GNSS leveling. Because the direct leveling is mostaccurate method in leveling survey. The equipment used for direct leveling was digital levels and barcode leveling staffs of Leica Geosystems Co., Ltd. or Topcon Corp (Fig. 4). The digital level isaccurate than auto level when reading the staff. Even though different levels used because surveyed atsame time on different routes, there are no different results comparing Leica and Topcon level. Fig. 5
shows the map of network plan for direct leveling. The first-order benchmarks used in direct levelingwere the three points No.18050 (Elevation 948.8876 m), No.18049 (Elevation 938.1914 m) andNo.546 (Elevation 940.1693 m). Three intersection points No.1, No.2 and No.3 were set for examining
each section. The new point is denoted as No.4101. Fig. 6 shows the first-order benchmark No.546.
The first-order benchmark is the benchmark with the highest accuracy. The elevation is marked in unitsof 0.1 mm.
Bar-code staff
Digital levelFig.4 Direct leveling survey

BenchmarkFig. 5 Map of network plan for direct levelingFig. 6 First-order benchmark No.546
Results of Work Volume of GNSS Leveling and Direct Leveling
Table 2 shows the work volume for GNSS leveling and that for direct leveling. GNSS leveling wasdone by one person (the author). The observation hours in GNSS leveling were 5 continuous hours.
The survey manual for elevation surveying by GNSS leveling specifies that the observation hours for
GNSS leveling shall be at least 5 continuous hours (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. 2015).
Direct leveling was done by 24 people, including the author. The 23 people, excluding the author, weredivided into 6 groups of 3 or 4 persons to survey within 2 days. The observation hours for directleveling was 11 hours in 2 days. The total observation duration is the observation hours multiplied by
the number of observation persons. The total observation duration for GNSS leveling were 5 hours,Ⓒ ISERD

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and those for direct leveling were 264 hours. The total observation duration in GNSS leveling wereabout one-fiftieth (1/50) that of direct leveling. Even though the result varies depending on the lengthof the route for direct leveling, the examination clarified that GNSS leveling is able to dramatically
improve observation efficiency. Based on the experience of conducting both leveling methods, theauthor is able to conclude that the use of GNSS leveling helped overcome many problems regarding
direct leveling, including planning for routes to the survey points, problems of traffic conditions andtraffic safety at the survey points, and the mental stress on the surveyor in work that does not allow
even one error.
Table 2 Work volume for GNSS leveling and that for direct leveling

GNSS leveling survey

Number ofobservation persons
1

Observation
hours [h]5Total observation
duration [h]5Direct leveling survey

24

11

264

MethodRigorous Network Adjustment
To determine the most probable value and standard deviation of the elevation of the new point basedon the observed data (i.e., the relative height or baseline vectors), rigorous network adjustment wasdone for the data obtained by GNSS leveling and direct leveling. In rigorous network adjustment, anobservation equation and a residual equation are formulated for the unknowns of the new point, anormal equation is formulated by using the least-squares method and that equation is solved (e.g.
Tajima and Komaki, 2001).
Eq. (1) is the formulated observation equation.
(1)

AX L

Where

A : Coefficient matrix
X : Unknown vector
L : Constant vector

The unknown vector is the unknown to be determined, and the constant vector includes theobserved values and the values for the known points. Practically, each observed values contains error.
Therefore, a residual equation shown as Eq. (2) is formulated.
V(2)

AX  LWhere
V : Residual vector
Then, a normal equation is formulated based on the least-squares method such that the sum ofsquares of the residual vector V T PV for which the weight is considered is the smallest. Eq. (3) is theformulated normal equation. The weight is a function of distance.
A T PAX(3)

A T PLWhere
P : Weight matrix
Eq. (4) shows the solution for the normal equation, and Eq. (5) shows the residual. To fulfill therequirement for high accuracy, the unknown is determined by using the observed value, which isgreater than the unknown, and the least-squares method. The most probable value of the unknown,
which is the most probable value for the elevation of the new point, is determined as a solution Eq. (4)to the normal equation obtained by using the least-squares method.
ˆX

A T PA

1(4)

A T PLⒸ ISERD

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Where
ˆ
V

X̂ : Solution of the normal equation obtained by using the least-squares method.

ˆ L
AX

A A T PA

1

(5)

A T PL  L

WhereV̂ : Residual of the normal equation obtained by using the least-squares method.
Eq. (6) shows the standard deviation of unit weight. The standard deviation of unit weight is thestandard deviation of the observed weight.
ˆ T PV
ˆ
V
nm

m0

Where

(6)

m0 : Standard deviation of unit weightn : Number of the observation equations
m : Number of the unknowns

The inverse matrix of the coefficient matrix of the normal equation is shown as Eq. (7), which iscalled the weight coefficient matrix.
Q

A T PA

(7)

1

Where
Q : Inverse matrix of the coefficient matrix of the normal equation
Eq. (8) shows the standard deviation of the most probable value of the unknown. This standard
deviation is the standard deviation of the most probable value of the elevation of the new point.

mi

(8)

m0 qiiWheremi : Standard deviation of the most probable value of the unknownqii : Diagonal line element of Q

However, rigorous network adjustment uses matrices to determine the many unknowns; therefore,
computer applications are used in actual situations. Rigorous network adjustment for GNSS levelingwas done by using TOWISE 4.1.1 (Japanese version) of Nikon Trimble Co., Ltd. and that for directleveling was done by using BLUETREND XA (Japanese version) of FukuiComputer, Inc.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Generally, the accuracy of the most probable value is evaluated by the standard deviation. The
probability, the observed value vary within the standard deviation around the most probable value, isknown as 68.3 %. The most probable value and standard deviation of the elevation of the new point
No.4101 determined through rigorous network adjustment using the values obtained by GNSS levelingand those obtained by direct leveling are shown in Table 3. The most probable value determined by
GNSS leveling using GPS-only was 919.928 m. That determined by GNSS leveling using GPS andGLONASS was 919.946 m. That determined by direct leveling was 919.921 m. The standard deviationof GNSS leveling using GPS-only was 0.018 m. That of GNSS leveling using GPS and GLONASS
was 0.021 m. That of direct leveling was 0.010 m. The standard deviation of direct leveling was thesmallest. That for GNSS leveling using GPS-only was the second smallest. That for GNSS levelingusing GPS and GLONASS was the third smallest.
The most probable value and standard deviation of the altitude of the new point No.4101
determined through rigorous network adjustment of the values observed by GNSS leveling, thoseobtained by direct leveling, and the discrepancy between the two values are shown in Table 4. The
discrepancy was obtained by subtracting the value observed by direct leveling from the value observedⒸ ISERD

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by GNSS leveling. The discrepancy between GNSS leveling using GPS-only and direct leveling was 7mm. The discrepancy between GNSS leveling using GPS and GLONASS and direct leveling was 25
mm. The results can be regarded as mutually consistent, even though the leveling techniques aredifferent. We can conclude that elevation with high accuracy, i.e., sufficiently consistent with theresults of direct leveling, was obtained by GNSS leveling using GPS-only. The reason for thediscrepancy between the results of GNSS leveling using GPS-only and the results of GNSS levelingusing GPS and GLONASS is thought to be that GPS and GLONASS are different systems. It isthought that GPS-only observation and analysis is better than GPS and GLONASS when and whereenough satellites are available for GPS-only operation.
Table 3 Most probable value and standard deviation of the elevation of the new point
MethodGNSS leveling survey
Direct leveling survey

GPS-only

Name ofnew point
4101

Most probablevalue [m]919.928

Standard
deviation [m]0.018

GPS+GLONASS

4101

919.946

0.021

None

4101

919.9210.010

Used satellite

Table 4 Discrepancy of elevations between GNSS leveling and direct levelingGPS-only

Name ofnew point
4101

Most probablevalue [m]+ 0.007

Standard
deviation [m]+0.008

GPS+GLONASS

4101+ 0.025+0.011

Used satellite
Discrepancy

CONCLUSIONAs the conclusions, the points are summarized in the following.
(1) The total observation duration in GNSS leveling were about one-fiftieth (1/50) that of directleveling. GNSS leveling is able to dramatically improve observation efficiency.
(2) The discrepancy between GNSS leveling using GPS-only and direct leveling was 7 mm. The
discrepancy between GNSS leveling using GPS and GLONASS and direct leveling was 25 mm. The
sufficiently consistent with the results of direct leveling was obtained by GNSS leveling using GPSonly.
(3) It is thought that GPS-only observation and analysis is better than GPS and GLONASS when andwhere enough satellites are available for GPS-only operation.
REFERENCES
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. 2015. The survey manual for elevation surveying by GNSS leveling,
1-9. (in Japanese).
Ikeda, T. and Sada, T. 2012. Study on the effect of satellite selection of high accuracy positioning using GPS andGLONASS. Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineers. Series F3 (Civil Engineering Informatics), 68 (2),I_101-I_116. (in Japanese with English abstract).
Kodama, T., Morishita, Y., Miyahara, B., Kawawa, H., Nemoto, S. and Kuroishi, Y. 2014. Establishment of new
geoid model “GSIGEO2011 (Ver. 1)”. Journal of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, 126, 67-85.
(in Japanese with English abstract).
Mylnikova, A.A., Yasyukevich, Y.V., Kunitsyn, V.E. and Padokhin, A.M. 2015. Variability of GPS/GLONASSⒸ ISERD

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differential code biases. Results in Physics, 5, 9-10.
Nakagawa, H., Sakabe, S., Asano, T., Ueno, T., Marvit, K. and Tokunaga, K. 2014. The results of a questionnaire
on GNSS continuous observing system targeting mainly ODA recipient countries. Journal of the Geospatial
Information Authority of Japan, 126, 31-55. (in Japanese with English abstract and questionnaire).
Okazawa, H., Kubodera, T., Sasada, K., Tasumi, M., Hosokawa, Y., Matsuo, E. and Mihara, M. 2014. Newer
surveying -Fundamentals and applications with newest technology-. Corona Publishing Co., Tokyo, Ltd, 7088. (in Japanese).
Tajima, M. and Komaki, K. 2001. The basis of least-squares method and network adjustment for surveying. Toyo
Publishing Co., Ltd. (in Japanese).
Yasyukevich, Y.V., Mylnikova, A.A. and Polyakova, A.S. 2015. Estimating the total electron content absolutevalue from the GPS/GLONASS data. Results in Physics, 5, 32-33.

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Research article
erd

Challenge and Prevalence of Fasciolosis in Cattle in Pursat
Province, Cambodia
VANDARA LOEURNG*
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: vandara_loueng@yahoo.com

BUNTHON CHEA
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

SOTHYRA TUM
Department of Animal Production and Health, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

MOM SENG
Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Received 21 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Poor nutrition and fasciolosis have significantly decreased cattle productivity. Floodis one of the well-known Climate Changes affected cattle production in Cambodia. The presentof permanent water bodies in these inundated areas may be provided favorable environment for
lymnaeid snail, the intermediate host of Fasciola gigantica. Therefore, the study aimed to
identify challenges in cattle production and the risk factors of F. gigantica infection in cattle
after flood in Ou Tapong, Bakan, Pursat, Cambodia during December 2014 to June 2015. The
88 households were interviewed on challenges and risks of husbandry practice by using
questionnaire. The total 171 fecal samples from flooding area (n=108) and non-flood area(n=63) depend on the number cattle in each area. Age, sex and health status were determined
individually. Fecal were examined by using Modified Balivat Fasciola egg and counting
technique. The result found that there was significance (p<0.001) between the prevalence offasciolosis in flooded areas (25.00%) and non-e flooded areas (1.60%). It was noted that higher
infection rates in female (19.70%) and male (2.90%) were found. The present of F. gigantica
was found in older cattle (≥ 3years) that was significantly higher than young cattle (<3years) at
the rates of 23.20 % and 7.90 %, respectively (p<0.01). The prevalence F. gigantica was highly
different (p<0.001) among emaciated, thin, medium and fat of body condition score of cattle.
Risk factor for cattle fasciolosis infection was demonstrated that cattle was fed by cut and carrywater grass derived from inundated area (natural lake) and had significant association(OR=0.61) with prevalence of fasciolosis in cattle through logistic regression model. Following
by focused group discussions, problems encountered in cattle raising caused flood including
pen flooding, lack of feed and susceptible to disease. However, only 25.00% prepared feed
before flood season and others did as habitation in local. Therefore, flood may be a factor tocontribute to occurrence of fasciolosis in cattle. Traditional adaptation in cattle raising of
farmers seems to be neglected to improve cattle production.
Keywords Fasciola gigantica, cattle, prevalence, flood, climate change, Cambodia

INTRODUCTION
Cattle production plays a vital role in the rural Cambodia economy, providing draught power, cash
income and as a source of fertilizer. In 2013, livestock accounted for 14 percent of total agricultureⒸ ISERD

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GDP (MAFF, 2014). Climate change has various impacts on the livelihoods of rural farmers in
Cambodia as they majorly depend on agriculture for living. Flood, one of the well-known climatechanges, is a core factor for low cattle productivity due to the loss of grazing pasture and shelter andoccurrence of diseases (MoE, 2014). The presence of permanent water bodies in these inundated areas
provided favorable environment for lymnaeid snail, the intermediate host of Fasciola gigantica. The
lymnaeid snail population and its habitat are disturbed by flooding as they are dispersed by floodwater(Copeman, 2008). Alves et al. (2011) stated that flood might be associated with the presence of
lymnaeid snail where prevalence fasciolosis in cattle was higher in flooded areas than non-flood areas.
Cambodia experiences with flood every year, particularly the provinces along Mekong River and Tonle
Sap (Leng, 2014). The anticipated impact of climate change and variability on agriculture include
frequency increase and intensity of flood and incidence increase of pests and disease (MOE and UNDP,
2011). Flood causes economic loss, crop, and livestock destruction. As consequence, NCDM (2014)
reported that an estimated cost that flood damaged and lost livestock was about US$3.33 million in
2013. Stock, poultry, and pig losses together with dying cattle during flood also found.
F. gigantica is being the major internal parasite of cattle health problem in Cambodia (Soun et al.,2006). Losses due to fasciolosis are mainly reduced meat production, draught performance, and lower
fertility in infected animals (Spithill et al., 1999). The net benefit per head of cattle and buffalo in thesehigh-risk zones of Cambodia is US$76-91.These losses and the costs were taken into account of
implementing control program (Sothoeun, 2007). Tum et al. (2004) developed a geographic
information system model for mapping the risk of fascioliasis in cattle and buffaloes in Cambodia.
Mainly around Tonle Sap Lake and along the Mekong River and Bassac River, estimating that 28% of
cattle Cambodia is potentially at risk of fascioliasis, with areas of high and moderate risk concentrated
in southern and central areas. However, knowledge of the prevalence of parasitic infection including
fasciolosis in relation to seasonal flood and challenge cattle production cause flood in these selectedstudy areas is poor documented.
OBJECTIVE
The study aimed (i) to identify problems encountered in cattle and the solutions farmers responded toflood, and (ii) to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of fasiolosis in cattle in study area.
METHODOLOGY
Study Area
Two villages in Ou Tapong, Bakan, Pursat province were selected for this study and were taken placefrom December 2014 to June 2015. Geographically, Ou Tapong commune Bakan district is apeninsular area situated along Tonle Sap River, and these villages are different from Sdock klouk
situated in the lower plain of Tonle Sap and are susceptible to flood damage in rainy season, while
Robaoh Reang village is a higher land (non- flood area).
Survey of Fasciolosis
Fecal samples were sampling from 63 and 107 of the animals in Robaoh Rang and Sdock Khlouk
villages, respectively. Samples were selected out from all cattle in both villages. Two cattle were
sampling from household raise at least two cattle and a cattle from a household raise only one. They
were randomly collected from male and female cattle with the age of less than 3 years old and above 3
years. Approximately 5-10 g fecal samples were collected from rectum.
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Fig. 1 Map of study area
The samples were independently labeled with the age, sex, body condition score, and village
name and were stored in a cooled box containing ice. The samples were transported to Parasitology
Laboratory of Research and Extension at Royal University of Agriculture and were analyzed using a
Modified Balivat Fasciola egg counting technique to find prevalence of fasciolosis. The association
between the independent factors and the prevalence of fasciolosis was calculated by using the Chisquare and confidence level was held at 95%. As part of the study, all cattle owners were selected forinterviewing by a set of structured questionnaire that covered aspects of challenges and responses of
farmers to flooding in cattle production and possible risk factors for fasciola, for example, feeding andwater management, and presence of lymnaeid snail in particular site. Focused group discussion was
also done for validation. Risk factors associated with case of fasciolosis were analyzed using a logistic
regression model. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 16.0.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
General Characteristics of Cattle Production
Cattle production is considered the second major economic activity for smallholders while the main job
is rice production. The majority of cattle production in both villages was raised for breeding purpose,as savings in family. Generally, cattle were grazed together on available pastures in the area, which
was depended on the season and availability of feed. The cattle feeds were mainly grasses, rice straw,
and stubble. After rice harvest, cattle were herded together in the grazing area where pasture and water
are available, especially at floodplain and surrounding natural lake near Tonle sap river. The cattle
were released from morning to evening in Sdock Khlouk. Unlike the cattle in Robaoh Reang, they
were freely released to grass in paddy field or grassland (farm) with additional feed, such as rice straw.
Problems Faced by Farmers in Cattle Raising
Cattle raising in Sdock Klouk village is very sensitive to be impacted by flood. Water grass such as
Brachiaria (buffalo grass) and Oryza rufipogon from flood plain and flooded natural lake are the main
feeds for cattle in flood events.
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85

100
80
60
40
20
0

70

Avaliability No field
grass fargrazingfrom house48

Dirty pen45

Lack of
feed

30

9

6

Lack of
Pen
Evacuatedclean water flooding hill far fromhouse

Fig. 2 Percentage of farmers faced by feed and pen problems in cattle rising during flooding

Percentage

The survey result presented in Fig. 2 shows that 85% of farmers reported grass availability was far
from household with the distance between 3 and 15 kilometers. Farmers (75%) said that there was nofield grazing for cattle because grass field was flooded and 45% of farmers were lack of feed for cattle,
a part of cattle lack of water grass due to no boat and destroyed grass. Pasture was also a major
challenge to limit cattle productivity after flood because water grass was no longer grow or flower andthat was not a suitable feed for cattle.
100
80
60
40
20
0

82
39

Diarrhea

Foot and
Mouth
Disease18

18

Hemorrhage
Septicemia

Pain nail9
Poison feed

Fig. 3 Percentage of farmers noted disease in cattle during flood

Precentage

Observation of farmers on disease in cattle during flood is shown in Fig. 3. There are 82% of
farmers who found that their cattle had diarrhea during and after flood season. There were 39% of
farmers who observed that cattle had Foot and Mouth disease, Hemorrhage septicemia (18%) and pain
nail (18%). Lastly 9% of farmers reported poisoning cases on cattle. Those could be the result fromflood related issues and evacuating conditions were susceptible to infectious diseases. Flood water was
only a drinking source during flood duration and cut and carry moss grass were the main feed for cattle.
100
80
60
40
20
0

75
25
No
prepared4136Prepared Buid hill at Buy boat
the home
Feed

17

7

Repairboat

Keep asnormalOther acitivies

Fig. 4 Percentage of farmer adapted in cattle production
Adaptation of farmers keeping cattle in study site is illustrated in Fig. 4. Farmers were asked toshare their experience of dealing with flood and to describe existing ways to adapt to flood. Up to 75%
of cattle owners did not make any feed preparation while there was 25% prepared rice straw.
Traditional adaptation of villagers, including 41% of farmers built an evacuated site for cattle at home,
36% bought a boat, and 17% repaired their boats before flood event because preparing boat was very

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important to transport water grass. However, at least 7% absence of any adaptation means the farmers
kept and did everything as normal due to living conditions.
Infection Fasciolosis in Cattle
Out of the total cattle examinded, an overall prevalence of 28 (16.4%) were recorded in the present
study. The prevalence rate at Robaoh Reang and Sdock Khlouk villages were 1.6% and 25%,
respectively (Table 1). Prevalence of fasciolosis was higher in cattle at non-flood areas than in cattle atflood areas. The study revealed a significant difference (p<0.001) of fasciolosis prevalence in the twostudy villages. Sdock Khlouk was higher than Robaoh Reang as it may be defined by the presence ofmore lowland or lake, which was the maintenance of flood prone areas. The mollusk dispersion andmaintenance of the life cycle of fasciola are suited for those areas (Lima et al., 2009). High prevalence
was observed in flood areas as it was supported by the model, which indicated that the area of high andmoderate risk of fasciolosis in the closed distance river and lake (Tum et al., 2004). Moreover, cattle
feeding method in Sdock Khlouk was mainly free grazing at bank of natural lake and the margin offlooded areas as water receded. This inundated area was a suitably permanent habitat for aquatic snails
that were the intermediate hosts of F. giganitca (Tum et al., 2004). The higher in area surroundinglarge natural lake or pond was the location where Lymnaea snail was seen by villagers. The overall
prevalence of liver fluke infection (13.4%) is supported by the finding of Dorny et al. (2011) which theresult varied from 5%-20%. On the other hand, this result is higher than the earlier report of Tum et al.
(2007) who found 6.2% prevalence of F. gigantica in cattle for Pursat province and concluded that
there is a moderate predicted risk of information. The variation in the findings with the early reports
may be due to the difference in sample size, place of study site, period of infection, time of collecting
fecal sample, and availability of infected intermediate hosts (Lymnea snail). The present finding was
gradually increased year over year and it might be closely associated to the presence of chronic cattle
infection due to no deworming.
Table 1 Prevalence of fasciolosi base on site
Site
None-flood
Flood
Total

N examined
63
108
171

N infected127
28Prevalence %
1.6
25
16.4

𝑥2
15.92

P
0.001

As shown in Table 2, there was significant in variation of fasciolosis in male and female cattle(𝑥 2 = 5.59, p=0.018). The infection rate in female was higher (19.7%) than male (2.9%). This finding
was similar to the observation of Ardo (2014). Impact to the infection rate could not be explained, butthese infections in female were higher than in male which could also be attributed to the proportion of
more female samples (Table 2). The prevalence of fasciolosis was higher (23.2%) in old cattle whilelowest prevalence in young cattle was up to three years old (7.9%). It showed a significant difference
among age group (𝑥 2 = 7.18, p=0.007). The lower prevalence rate in young cattle might be due toshort time exposure to disease than old cattle. On the other hand, the old cattle were free grazing fromnear submerged area from morning to evening (Table 2). Base on body condition, it was significantly
difference (𝑥 2 =18.81, p=0.000) of prevalence F. gagantica among emaciated, thin, medium, and fat
body conditions of cattle. 40% was observed in cattle with emaciated body condition, while the lowest
infection prevalence (1.6%) was observed among cattle with fat body condition which was consistent
with the finding of Rast et al. (2013).

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Table 2 Prevalence of faciolosis base on sex, age and body condition of cattle
Factors
FemaleMale≥3<3
Emaciated
Thin
MediumFat

Sex
Age(years)
Body condition

N examined
137
34
95
76
10
38
61
62

N infected
27
1
22
6
4
11
12
1

Prevalence %
19.7
2.9
23.2
7.9
40
29
19.7
1.6

𝑥2
5.59

P
0.018

7.18

0.007

18.81

.000

Risk Factors for Fasciolosis in Cattle
Fourteen univariables were analyzed for association with the presence of fasciolosis reported by cattle
owners. Of these 10 (p≤0.25) showed significant association risk variables of fasiolosis including cut
grass from flood plain, natural lake, cut stubble, free grazing around Tonle Sap, free grazing around lake,
drink water from lake, cannel, dung well, use cattle for ploughing in rice field, and use cattle fecal for
fertilizer. This was eligible for the inclusion of the multivariable logistic regression. The results from thisanalysis revealed that cattle that were fed by cut and carry water grass from natural lake were more likely
to have fasciolosis than cattle that were not feed by cut and carry grass from natural lake. There was asignificant association (OR=0.61, P<0.01) with prevalence of fasciolosis in cattle (Table 3).
Table 3 Result of a multivariable logistic regression analysis of risk factors for fasciolosis
Risk factor

𝛽Constant
Cut and carry grass from natural lake

-1.193-2.796

Association with Fasciolosis
OR
95 CI for OR
Lower
Upper
0.061

0.008

0.462

P

0.000
0.007

CONCLUSION
The cattle productions of small-holder farmers were in the limit productivity in terms of feeding andoccurrence of diseases resulted by flooding. Traditional adaption may be neglected to improve cattle
productivity, hence adaptation capturing good practice to enhance community resilience to flood
should be introduced to farmers. Prevalence Fasciola gigantica was found in cattle and feed
management in the areas that seemed to be exposure to fasciolosis infection. Accordingly, a disease
prevention program and a control program are required. Inundated areas may be associated with habitatof intermediate hosts that contribute to higher prevalence of fasciolosis in flooded areas. It would also
be a role as baseline data in the future study or for the relevant field.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to express his sincere thanks to the two-year scholarship from Climate Change
and Water Governance project of the Cambodia’s leading independent development policy research
institute (CDRI) funded by IDRC. We would address our sincere thanks to classmates for their help
and participation of farmers during the field survey.

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REFERENCES
Alves, D.P., Carneiro, M. B., Martins, I.V.F, Bernardo, C.C., Donatele, D.M., Pereira Júnior, O.S, Almeida, B.R.,
Avelar, B.R. and Leão, A.G.C. 2011. Distribution and factors associated with Fasciola hepatica infection in
cattle in the south of Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including
Tropical Diseases, 17, 271-276.
Ardo, M.B., Aliyara, Y.H. and Lawal, H. 2014. Prevalence of bovine Fasciolosis in major abattiors of Adamawa
State, Nigeria. Bayero Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 6, 12-16.
Coperman, D.B. and Suhardono. 2008. Epidemiology of Fasciola gigantica in cattle and buffalo. In: Gray, GD,
Copland, R.S. and Copeman, D.B. (Ed.). Overcoming liver fluke as a constraint to ruminant production inSouth-East Asia (p. 39). Australian Center for International Research (ACIAR), Canbera, Australia.
Dorny, P., Stoliaroff, V., Charlier, J., Meas, S., Sorn, S., Chea, B., Holl, D., Aken, V.D. and Vercruysse, J. 2011.
Infections with gastrointestinal nematodes, Fasciola and Paramphistomum in cattle in Cambodia and theirassociation with morbidity parameters. Veterinary parasitology, 175, 293-299.
Leng, H.A. 2014. Country Report of Cambodia disaster management. Asian Disaster Reduction Center,
Cambodia.
Lima, W. dos.S., Soares, L.R.M., Barçante, T.A., Guimaraes, M.P. and Barçante J.M. de P. 2009. Occurrence of
Fasciola hepatica (Linnaeus, 1758) infection in Brazilian cattle of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Revista Brasileira deParasitologia Veterinária, 18 , 27-30.
MAFF. 2014. Annual report total work of agriculture, forestry and fishery 2013-2014. Ministry of Agriculture
Forestry and Fishery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
MoE. 2014. Improvement of rural livelihoods through livestock management and preparedness and production
technologies adapted to climate change in 4 communes of Pursat and Takeo province. Cambodia Climate
Change Alliance Trust Report. Ministry of Environment, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
MoE and UNDP. 2011. Cambodia Human Development Report 2011. Building resilience: The further of rural
livelihood in the face of climate change. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
NCDM. 2014. Country report of Cambodia disaster management. National Committee for Disaster Management,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Phalla, C. and Sour, K. 2014. Climate change vulnerability, adaptative capacity and water governance in the
Tonle Sap Basin. Annual development and development review 2013-2014: Development inclusiveness,sustainability and governance in Cambodia. CDRI. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Rast, L., Nampanya, S., Khounsy, S., Toribio, J.A. and Windsor, P. 2013. Liver fluke in large ruminants innorthern Lao PDR. Cattle Health, Production and Trade in Cambodia, 60.
Sothoeun S. 2007. Fasciolosis of cattle and buffaloes and its control measures. Technical Implementation
Procedure. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Spithill, T.W., Smooker, P.M., and Copeman, D.B. 1999. Fasciola gigantica: Epidemiology, control,
immunology and molecular biology. Fasciolosis, 465-525.
Tum, S., Puotinen, M.L. and Copeman, D.B. 2004. A geographic information systems model for mapping risk offasciolosis in cattle and buffaloes in Cambodia. Veterinary parasitology, 122, 141-149.
Tum, S., Puotinen, M.L., Skerratt, L.F., Chan, B. and Sothoeun, S. 2007. Validation of a geographic information
system model for mapping the risk of fasciolosis in cattle and buffaloes in Cambodia. Veterinary parasitology,
143, 364-367.

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Research article
erd

Efficiency of Two-Row Chinese Rice Transplanter
Experimented at Royal University of Agriculture
LYHOUR HIN*
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: hinlyhour@rua.edu.kh

LYTOUR LOR
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

GERALD HITZLERInternational Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
Received 21 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract As a number of agricultural labors have shifted to urban industry, rice production is
now experiencing labor shortages. Thus making transplanting is deeply unpopular. Despite
producing higher yields, transplanting has dramatically been replaced by direct seeding.
Therefore, this research paper aims to introduce the rice transplanter model TMRT 2 and to
determine its working performance and efficiency by conducting an on-station experiment,
starting from June to August, 2015, at the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA), Cambodia.
The experiment was divided into 9 treatments with the size of 2 m x 7 m, and two main
factors—plant age and water level—were studied and analyzed on different periods of 12 days,
18 days, and 25 days in age; an water depths of 2 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm for water level. The
findings indicate that in the treatment (25 days and + 2 cm), the hills contained a density of 4-5
plants and suffered low damage during planting operation. Though transplanted at various
water depths, old rice seedlings tended to stand upright at the average of 650 to 750 degrees,
whereas slow transplanting speed might greatly reduce seedling losses to 1-2 plants per hill.
Additionally, hill-to-hill spacing varied from 21 to 23 cm when the rice seedlings age 18 and 25days were mechanically transplanted. However, transplanting of younger seedlings produced
many missing hills that ranged from 3 to 7 hills in the 2 m x 7 m plot, and this might
substantially decrease the future yields. Planting depths varied from 4 to 5 cm whentransplanting of seedlings age 18 and 25 days was performed at a water level of 2 cm. It might
be concluded that rice seedlings, age 18 and 25 days, should be transplanted at 2 cm water level,in combination with slow enough operational speed, while transplanting of 12-day seedlings at
varied water depths produced greater damage and losses.
Keywords rice transplanter, water level, root growth, hill spacing, operational speed

INTRODUCTION
Rice cultivation is known as traditional income-generating work practiced by 60% of rural Cambodian
people and as a staple crop consumed in the country. Rice is also rich in vitamin B, which is importantto keep the body running (MAFF, 2012). Recently, rice has been prioritized as a strategic crop to boost
exports (FAO, 2014). Therefore, rice yields have increased, while workload has decreased. Despite its
tremendous significance, rice cultivation is laborious and takes a long time to yield. In general, thecultivation time ranges from three to six months, depending upon the selected rice varieties andthe seasons when crops are cultivated. Rice growth and yields are highly sensitive to variability of land
preparation, climatic conditions, proper care, and water supplies. So, improper farming techniquesⒸ ISERD

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may obviously lead to a waste of invested capital and low outcomes. Since rice cultivation requires a
great deal of available labor, lack of man-power may lead to late farming or little care which signifies
a pressing need for machine aid to boost crop production (ADB, 2014).
At the present time, mechanization has started to appear as a useful farming method that
accelerates agricultural work and cut down unnecessary labor use, as well as increasing crop yields per
year. After years of globalization, Cambodia has imported hundreds of power tillers to quicken land
preparation proportionally in the wake of youth out-migration for work abroad. This reallydemonstrates a noticeable trend in the Cambodian agricultural evolution, while labor shortages pose aserious challenge towards the existence of agriculture (Lay, 2009). Seldom introduced into the
Cambodian domestic market, hand-powered rice transplanters have been widely marketed and utilized
in the Asian regions to compensate for labor shortages and facilitate farming work. Such ricetransplanters are of great importance to the rural economies as fewer people are needed to transplant
rice crops than ever, seedlings are uniformly transplanted for the purpose of better field irrigation andweeding at a later stage. Apart from that, seedling uniformity results in proper nutrient intakes fromthe ground and enough solar absorption between rows, which means higher yields. Therefore, thisresearch aims to introduce the rice transplanter model TMRT 2 and to determine its working
performance and efficiency.
METHODOLOGY
The experiments were carried out at the Royal University of Agriculture during the period of JuneAugust to test the performance of a hand-operated rice transplanter by selecting the mini handcranked rice transplanter (2 row, 20 cm width), which was imported from China. Moreover,understanding different water levels in rice fields before, during, and after transplanting is crucial forthe firm stance and survival of newly transplanted seedlings. Adequate water presence in the field also
contributes to the ability of seedlings to take in nutrient dissolved in water, absorb oxygen from the air,and consume sufficient amounts of water to promote growth. Thus, the study was performed by
selecting plots with three water levels above the ground: 2 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm, which are similar to
the real water levels observed in rice paddy field in Cambodia.
As the time frame of the practical experiment was about three months, the short-duration rice
variety Sen Pidoa was chosen. The rice was germinated at the nursery prepared at RUA campus, andplanted for the experiment. The age of seedlings strongly affects proper growth leading to low lossesof transplanted seedlings and higher yields at the harvest time. So, experimenting with different
seedling age categories can prove a premium seedling age that can assure high yields for the benefit offarmers. The tested rice seedlings were categorized into three different ages: 12 days, 18 days
recommended in system of rice intensification (GDA, 2013); and 25 days to meet the optimum rice
age for the rice transplanter. Both water level and seedling age affect rice growth. The 9 treatments
were created with the size of 2 m x 7 m. Root growth, number of plants per hill, missing hills, damaged
hills, inter-row spacing and stem angle were measured and analyzed using ONE-WAY and TWOWAY ANOVA from Minitab-17.0 software packages. Transplanting speed was measured whereas
machine depreciation cost and labor efficiency were calculated.
The seed rate for one square meter nursery was about 250 grams. During seedling preparation,organic matter was one ox-card for 100 m2 nursery to obtain firm seedling stems, additionally 0.5 kg
of Urea fertilizer was diluted into water to make seedling healthy. Rice needs to be fertilized threetimes, 2-3, 15, and 50 days after seeding, and weeding is needed after transplanting at 15, 30 and 45days to prevent grass growth (GDA, 2013).

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Optimal Transplanting Speed Operational in Each Treatment
The seedling age and water level were tested to find the optimum transplanting speed necessary to
streamline a whole transplanting process with little damage to seedlings. The seedlings transplanted at
the age of 12 days tend to be associated with higher operational speed, which significantly variant from
0.24 m.s-1 in 10-cm depth to 0.36 m.s-1 in 2-cm depth, while the transplanting of 18-day seedlings
might retard the machine mobility estimated at around 0.25 m.s-1 in depths of 2 and 5 cm and at 0.30
m.s-1 in 10-cm depth. It is clear that young seedlings were easy to be picked up and dug into the soil,
hastening the operational speed. With 25-day seedlings, the transplanter was operated at slow speed of
0.20 m.s-1 in each water depth. This shows slowness of the machine. As a result, the operational speed
varies in uniformity to subsequent seedling ages, but may fluctuate due to soil conditions and constantmechanical pulling force.

Fig. 1 Comparison in transplanting speeds operated in different seedling ages and water levels,with different speed means significant (p < 0.001) in transplanting date factor, nonsignificant (p = 0.055), and with significant interaction (p = 0.019)
Transplanting Speed Operational in Each Treatment
Missing hills and floating rates of transplanted seedlings were examined and counted in each treatment.
This was to discover how significantly the age factor and the water-level factor affected thetransplanter performance. As shown in Table 1, the difference in seedling damage in each hill is highly
significant (p < 0.001), while the variation in an average floating rate of seedlings is also statisticallysignificant (p < 0.001). As a result, the findings show that seedling damage in a density of 4 m2 tend to
be greater at high depth and young age, with the averages of 3 seedlings in the treatment (12 days + 5cm), 4.5 seedlings in the treatment (18 days + 5 cm) and 7.5 seedlings in the treatment (18 days + 10cm). The damage rate was non-significant in case older seedlings were transplanted, though at various
depths. Water depth had a huge effect on a floating rate of seedlings in the vicinity of 4 m2. High waterlevel presented on the experimental plot signified a higher rate of seedlings afloat, and transplanting
young seedlings was also influential in this rate. The seedlings age 25 days suffered a low floating rate
at which very few drained seedlings were gathered in 4 m2, which other treatments with younger
seedlings had a floating rate of 4-7 seedlings.

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Table 1 Effect of different depths and seedling ages on damage and floating rates
Treatment

Missing rate

Floating rate

12 days + 2 cm
12 days + 5 cm
12 days + 10 cm
18 days + 2 cm
18 days + 5 cm
18 days + 10 cm
25 days + 2 cm
25 days + 5 cm
25 days + 10 cm
SE
F-test probabilities

1.70 b3.00 ab7.75 a2.00 b
4.50 ab7.50 a2.00 b
1.50 b
2.164< 0.001

4.50 abc
4.00 abc
6.00 abc
7.00 a7.00 a1.50 bc
0.75 bc
0.75 c2.050< 0.001

CV (%)

19.65

18.18

Effects of Above-ground Water and Seedling Age on Root Depth

Root depth (cm)

Seedling roots may penetrate as deep as into the ground depending upon the availability of water on
the ground and the age of the seedlings, which is well illustrated in Fig. 2. The difference in averageroot depth penetrable into the soil is very significant. The roots of the seedlings transplanted at the ageof 12 days shows obvious results as they had the lowest penetrability, but differed across different
levels of above-ground water. In this seedling age category, the transplanter had the ability to dip theseedlings roots 3 cm into the soil at a water level of 2 cm, increasing the root depth by 1 cm at waterlevels of 5-10 cm. Deeper root penetrability occurred at higher level of water because the transplanter
was manually adjusted to match the water level; otherwise, the seedlings were unable to be placed into
the soil. Though transplanted at the same age categories, older seedlings tend to have deeper root
penetrability, and the roots of the replanted seedlings age 18 days were averaged under 5 cm despite
little depth variation across the water level. However, after replanting, the root depth of seedling age 25
days remained deeper than younger seedlings and was averaged 5 cm. This figure increased due to therising level of water presented on the soil. The fact that older seedlings had higher penetrability could
be explained by three reasons: the height of the seedlings, pulling mechanism, and periodic adjustmentof the transplanter.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

A
B

B

A
B

AB

C

A

12 days18 days
25 days

2 cm

5 cm
Above-ground water

10 cm

Fig. 2 Combined effects of seedling age and water level on seedling-root depth created duringtransplanting. The Mean ± SD of root depths are presented. Different used alphabets
indicate measurement is significantly different (p < 0.05) from each otherⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

Effects of Above-ground Water and Seedling age
Numbers of seedlings per hill, crop spaces, standing angles of seedlings and seedling losses per hill
were timely measured to identify effects that the transplanter had on rice seedlings (Table 2). Different
age groups strongly affected the ability of the transplanter to pick up the seedlings, being highly
significant (p < 0.001), while the water level might not have any significant effect (p = 0.964) on its
capability in picking seedlings at a time during the transplanting process. Interaction between the waterlevel and age group factors was also not significantly different (p = 0.147), showing that replanting atdifferent levels of water, regardless of seedling ages, the number of seedlings transplanted at a single
time was similar. As indicated above, the seedlings age 25 days were suitable enough for thetransplanter to pick up 4 seedlings per hill, when operated at 2-cm water depth. As the water level was
deeper, the number of picked-up seedlings also increased by one unit. As the interaction was notdetected, the suitable seedlings for the utilization of the rice transplanter should exceed 20 days in age,so the machine is capable to firmly grab them. In addition, the water level should be considered toremain shallow to reduce excessive use of seedlings.
Table 2 Combined effects of seedling age and water level on seedlings transplanted at a time,inter-row spacing produced, stance of seedlings, and damage rate
TreatmentAge
12 days18 days

25 days

Water level
2 cm
5 cm
10 cm
2 cm
5 cm
10 cm
2 cm
5 cm
10 cm

SE
F-test probabilities
Seedling age (S)Water level (W)Interaction (SxP)

Number of seedlings(stems/hill)

Between-row
spacing (cm)Stem angle (0)9.25a
7.70ab
7.25abc
4.60bcd
4.40cd
4.90bcd
3.90d
5.20bcd
5.25bcd
1.72

19.65bcd
18.75cd
19.15cd
16.30d18.45cd
24.85a21.50abc
22.10abc
23.70ab2.04

62.75abc
65.00abc
72.50ab73.40ab53.25c57.25bc
65.65abc
77.35a78.60a
16.68

Damagedseedlings(stem/hill)
2.65a
0.20d
1.40b
0.75bcd
0.90bcd
1.35bc0.80bcd
0.45bcd
0.40cd0.97< 0.001
0.964
0.147

< 0.001< 0.001< 0.001< 0.001
0.379< 0.001< 0.001< 0.001< 0.001

Spacing produced by the manual operation of the transplanter varied significantly at each water
depths (p < 0.001) and at each age group (p < 0.001). This shows that the older the seedlings, the wider
the spacing. The interaction effects of the water depths and age groups on crop spaces were detected (p= 0.001), showing that the transplanter tended to produce distinct spacing because the required traction
force for the operation varied. Older seedlings required machine transplanting to spend slightly moretime. This is obvious because deeper water levels tend to be difficult for the transplanting machine topull out due to friction produced on the water surface, retarding the movement of the transplanter atwater depths of 5 and 10 cm. This explanation is strongly linked to widened crop spacing. Of all thetreatments, seedlings transplanted at the age of 25 days, though at varied water depths, remained
highest and varied from 21 to 23 cm compared to others replanted at a younger age.
Plant ages were significantly influential in the ability of plants to stand after transplanting (p =0.001), while different water depths had no effect on the standing ability (p = 0.379). This means stemheights affects plant verticality. However, the interaction between the age group and water level isstatistically significant (p = 0.001), indicating that plant verticality tends to vary due to combination ofⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

plant age and water depths. Statistically, plants age 25 days were very suitable with the use of thetransplanting machine as they slightly leaned at 800 on average when planted at water depths of 5 and10 cm. Comparing to the replanting at a water depth of 2 cm, the seedlings of that age leaned to 650.
High water levels seem to keep old and tall plants straight up. Younger rice plants age 12 and 18 days
transplanted at high water levels caused the plants to stand less upright, while 18-day seedlings
transplanted at a 2-cm water depth stood at 730.
Damage to plants per hill was measured in each treatment, while the seedling age and water level
were both strongly influential in the degree at which plants might be broken (p < 0.001). These two
factors interacted closely (p < 0.001) and might determine how much damage was done on seedlings
transplanted when varying age groups and water levels were applied. Plants per hill were seen to suffer
breakage at the age of 12 days more than older plants that were transplanted at different water levels.
Rates of plant damage ranged from 1.40 to 2.50 plants per hill with too young seedlings. However,plants per hill suffered less damage when older seedlings were used. This damage was mainly causedby the way of operating the rice transplanter.
CONCLUSION
In short, it is deductible that the seedlings age 12 days are unsuitable for machine transplanting because
substantial damage and seedling losses are frequently observed. Moreover, at higher water levels of 5
and 10 cm above the ground, machine transplanting may result in more floating and missing hills.
Therefore, it is obvious that seedlings age 18 and 25 days should be considered for further experiments.
Water depth of 2 cm is preferred as it leads to stronger seedling stance, low seedling density, easymachine operation, and marginal losses. Therefore, the rice transplanter should be considered as a good
option to accelerate rice farming and reduce workload.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful for constant technical support and advice from the Royal University ofAgriculture, as well as the funding by Oxfam Cambodia. Moreover, it is also appreciative for the
involvement of Ms. Kim Muy Leang, Ms. Sreng Ratana, Mr. Mao Thearith, Mr. Po Vengleang, Mr. Ty
Savry, Mr. Sem Sopanha and Mr. Sith Sereypanha for their hard work in machine testing and datacollection that provide productive research results and make this research possible.
REFERENCES
ADB (Asian Development Bank). 2014. Improving rice production and commercialization in Cambodia: Finding
from a farm investment climate assessment. Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 2014. Country fact sheet on food andagriculture policy trends; Socio-economic context and role of agriculture. Rome, Italy.
GDA. 2013. Rice production; Ten major rice varieties and rice exports. General Directorate of Agriculture.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Lay, C. 2009. Country report Cambodia; Agricultural mechanization and agricultural development strategies in
Cambodia. Ethnical Committee of UNAPCAEM, Los Banos, Phlippines.
MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). 2012. Annual report of agriculture for 2011-2012.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

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Research article
erd

Economic Analysis of Small-scale Pumping Machines
Operated in Rice Production in Chum Kiri District, Kampot,
CambodiaLYHOUR HIN*
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: hinlyhour@rua.edu.kh

SARITH MOEUKFaculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

CHAMNAN SUOS
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Received 21 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Water scarcity has become abnormally serious across the year, so timely irrigation aid
is strongly required for healthy crop growth. Therefore, this paper aims to explore thecharacteristics of farmers’ preferences over pumping machines in rice production and toanalyze their break-even points. The study was performed during the period from January toJune in 2015, by randomly selecting 80 pump owners from one farming commune in Chum Kiri
District, Kampot Province, Cambodia. The data were collected using household interviews, indepth interviews and a group discussion. The data were analyzed by utilizing descriptive
statistics and the break-even formula to investigate repair costs, annual pumping hours andstandard farm sizes. The result shows that water pumps were highly in operation during dry
season to maintain the crop-water balance and were annually operated about 412 hours. The
engine capacity of pumping machines, frequently purchased, ranged from 5.5 to 8 horsepower.
The pumps lasted for five full-operational years and depreciated 25 dollars on an annual basis.
Japanese-brand pumps were best-selling, still farmers were subjected to have excessive
spending on annual repairs because of less care and little maintenance knowledge. Althoughwater pumps were widely utilized across the studied area, each household only cultivated on anaverage of 1.20 hectare-farmland, whereas the break-even land was calculated to be at least 6
hectares of cultivated land, so that the pumps were fully operated, economically and effectively.
In conclusion, though operated on a small land, water pumps have made a contribution toward
improvement in crop production. However, they remained minimally useful in case of scarcewater sources. Therefore, irrigation sources should also be considered and constructed, so crop
production might be double or diversified with the presence of pumping machines.
Keywords dry season, operational hours, farmland, break-even point

INTRODUCTION
Water is crucial for cropping systems in Cambodia. However, rice is mostly cultivated once a year
largely due to rainfall dependency. Thus, annual rice yields are even low during water scarcity. In
comparison, annual rice crops are cultivated two or three times in Thailand and Vietnam because of theinvolvement of mechanization making the two nations become leaders in rice exports. In this case,usage of pumping machines is deemed an effective tool in adequate water irrigation (MAFF, 2012). In
terms of rural economies, water for irrigation has nurtured approximately 500 million family farmsⒸ ISERD

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worldwide in the form of rainfall and water sources, while contributing toward securing world foodadequacy for rural households. In fact, small farms—either irrigated or non-irrigated—are also
managed by almost 60% of Cambodian farmers who rely mostly upon rice farming. Thus, farmmechanization is widely known as a driving force of agricultural transformation and development(Chhim Chhum et al., 2015). For this reason, watering innovation in obtaining irrigation water isrequired to improve rice production and yield along with technical support on agricultural machinery(FAO, 2014).
Furthermore, due to high demographic growth in Cambodia, rice cultivated areas have been
expanded enormously and increased from about 2 million hectares in 2003 to roughly 3 million
hectares in 2013. The expansion of farmland has resulted in higher machinery purchase increasing thenumber of power tillers from 13,700 units to 128,800 units and the number of pumps from about
100,000 units to 232,000 units over the same period of time (Saruth et al., 2014). The rising numbersof purchased pumping machines may either bring benefits to the nation or pose new challenges to rural
mechanization in Cambodia when technical assistance is not widely available. Machines are heavily
imported without providing adequate vocational training on mechanics to local distributors (Chhim
Chhum et al., 2015). In this case, rural skills including economical operation of farming machinery arenecessarily the best choice in enhancing rural economies (ADB, 2015), as Cambodian people that
reside in the countryside possess relatively low skills and low educational achievement. Besides,
technical skill shortages are largely apparent in countryside people. Due to the importance ofmachinery involvement and necessary skills relevant to the operation of machinery, especially smallscale water pumps, this study aims to explore the characteristics of farmers’ preferences over pumping
machines in rice production and to analyze their break-even points. By doing so, the optimum
cultivated farmland may be found out.
METHODOLOGY
Site Selection and Sampling Procedure

Fig. 1 Map of the studied area in Chompouvorn Commune, Chum Kirir District
Farmers who utilized pumping machines for irrigation were randomly selected from Chompouvorn
Commune, Chumkiri District, Kampot Province, where rainy-season rice is mostly cultivated. To
understand how portable water pumps are used to suit the current situation of the cropping systems, thefarmers from two different villages were categorized into two low and high pump usages and then were
sampled using Yamane Taro’s (1992) formula (Israel, 2013), as shown below:𝑁𝑛 = 1+𝑁.𝑒 2(1)Ⓒ ISERD

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Where n is a number of selected samples; N represents a population of farmers operating pumping
machines in the two villages; and e is the level of significance and accounts for 10%.
Table 1 Sample of farmers operating water pumps
Level of pumputilization

Number of householdswith pumps (person)

Number of samples(person)

Thmey

High

246

52

Koun Damrey

Low

133

28

379

80

Village names

Total

Data Analysis and Break-even Farm Size
Efficient operation of water pumps depends greatly upon how often they are utilized and how big the
farmland is. Economically based pump usage is considered important for farm operation as long as
profitability is highly aimed. Annual depreciation cost of machinery and break-even farm size, when
one pump is purchased and operated, are calculated based on the following formulae:
𝐷=

𝑃𝑉−𝑆𝑉
𝐿

(2)

Where D is a pump depreciation cost (USD/year); PV represents the initial price of one pump(USD); SV is known to be the price of pump salvage or 10% of initial price (USD); and L is a pumplife span and is up to 6 years.
𝐵𝐸 =

𝐹𝐶
𝑃−𝑉𝐶

(3)

Source: Patterson and Painter (2011)

Where BE represents break-even farm size cultivated for efficient pump usage (ha); FC is anannual pump ownership cost (USD/year); P is custom pump hired rate per hectare (USD/ha); and VC
covers all operating costs such as fuel, labor, and repairs (USD/ha).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Agriculture in Cambodia is dominated by paterfamiliases, accounting for 84.27% of farming families
interviewed in the studied area, while only 15.73% represents materfamilias families. Table 2 indicatesthat men are still influential in decision-making for purchasing inputs and machinery for agricultural
practices. Meanwhile, Cambodian farmers still have low literacy rates as 41.57% of the farmers could
only spend a school period of 9 years, while 35% dropped out of school at young age. Dropout cases
are very common in rural areas due to low budget and poor schooling infrastructure. However, 23.60%
could finish high school. The 25-44 age categories of the rice growers living in the studied area
account for about 57%, while 24.72% fall within the 45-60 age category, which means that the
majority of the farmers are considered full labor. It is clear that the average age of the rice farmers
equals to 42 years. The number of family members averages 4.39 persons per household, with 2
persons considered full labor. Because the active labor category of 1-3 persons accounts for almost
90% of the interviewed farmers, this signifies labor shortages. Furthermore, 65% of the rice farmers
cultivate rice on the land that is smaller than 1 hectare, whereas 21.35% own rice fields varying in size
from 1 to slightly higher than 2 hectares. In general, the cultivated farmland averages 1.15 hectares.
According to the survey, the farmers have had 27 years of farming experience, and by investing anⒸ ISERD

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average sum of 250 USD on land preparation, inputs and harvest; they could earn an annual income of
760 USD to cover all the expenses.
Table 2 Household characteristics of Chompouvorn Commune
Variable description

Frequency(n=80)

Gender of household head
Male
67
Female13
Educational level of household head (yr)No education2
Primary school
26
Secondary school
33
High school or higher
19
Family status of household head
Married
62
Divorced18
Age (yr) (>=25 years old)
25 - 4446
45 - 60
20> 60
12Household size (Person)
1–4
48
5 - 1032
Active labor (Person)
1–3
70
>3
10
Farmland size (ha)
<1
63
1–2
4
>2
13
Family experience in farming (yr)Total expenses in farming (USD/yr)
Total income from farming (USD/yr)

Percentage
(%)

Mean

84.27
15.73
2.25
32.58
41.57
23.60

9.00

77.53
22.47
57.30
24.72
14.61

42.32

59.55
40.45

4.39

87.64
12.36

2

78.65
5.62
15.73

1.20
27
250
760

Characteristics of Pump Operation and Its Working Capacity
The pumping machines that farmers commonly use are Japanese brands including Honda, Yamaha,
and Yamasaki. Based on Table 3, brand-new pumps are more preferable as they are relatively
inexpensive and have a long lifespan. Of all the interviewed farmers, 43.82% have utilized thepumping machines for at least 5 years, while others have owned the pumps for at least 3 years(p<0.001). The pumps have small engine horsepower from 5.5 to 6.5 horsepower and account for 70%of the farmers, while 30% select the engines that have 8 horsepower (p=0.003). Moreover, the pipes of
50 and 80 mm in diameter (p<0.044) are chosen for pumping, representing 61.80% and 38.20%,
respectively. Besides that, the rotary speed of 3,600 rpm is preferred, and centrifugal-type pumps arechosen because they are capable to lift water up to 30 m in height. With this height, rice fields that are
far away from the canals can be sufficiently irrigated. In terms of convenience, pumps with gasoline
engine are best-selling, as they are light and easy to carry, so 77.53% of the farmers choose them.
Diesel pumps (p<0.001) are still in use, representing 22.47% of the interviewees.
Pumps provide advantages during the peak demand for irrigation, but they may also cause farmers
to spend more, when they are broken. The most common pump problems are related to fuel tank,ballast, spark plug, injection nozzle and wearing ring; as farmers utilize their pumps with little careⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1(p<0.010). New pumps break down occasionally throughout the year, and due to inadequate technicalknowledge, farmers have to get them repaired (p<0.001) at mechanical shops, with about 80% of thempaying a sum of between 10 and 20 USD. Around 20% pay less than 10 USD.
Table 3 Preferential characteristics of pump utilization in the studied area
Variable description of pumpType of pump purchase
New
Second-handYears of pump use
<3
3–5
>5
Horsepower (hp)
5.5 - 6
6.5 - 8
Pipe diameter (mm)5080Rotary speed (Round per min)3600
Total head lift (m)30
Suction distance(m)5-78Type of pump blade
Centrifugal
Type of consumed fuelDieselGasoline
Broken pump parts
Fuel tank and Ballast
Spark plug & injection nozzle
Wearing ringpump breakdown
Occasional
Often
Repairs of broken pumpSelf-repair
Repairman
Repair spending (USD/yr)< 10
10 - 20
Initial pump price (USD)
Number of operating hours (hr)Frequency(n=80)

Percentage
(%)

80
-

100.00
-

6
39
35

-

Significance
level
-

24.32

<0.001***13.60

0.003**

04.05

0.044*----

Chi square

7.87
48.31
43.82

28
52

34.83
65.17

31
49

38.20
61.80

80

100.0080

100.00
8.83

30
50

37.50
62.50

80

100.00

18
62

-

-

24.20

<0.001***09.23

0.010*

36.45<0.001***51.20<0.001***28.80<0.001***

22.47
77.53

23
29
18

28.75
36.25
35.00

67
13

84.27
15.73

8
72

10.11
89.89

16
64

0.024*

20.22
79.78
182.00415.24

Note: ***, **, and * signs mean very highly significant, highly significant, and significant

Analysis of Break-even Farm Size
Pumps are commonly used during the rainy season. This situation is prevalent in the studied area due
to no irrigation systems for water reservation. Accordingly, there is also no rice cultivation during dryⒸ ISERD

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Sum of money (USD/year)

season. In consequence, farmers plant rice during the rainy season and resort to non-farm work during
the dry season. Besides that, the price of a new pump is about 182 USD (Table 3) and is usable for 6
years; thus farmers have to incur an annual depreciation cost that is estimated at 25 USD. When thepump is operated on one hectare of land, its owner has to spend 90 USD annually on gasoline,
lubricant and repair costs, as shown in Figure 2. So when it is custom-hired to irrigate farmland of one
hectare, 15 USD may be charged. Thus, the pump is used to its full capacity, only if farmers have towork on 6 hectares of land per year. This does not mean that they have to possess exactly that size ofland, but they can double cultivation, which leads to double usage of the pump, or they may use it inother ways for economic purposes. In terms of farmland, the farm size that each household has
amounts for only 1.20 hectares, while the number of pump operating hours per year averages at 415.24
hours (Table 3). These two numbers shows that pumps are used for multi-purpose, not only for
irrigation. They may use up their annual working capacity because in general, a pumping machine may
be used for 500 hours per year. Therefore, it may be efficient when farmers double their cropping
seasons in a case that irrigation systems are potentially available.
700,000
175
600,000
150

FC (riel)
Income (riel/ha)
TC (riel/ha)
VC (riel/ha)

500,000
125
400,000
100
300,000
75
200,000
50
100,000
25 0
0

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Farmland size (ha)Fig. 2 Calculation of farmland size needed for efficient pump utilization
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the pumping machines purchased are mostly imported products, but they do not costmuch. The farmers possess small plots of farmland with labor shortages. Rice cultivation depends
solely upon rainy season rice. This situation results in high depreciation costs and non-efficient pumpusage. Besides that, farmers usually experience occasional breakdowns of the pumps and rely upon
repairmen to solve the problem because of little mechanical knowledge. As calculated, the optimum
farm size that is suitable for pump utilization equals at least 6 hectares, but in reality, available
cultivated farmland remains smaller. Thus, all these problems are solvable if pump-repairing training isprovided to target farmers to reduce unwanted costs. In addition, more irrigation systems should bebuilt, so that farmers may access water in each season, thereby increasing their cultivation seasons.
REFERENCES
ADB (Asian Development Bank). 2015. Cambodia: Addressing the skill gap employment diagnostic study.
Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
Chhim, C., Buth, B. and Ear, S. 2015. Effect of labor movement on agricultural in Cambodia. Cambodia
Development Research Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2014. Innovation in family farming. Rome, Italy.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2015. Social protection and agriculture: Breaking the cycle of rural
poverty. Rome, Italy.
Israel, G.D. 2013. Dertermining sample size. University of Florida, USA.
MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). 2012. Annual report of agriculture for 2011-2012.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Paul, E.P. and Kathleen, P. 2011. Custom rates for Idaho agricultural aperations 2010-2011. Uniersity of Idaho, U.
S. A.
Saruth, C., Lytour, L. and Sinh, C. 2014. Status and rospect of gricultural mechanization in Cambodia. Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nation, Bangkok, Thailand.

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Research article
erdComparison of the OTAKE and SATAKE Rice Mills
Performance on Milled Rice Quality
MENG BUN*
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: mengbun99@gmail.com

DYNA THENG
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

LYHOUR HIN
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

VARY VUN
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

SAVATH SENG
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Received 22 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Rice is the main diet in Central Asia. Quality of milled rice is good or bad and meetsthe international standard in terms of quantity of head rice as a result of appropriate rice mill.
The objective of this study was to find out the better rice mill for better milled rice quality. In
this research, two rice species (jasmine and fragrant) were milled by SATAKE and OTAKE
rice mill machines at different conditions. The paddy rice specimens were dried to obtain the
moisture content of 14% (recommended milling standard). Physical properties, percentage of
lose, percentage of cracked rice, and capacity of peeling for millstone peel data were collected
and analyzed statically using SPSS version 16.0. The results showed that milling two species ofrice by SATAKE mill brand at role’s gap 0.7 mm obtained about 95% (Jasmine) and about 94%(Fragrant) on head rice, while using OTAKE brand at 3970 revolution per minute received
about 84% and 78% of Jasmine rice and Fragrant rice, respectively in terms of head rice. Thus,
milling rice using small-scale SATAKE rice mill is better than OTAKE machine based on morequantity of head rice of both paddy rice species.
Keywords rice mill, role’s gap, fan speed, jasmine rice, fragrant rice, capacity of peeling millstone

INTRODUCTION
Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population (AQIP, 2003). Cambodia plans to
produce 10 varieties of paddy to export and these varieties (some name in Khmer language) includes:
Sen Pidor, IR66, Julasa, Pka Romdol, Pka Romdeng, Jasmine, Pka chan sen sor, Reang chey, Kha4 andKha6 (Chan, 2011). Agricultural sector has created job opportunities approximately 80-85% toCambodian people (Pit Khun, 1991). In recent years, high quality rice of Cambodia has increasingly
and globally been recognized since it was ranked No. 1 and won the World’s Best Rice Award inIndonesia in 2012 and in Hong Kong, China in (Hor Kim, 2013). At the present, Cambodia can
produce paddy over demand for domestic market, in which the total production of 3-4 million tons per
year (Chun, 2013). Since the official integration in the ASIAN association in 1999, Cambodia beganⒸ ISERD

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actively working in terms of reforming to be a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Meas,
2015). An increase of both quantity and quality of milled rice plays a crucial role in pushing up thenational economy. Due to lack of rice mill, Cambodia exported paddy rice to neighboring countries
without milling stage (AQIP, 2003). With a recent trend of improving rice mill machine program, aperfect principle has been created to develop and reconstruct the economy of Cambodia to enhancedomestic rice production toward international market standard (Rickman, 2015).
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to improve milled rice quality in Cambodia to meet an international standard. The
specific objective was to find the better rice mill for better milled rice quality.
METHODOLOGY
In this research, two rice species (jasmine and fragrant rice) were selected to mill using two small scalemills, made by SATAKE model SB-10D and OTAKE model PM 1500N. Six treatments (Table1) were
designed and done triplicate, containing 3 samples in each replication. Each sample composed of 10 kgof paddy rice with the moisture content of 14%.
Pre-test of paddy rice standard: 100 gram from each paddy sample was selected randomly to peel byhand to observe broken or cracked conditions before passing mill. From the amount of broken andcracked grains, the results were then calculated to find the efficiency of the machines through the testof grain quality.
Peeling levels determination: Samples were milled by SATAKE and OTAKE rice mill machines atdifferent role’s gaps (0.6 mm, 0.7 mm and 0.8 mm) and fan rotation speeds (4620 rpm, 3970 rpm and3320 rpm).
Dividing sample: There were 6 treatments in the milling stage. In each treatment, there were 3
replications of selected 100 gram of brown rice. In each replication, it was divided into three times byusing a homogenizer. As a result, 4 samples (25 gram/sample) were derived from one replication.
Finally, only 3 samples were kept for grain quality checking.
Quality control: Checking process of selected brown rice were done to measure peeling millstone
capacity percentage, head rice percentage, broken rice, cracked rice level. The checking process washandled manually following the method of OTAKE (2014).
Analysis: All recorded data of peeling millstone capacity, head rice, broken rice and cracked rice level
were collected and analyzed statistically using SPSS version 16.0 for descriptive frequencies of meanvalue and t-test.
Table 1 Experimental design
Treatments

Rice species

12

Jasmine3
4
5

Fragrant

6Ⓒ ISERD91

SATAKE
Role’s gap (mm)
0.6

OTAKE
Fan speed (rpm)
4620

0.7

3970

0.8

3320

0.6

4620

0.7

3970

0.8

3320

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Peeling Capacity of Brown RiceFig. 1 Mean value of peeling capacity milled by OTAKE and SATAKE small-scale
rice mills (treatment 1-3 are Jasmine rice and 4-6 are Fragrant rice)
Figure 1 shows peeling capacity of the two small scale mills on both rice species. The illustrated results
were done by using different operation conditions of the two mills (OTAKE Company and SATAKE
Company) on both rice species. The results show that there was no significant difference of the 3
different role’s gaps of SATAKE on jasmine rice, whereas the percentage of peeling capacity of brownrice decreased a little when the role’s gap increased from 0.6 mm (87%) to 0.8 mm (75%). On the other
hand, the result of using OTAKE rice mill on peeling capacity showed a decreasing trend when using
lower fan speed. The mean value declined between 4620 rpm and 3320 rpm and fan speed decreased
from 98% to 67% and from 99% to 85% for jasmine rice and fragrant rice, respectively. Therefore, theobtained optimum percentage of peeling capacity was 87% (milled by SATAKE) and 99% (milled by
OTAKE). The results met the standards, containing 84% and 99% for SATAKE and OTAKE rice mill
(SATAKE, 2014 and OTAKE, 2014).
Percentage of Head Brown RiceThe results of head brown rice were indicated in Fig. 2 in the mean percentage value. Referring to thisfigure, by using SATAKE small scale rice mill with 3 different role’s gaps, the obtained head rice werein ranges of 91-95% for jasmine rice, and 92-93% for fragrant rice. The maximum percentage wasobtained by using 0.7 mm role’s gap on both rice species. However, there was is no significant
difference based on the number of standard deviation. Nevertheless, when milling the paddy ricespecimens using small scale rice mill manufactured by OTAKE company model PM 1500N with the 3sets of fan speed mentioned in Table 1, the achieved head brown rice ranged from 76% to 86% andfrom 73 to 76% for jasmine rice and fragrant rice, respectively. It can be concluded that, there will be
more number of obtained head rice when applying lower fan speed (Fig. 2). Even though, there is no
significant difference according to the number of standard deviation.
In comparison of the two small scale rice mills, SATAKE gave higher performance than OTAKE
in terms of head brown rice percentage. The results agreed with the findings of OTAKE Agricultural
Machinery Co. Ltd. (OTAKE, 2014) and SATAKE company (SATAKE, 2014), shown the quantity ofhead rice was 73.00% on average for OTAKE PM 1500N, and 85.10% for SATAKE SB-10D. The
quantity of head rice after milling showed a marginal percentage difference when comparing to theCompany’s testing results. Proper physical characteristics of grain before milling and different
experiment periods of time could influence the results of head rice.
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Fig. 2 Mean value of full milled brown rice in percentage
Percentage of Broken Brown RiceThe percentage of broken rice of paddy milled by the two milling machines from different companies
is shown below (Fig. 3). It was no significant difference on milling the jasmine rice and fragrant rice inthe 3 set role’s gap operations (0.6 mm, 0.7 mm and 0.8 mm) of SATAKE. However, treatment
number 2 (at 0.7 mm) provided the lowest broken quantity on average of 6%. In contrast, milling thetwo rice varieties by OTAKE with fan speed performance of 4620 rpm, 3970 rpm, and 3320 rmp, theresults showed that the percentage of broken rice decreased when applying less speed on both ricespecies.
In terms of the broken rice percentage, milling by OTAKE at 4620 rpm was about 3 times higher
than using SATAKE, while milling at 3320 rpm still obtained about 30% higher than that of SATAKE
for jasmine rice. For fragrant rice, it was much higher in all treatments.

Fig. 3 Percentage of broken brown rice, as a result of milling jasmine rice and fragrant rice by
SATAKE and OTAKE small scale rice mills
Percentage of Cracked Brown Rice
Figure 4 shows that even using 3 different role’s gaps, brown rice milled by SATAKE model SB-10D
consisted about 7% and 18% of cracked rice for jasmine and fragrant species, respectively. Comparing
these findings to the brown rice milled by OTAKE PM 1500N using 3 different fan speeds, milling therice by SATAKE composed more number of cracked milled rice for both of jasmine and fragrant. The
average percentages of cracked rice milled by OTAKE rice mill were in ranges of 2.89% to 5.44% andⒸ ISERD

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3.22% to 7.44% for jasmine rice and fragrant rice, respectively. The maximum percentage of cracked
brown rice from OTAKE mill was at treatment 2 (jasmine) and treatment 3 (fragrant rice). Comparing
with the standards of OTAKE Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd., cracked rice was at 7% on average for
OTAKE PM 1500N at 3970 rpm (OTAKE, 2014), and SATAKE SB-10D was at 23.33% on average
for a role’s gap of 0.7 mm for fragrant rice variety (SATAKE, 2014). Accordingly, they weredramatically lower than the standards.

Fig.4 Cracked brown rice after milled by OTAKE and SATAKE small scale rice mills
Table 3 Comparison on efficiency of SATAKE and OTAKE mills on rice quality before andafter milled brown rice
Mill types

Varieties

JasmineSATAKE
Fragrant

JasmineOTAKE
Fragrant

Before milled (%)

After milled (%)

BrokenCrackBrokenCrackBroken

Crack

1

1.33

7.33

7.84

7

6.51

0.33

2

1.33

16.33

6.34

7

5.01

9.33

3

1

14.66

8.98

7.11

7.98

7.55

4

1.66

9.33

8.2

18.88

6.54

9.55

5

1

10

6.75

18

5.75

8

6

1.33

16

7.3

18.22

5.97

2.22

1

1.33

7.33

26.92

2.89

25.59

4.44

2

1.33

16.33

22.81

5.44

21.48

10.89

3

1

14.66

21.19

4.89

20.19

9.77

4

1.66

9.33

26.92

3.22

25.26

6.11

5

1

10

22.81

4.77

21.81

5.23

6

1.33

16

21.19

7.44

19.86

8.56

Treatments

Efficiency (%)

Table 3 indicates the number of broken and cracked rice in percentage of both paddy rice species
before and after milled by the two rice mills. Before getting milled is the results obtained from peelingby hand to check the origin of broken and cracked rice affected by other sources rather than themachine. After getting milled illustrates the quantity of the damaged rice as the effect of machine using
at different conditions (different role’s gaps for SATAKE and different fan speeds for OTAKE).
Efficiency expresses the percentage of damaged level comparing between before milled and after
milled.
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As shown in Table 3, jasmine rice had 1.33%, 1.33%, and 1% broken rice and 7.33%, 16.33%,
and 14.66% cracked rice before milling, representing treatments 1, 2, and 3 respectively. After millingby SATAKE, the percentages increased to 7.84%, 6.34%, and 8.98% (broken); 7.00%, 7.00%, and7.11% (cracked). The efficiencies received by 6.51%, 5.01%, and 7.98%; 0.33%, 9.33%, and 7.55% ofbroken and cracked rice, respectively. Thus, using role’s gap at 0.7mm offered the lowest percentage ofbroken rice after milled, but the highest of cracked rice in comparison with other two conditions (0.6mm and 0.8 mm).
For fragrant rice, on the other hand, the rice was broken at 1.66%, 1%, and 1.33%; and cracked at
9.33%, 10.00%, and 16.00%, representing treatments 4, 5, and 6. The efficiencies were 6.54%, 5.75%,
and 5.97% in terms of broken rice and 9.55%, 8.00%, and 2.22% of cracked rice. The results are
similar to jasmine rice mentioned earlier that the minimum of broken rice obtained with 0.7 mm ofrole’s gap, but the lowest percentage of cracked rice received when milling at 0.6mm role’s gap.
When milling the same starting specimens of the two rice varieties at the same percentage ofbroken and cracked rice before milling. The efficiency of rice milled by OTAKE small scale rice millaccounted in a range of 20-25% and 4-11% for broken and cracked rice, respectively. The maximum
percentage of broken rice occurred at higher fan speed used.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this study compared the quality of rice milled by two different small scale rice mills
made by OTAKE Company and SATAKE Company. The results showed that OTAKE machine isbetter than SATAKE in terms of peeling capacity, lower cracked parameter, lower percentage of headrice quantity, and more number of broken rice on both rice types. The maximum of head rice millingby SATAKE rice mill was up to 95% using 0.7 mm role’s gap, while OTAKE obtained just about 86%
at 3320 rpm of fan speed. However, comparing with the standards of the machines, they were higher.
In addition, in terms of efficiency of broken and cracked rice parameters investigated to compare
between before milled and after milled, the paddy milled by OTAKE machine received about 3 times
higher on broken percentage with a slightly higher on cracked rice than milling by SATAKE machine.
Based on the results, therefore, we can conclude that milling jasmine rice and fragrant rice using
SATAKE machine at role’s gap 0.7 mm or by OTAKE machine at 3320 rpm fan speed are theoptimum conditions. In comparison between both machines, SATAKE machine performed better than
OTAKE since it produced higher head rice with lower broken and cracked proportion.
REFERENCES
AQIP. 2003. Observation results of technical machinery maintenance in villages. AQIP Research Center, Kandal,
Cambodia.
Chan, S. 2011. Agricultural magazine for rice production and important of paddy in Cambodia. Department ofAgricultural Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Chun, S. 2013. Doubles increase of rice exportation, (Phnom Penh Post daily paper on 25- may-2013), Phnom Penh,
Cambodia.
Hor Kim, S. 2013. New famer magazine of forum on Cambodia rice forum. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Meas, P. 2015. Increasing of paddy quality and strengthening for medium rice milling machines. Cambodia
Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Otake Agriculural Machinerry Co., Ltd. 2014. Husking and polishing results test. Faculty of Agricultural Engineering,
Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Pit Khun, H. 1991. Rainy and dry season paddy yield amount in experiment condition at Chamka dong. Bachelor
Dissertation, Faculty of Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Rickman, J. 2015. 12 Steps for successful rice production. International Rice Research Institute, Philiipines. 32-37.
Satake Company. 2014. Rice milling machine information prepared. Otake Company, Nakajima, Oharu, Aichi, Japan.
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Yanmar Green System Co., Ltd. 2013. Construction of new rice milling machine model ARS725, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia.

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Research article
erd

An Attempt to Use High Salinity Water for Irrigating
A Green-Roof Garden
SHIGEOKI MORITANI*
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan
Email: moritani@hirosaki-u.ac.jp

TAHEI YAMAMOTO
Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori, JapanHENINTSOA ANDRY
Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori, JapanCHOICHI SASAKI
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, JapanCHIHIRO KATO
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, JapanHIROTAKA SAITO
Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
Received 16 October 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Though a green roof has been implemented mainly in city area due to the mitigationof heat island effect, it can also offer the benefit of energy saving to a building in rural area. A
reuse of wastewater for irrigation may be an efficient practice for water conservation, especiallyin the water-scarce areas. In this study, we assessed the influence of frequent and intermittent
saline irrigation on evapotranspiration (ET), dry matter yields (DM) and water-use efficiency(WUE) in crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants used in the green roof program. The
CAM plants Sedum kamtschaticum Fischer and Sedum oryzifolium were evaluated with turf
grass, Cynodon dactylon. A sharp reduction in ET with an increase in soil salinity was found in
CAM plants as compared to turf grass; however, the dry matter yield of CAM plants was higher
than that of turf grass at the same amount of cumulative ET. Principle component analysis(PCA) was performed to group the treatments into fewer groups characterized by similarfeatures. CAM plants were categorized by high DM and WUE. These features were expected tomake green roof management sustainable because they have low water requirements withkeeping the high-density vegetation.
Keywords CAM plants, saline irrigation, evapotranspiration, water-use efficiency

INTRODUCTION
As recent climate change has raised the inconsistency of seasonal pattern of rainfall and temperature, it
may cause decreasing precipitation and increasing temperature in some area (Kiem and Austin, 2013).
In case such severe condition for human health continues, an air-conditioning based on the heat pumpwould be spread more rapidly for cooling in residential buildings regardless of their urban or rural
location.
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The growing energy consumption for cooling could adverse effect on the household economy. For
reducing the thermal load into buildings, green roof is being used due to their protection from the solar
radiation (Kumar and Kaushik, 2005). Especially the soil used in this study has a greater effect on thethermal property of insulating because with the large value of for porosity, much of the pore space isfilled with air (Radcliffe and Simunek, 2010). However in dry climate regions, green roofs are notwidely adopted because irrigation water for green roof is scarce. The irrigation water availability could
be enhanced through the use of saline water, the recycling of drainage water and the reuse ofwastewater (FAO, 1992; Rhoades, 1998; Ould-Ahmed et al., 2007). A considerable amount of poorquality water is available in many dryland countries (FAO, 2003). The idea of using poor-quality water
for irrigation to increase food production has been reported successfully for more than five decades;
however, little study has been conducted with poor-quality water with the aim of improving thermal
performance and landscapes, such as developing green roofs (Moritani et al., 2013).
Succulent plants that have a Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) have fleshy leaves. CAM
plants open their stomata during night so that CO2 is fixed into organic acids and eventually stored in
the vacuoles. These characteristics prevent water loss from CAM plants and decrease the uptake of salt
into plant bodies (Gravatt and Martin, 1992). In this study, we tested two kinds of CAM plants - Sedum
kamtschaticum and Sedum oryzifolium - both natives of coastal areas with turf grass (Cynodon
dactylon) as the control (Fujita, 2007). The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility ofusing these plants for green roofs with saline water in terms of its dry matter yield and water-use
efficiency (WUE).
METHODOLOGY
Table 1 Physical and chemical properties of the experimental soil
Fraction (%)

Bulk Saturated hydraulic pH
EC
T-C
(H2O)
density
conductivity
Gravel
Sand
Silt
Clay
−1
%
>2.0 mm 2.0–0.02 0.02–0.002 0.002> g cm−3
cm s−1
dS m
48.9

32.1

10.6

8.4

0.48

3.6 × 10−2

6.7

0.70

12.0

T-N

CEC

%

cmol(+) kg-1

0.96

40.4

Description of Soil, Plants and Irrigation Water
The experiment was performed in a glass greenhouse (glasshouse) at Arid Land Research Center(ALRC) of Tottori University in Japan. The soil shown in Table 1 was overlaid at a thickness of 10 cm,
on a gravel layer for drainage, in a plastic pot with a diameter and height of 0.16 m and 0.20 m,
respectively.
In this study, two CAM plants, S. kamtschaticum Fischer and S. oryzifolium, and a turf grass, C.
dactylon, which is one of the primary turf grasses used for green roof in Japan, were used. The
transpiration activity of S. kamtschaticum was relatively higher under normal condition than of S.
oryzifolium because of higher leaf area index. 6 plants of S. kamtschaticum and 25 plants of S.
oryzifolium plants were transplanted into each pot in the middle of June, and seeds of the C. dactylon,
which is a C4-type plant, were sown (Aires et al., 2008). Bare soil packed in same pot was also
prepared for measuring the reference evaporation. All plants were grown for one month by wateringwell before starting the experiment on August 1. The experiment lasted for two months during summer.
The irrigation water was prepared by mixing seawater and tap water shown in Table 2 (Al-Busaidi
et al., 2007). The ratio of the Na ion content to the sum of Ca and Mg ions, expressed as the sodium
adsorption ratio (SAR), is an important index to assess the quality of irrigation water. The definition ofSAR is described in Eq. (1) below (US Salinity Laboratory, 1954):Ⓒ ISERD

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SAR

Na  / (Ca 2   Mg 2  ) / 2(1)

where Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ are ion contents (mmeq L-1) of sodium, calcium and magnesium,
respectively. The quality of irrigation water used in this study was averaged to 12 dS m-1 with SAR of
50.4, which was classified as the most severe salinity condition (US Salinity Laboratory. 1954) with
EC higher than 2.3 dS m-1 and SAR higher than 15.
Table 2 Chemical composition of irrigation water
Water typeTap water

pH

8.1
Salineirrigation waterSea water
7.5

EC
dS m-1
0.7

Na +

Ca 2+
ppm

Mg2+

SAR

39.9

95.6

11.2

2.1

12

2752

65

485

50.4

38.5

11211

266

1976

104.0

Experimental Conditions
The humidity and temperature were measured every 15 minutes using a hobo logger (HOBO H8 PRO
SERIES LOGGER). While the range of temperature was generally higher at averaged 32 ºC than thatof an actual green roof setting Takebayashi et al. (2007), there was a slight wind blowing inside theglasshouse through open windows.
Two different irrigation intervals were used: frequent irrigation (FI) and intermittent irrigation (II)with averaged to 2 and 10 days interval, respectively. Evapotranspiration rate (ET) from the vegetation,
evaporation rate from the bare soil (E), and pan evaporation rate were measured by weighing pots withand without plants and a small evaporation pan (internal diameter of 0.35 m). Daily ET ratio (ET r) andE ratio (Er) were calculated by dividing ET and E with pan evaporation rate, respectively. The amountof irrigation water (Vi) applied to each pot was 1.2 times the observed ET during each irrigationinterval so that the excess of water Vd can be used to leach the salt from the soil by drainage(Yamamoto and Cho, 1987a,b ;Corwin et al., 2007). The EC of the drainage water (ECd) was measured
using a portable EC meter (HORIBA Compact Conductivity Meter/B-173). At the end of theexperiment, the dry matter yield (DM) of each plant was observed by weighing the shoots after drying
them at 80 ºC for 3 days. The water use efficiency (WUE) is defined as follows:
WUE

DM
TotalET(2)

where total ET is the total ET during the irrigation experiment, which is measured by weighting pots.
The soil water content and soil EC were calculated from the water and salt balances in pot soil,
described in Moritani et al (2013).
Statistical Analyses
The experimental treatment under saline irrigation which was classified as the most severe salinity
condition was replicated more than 3 times. These samples were subjected to a mean separation
analysis using a one-way ANOVA with a significance level of P <0.05. (PCA) was used. Principal
component analysis (PCA) was carried out under each irrigation method on the standardized data
matrix for reducing the data complexity and extracting the latent patterns. The analysis of PCA cancondense the variations in the treatments by loading in two orthogonal axes that summarize the mainunderlying gradients (Tamene et al., 2006). To analyze the direct impact of the parameters of ECi, DMⒸ ISERD

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and WUE on the gradients, regression methods between the loadings of PC1 or PC2 and thecorrespondents of each parameter were calculated (Moritani et al., 2010; Singh et al., 2005). All ofthese statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software (Ver. 10.0).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Influence of Evapotranspiration on Soil Salinity

3.0

S. kamtschaticum
S. oryzifolium
C. dactylon

ETr

ET for all plants decreased with time as ECs
increased, however ET of C.dactylon wasBare soil
2.0
observed with greatest amount. An average pan
evaporation rate of 4.4 mm day-1 was observed
1.0
during the experiment. Fig. 1 shows the decreasein evapotranspiration ratio (ETr) and evaporation
ratio (Er) with increase in soil water EC (ECs). The
0.0
maximum ETr for S. kamtschaticum, C. dactylon
0
20
40
60
and S. oryzifolium was 2.0, 3.0 and 1.4,
-1
ECs (dS m )respectively. While the Er exhibited a unit value ofapproximately 1.0, a decrease in the ETr wasFig. 1 The relationships between the EC ofobserved for all of the plants caused by salt stress.
soil water (ECs) and the
The ECs value when the ETr became less than theevapotranspiration ratio (ETr) of S.
Er was at 10 dS m-1 for S. kamtschaticum, while at
kamtschaticum, S. oryzifolium and C.
2 dS m-1 for S. oryzifolium. In the case of C.
dactylon and the evaporation ratio
dactylon, the ETr moderately decreased, reaching aof the bare soil (Er)value > 0.8 at an ECs value of 60 dS m-1. The
sharp reduction of the ET, particularly for S. kamtschaticum and S. oryzifolium, was assumed to be theresult of the soil osmotic potential, which decreased the water uptake of the roots. Another reason for
decreasing the ET might be the closure of the stomata during the day (preventing water loss from theplant) under the condition of salinity stress, alternating with the opening of the stomata during the night,
when the evaporative demand was low.
Dry Matter Yields and Water-use Efficiency
The total ET of S. kamtschaticum, S. oryzifolium, and C. dactylon in the control pots were 381, 192 and574 mm, respectively. The 24 % reduction in total ET by soil drought condition under II was observedin S. oryzifolium compared to the control while those in S. kamtschaticum and C. dactylon wereaveraged to 64 %. Table 3 shows the total ET, DM, and WUE for all three types of plants under bothsaline irrigation methods. The total ET of C. dactylon under FI was the highest among others. However,this ET decreased by 48.2% under II that is statistically significant. The DM of all plants under thecontrol showed similar values averaged to 15.7 (±0.8) t ha-1. The DM of S. oryzifolium was the highest,
although the ET was lowest; this led to the highest WUE (Table 3). While the WUE was not affectedsignificantly by the irrigation method, the order of the WUE among these plants was as follows: S.
oryzifolium > S. kamtschaticum > C. dactylon.
As mentioned above, CAM plants consume water efficiently when the stress is given however, theplant biomass decreases. The reduction of biomass is unfortunately not appropriate for improving thethermal performance and landscaping. A combination of high WUE and high DM are thus required forthe high-quality green roof management. The quantification of this combination given as follows wasundertaken as a factor of vegetated condition (FVC):Ⓒ ISERD

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WUE u DMFVC

(3)The FVC in Table 3 shows the relative value against the control in percentage. While thedifference in the FVC between the FI and II conditions in each plant was insignificant (P <0.05), theFVC can be grouped depending significantly on the plant status. The FVC value was highest in S.
oryzifolium, followed by S. kamtschaticum and C. dactylon.
(a )

(b )

S. kamtschaticum PC2
1.5
C. dactylon
18

S. oryzifolium

18

PC2
1.2

18

1.0

ECi
0.8

12 0.5

12

PC1

0.0
- 1.5
6

- 0.5
6
-0.5

0.5

1.5

0

2.5

0
-0.4

-1.0

WUE

0.4

12

0.5

1

PC1

DM

-0.8

0.7
0.7

-1.5

0.7

-2.0

Fig. 3 Results of the principal component analysis under the frequent irrigation method. (a)Loadings: the enclosed lines indicate the group characterized the by underlying
component associated with the factor scores. Numerical values indicate the EC of theirrigation water. (b) Factor scores: ECi, DM and WUE indicate the EC of theirrigation water, dry matter yield and water use efficiency, respectively
Multivariate Analysis
The PCA resulted in two significant principal components (PC), PC1 and PC2, with eigenvalues > 0.8,
which explained approximately 98% of the total variance in the dataset. The PCs provide informationon the most meaningful parameters, which describe a whole dataset, affording a data reduction with aminimal loss of the original information. PC1 and PC2 therefore explain the most significant part ofthe variance within the variables (Pardini et al., 2003). Figs. 3 (a) and (b) show the loadings and factor
scores from the results of the PCA, respectively, under FI. The treatments for each plant tended to be
divided into same group, as shown by the enclosed lines in the figure. The factor scores indicate thatthe higher ECi, for example, decreased the DM but increased the WUE. In the loadings, group of S.
oryzifolium was distributed in the range of a high positive x-axis. From the factor scores, DM and
WUE were gathered in the positive x-axes. This indicates S. oryzifolium meets the requirement of ahigh DM with a high WUE. C. dactylon tended to be in the lower DM and WUE ranges, while S.
kamtschaticum was distributed between these two plants. These tendencies were also observed under II.
One of the different results in PCA between two irrigation methods was that the y-axis of ECi wascloser to the DM and WUE under II. This indicates the influence of the ECi on the DM and WUE
decreased, as compared with that under FI. This is because the drought stress was added under II,
which in turn decreased the influence of the salt stress expressed as ECi, relatively.

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Table 3 Total ET or E, DM, WUE and FVC of S. kamtschaticum, S. oryzifolium and C. dactylon in
the two different of irrigation of frequent (FI) and intermittent (II) with saline irrigation

ET or E (mm)S. kamtschaticum
S. oryzifolium
FI
II
FI
II
157.3 b91.8 a93.3 a93.2 a10.3 a9.0 a17.0 b
15.5 bDM (t ha-1)
WUE (kg m-3) 6.7 bc

9.9 c

FI
366.2 c10.4 aC. dactylon
II189.0 b8.2 a18.3 d

16.9 d

2.9 a

4.4 abFVC (%)
133.7 b151.3 b241.8 cLetters indicate significance level at 0.05

207.7 c62.7 a75.5 aBare soilFIII
184.2 b163.9 b

The higher WUE observed in the CAM plants, with a little reduction of the DM, highlights thebenefit of using them as green roof vegetation, in terms of low water management requirements and ahigh quality of landscape. This study did not account for the leaf fall that is characteristic of S.
oryzifolium during the winter season that may change the WUE and may damage the green roof
landscape. Therefore, a year-round study needs to be performed in future to evaluate the WUE during
the dormant season.
CONCLUSION
In this study, the performance of two CAM plant species, S. kamtschaticum and S. oryzifolium, were
evaluated under frequent and intermittent irrigation conditions with saline water. A prompt decrease in
ET with increasing ECs was found under S. kamtschaticum and S. oryzifolium compared to that of turf
grass, C. dactylon. As a consequence, the dry matter yield showed the following order: S. oryzifolium >S. kamtschaticum > C. dactylon. This is evidence that saline irrigation reduced the dry matter yield but
increased the WUE in CAM plants, resulting in a decrease in the amount of irrigation water required.
In other words, saline irrigation to CAM plants saves water. The paradox is that maximum plant
growth would imply maximum dry matter yield, which would contribute to carbon sequestration, butwould also require maximum irrigation water. However, the higher WUE seen in CAM plants with alittle reduction of DM makes them suitable for green roofs in terms of low water management
requirements with keeping high quality of landscape. This knowledge of CAM plants’ response tosaline irrigation, dry matter yield and WUE could help in selecting suitable plants and in designing
optimal saline irrigation systems and scheduling for green roofs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 26850150. The authors gratefully
acknowledge Mitsuhiro Inoue and M.C.Saxena for helpful comments for improving this study,
Toyohiro Fujita for providing the CAM plants used in this study, and Tomoki Shimizu for technicalsupport.
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a mediterranean C3/C4 grassland in Southern Portugal. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 148, 565-579.
Al-Busaidi, S.A., Yamamoto, T., Inoue, M. and Irshad, M. 2007. Sedum response to sea water salinity under
different irrigation methods. World Journal of Agricultural Science, 3, 547-552.
Corwin, D.L., Rhoades, J.D. and Simunek, J. 2007. Leaching requirement for soil salinity control: Steady-stateversus transient models. Agricultural Water Management, 90, 165-180.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation). 2003. Agriculture, Food and Water. Retrieved 2008 fromftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/aglw/docs/agricfoodwater.pdfⒸ ISERD

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FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation). 1992. Waste water treatment and use in agriculture. FAO Irrigation
and Drainage Paper 47, FAO, Rome. Retrieved 2010 from http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0551e/t0551e
00.HTM
Fujita, A. 2007. Sedum kamtschaticum Fischer, Tottori Fujita No.1 and Tottori Fujita No.2. US Plant Patent
Application Publication, US 2008/0141426 P1, (17, Dec, 2007).
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Kiem, A.S. and Austin, E.K. 2013. Drought and the future of rural communities: opportunities and challenges forclimate change adaptation in regional Victoria, Australia. Global Environ. Change, 23, 1307-1316.
Kumar, R. and Kaushik, S.C. 2005. Performance evaluation of green roof and shading for thermal protection ofbuildings, Energy and Buildings, 27, 1505-1511.
Moritani, S., Yamamoto, T., Andry, H., Inoue, M., Yuya, A. and Kaneuchi, T. 2010. Effectiveness of artificial
zeolite amendment in improving the physicochemical properties of saline-sodic soils characterized bydifferent clay mineralogies. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 48, 470-479.
Moritani, S., Yamamoto, T. Andry, H., Inoue, M. Kato, K. and Saito, H. 2013. Effect of combined water andsalinity stress factors on evapotranspiration of Sedum kamtschaticum Fischer in relation to green roof
irrigation. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 12, 338-343.
Ould-Ahmed, B.A., Yamamoto, T., Rasiah, V., Inoue, M. and Anyoji, H. 2007. The impact of saline water
irrigation management options in a dune sand on available soil water and its salinity. Agricultural Water
Management, 88, 63-72.
Pardini, G., Gispert, M. and Dunjó, G. 2003. Runoff erosion and nutrient depletion in five Mediterranean soils of
NE Spain under different land use. The Science of the Total Environment, 309, 213-224.
Radcliffe, D. and Simunek, J. 2010. Soil physics with HYDRUS: Modelling and applications. CRC Press, Taylor
and Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida.
Rhoades, J.D. 1998. Use of saline and brackish water for irrigation, implications and role in increasing foodproduction, consuming water, sustaining irrigation and controlling soil and water degradation. Proc of theInternational Workshop on the Use of Saline and Brackish Water for Irrigation, At 10th Afro-Asian Confr.
Bali, Indonesia, 261-304.
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wastewater, A case study. Analytica Chimica Acta, 532, 15-25.
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mitigation of urban heat island. Building and Environment, 42, 2971-2979.
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Yamamoto, T. and Cho, T. 1978a. Distribution of soil moisture content in main root zone and water application
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Research article
erd

Mechanism toward Resilience Building in the Face of Climate
Change: A Review for Cambodian Rural Communities
NIMUL CHUN*
Faculty of Agriculture, Svay Rieng University, Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia
Email: chun_nimul@hotmail.com
Received 22 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The article discusses the current climatic situations in Cambodia and existingmechanisms of the country to address climate change (CC) and the level of rural communities
being able to adapt to CC. Reviews of various CC related documents indicate that structuresand mechanisms at national level to address CC are adequate but limited at community level.
The existence of the structures is beneficial to local people unless the adaptive capacity isenhanced with sufficient technological alternatives, implications and applications with wider
sector involvement and a decentralization system. An emerging barrier to resilient building ofcommunity and the country is limited of fiscal decentralization as the current financial sources
for CC resilient building are solely dependent on external funds for decades while these sources
are declining. Additionally, informational, technical and managerial inputs are still strongly
required for local communities in order to ensure that the least consequences of any occurredclimatic hazards can be obtained. Involving private sector would, therefore, be a good option
for local communities in the future provided that private investors have skills to effectively
manage rural infrastructures, for example irrigation systems.
Keywords rural development, climate change mechanism, environment

INTRODUCTION
In the year 2012, Cambodia was ranked as the 26th most vulnerable country to CC in the world (Kreft
and Eckstein, 2013). In 2011, Cambodia was ranked as the 10th most affected country in the world withmore than 250 people being killed as a result of flooding (Kreft and Eckstein, 2012) and 270,000
hectares of cultivated land being destroyed, affecting more than 50,000 households (Wise, 2012).
Despite being a fairly-small country (181,035 km2), the temperature in the year 2030 is estimated tovary greatly per its geographical location with the average increase of about 20C (MoE et al., 2011).
The variation in these conditions makes the country's level of vulnerability differ as well. Despite being
in a high level of vulnerability, the country has paid attention to the problems of CC only in the last
decade. Since early 2010, CC concepts have been integrated into several new emerging national
programmes and onto the development agendas of more state institutions and civil societies
development organizations, including National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP), Rectangular
Strategy Phase II (Pheakdey, 2013), and Sub-National Reform Strategy. These concepts are eventuallyin the Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan 2014-2023 (RGC, 2013). These have been added to
the CC resilience building agenda for the country at both national and sub-national levels. Despite CCconcepts being arguably captured and integrated into various policy documents at national level withsome tangible accomplishments to be proud of; exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of local
communities to CC have posted continuous questions and doubts.

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OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which local communities are ready to face up to
the upcoming repercussions of the ever-changing climate. The objectives of the article are to provide
an overall understanding on climate change issues and impacts on rural livelihood, to explore andassess the existing mechanisms to cope and build rural community capacity and resilience in the faceof CC in rural communities in Cambodia.
METHODOLOGY
Literature reviews in combination with actual experience working in the field of climate change is amethod being used for preparing this study. Various documents including research articles, government
policy documents and project implementation reports of related institutions on climate resilience andmechanism had been consulted. The information relevant to climate change policy, studies, anddecentralization and deconcentration (D&D) policies and mechanisms of three main stakeholders;Cambodian governments, development partners and civil society organisations; was gathered andsynthesized so that insights of climatic issues and responses can be revealed and appropriate measures
can be suggested. Prior to the analysis, the socio-economic context, particularly poverty and responsesof rural people was studied to determine the relationships of climate change impacts on rural livelihoodand effectiveness of the existing measures can be identified. From these associations, the possible
approaches would be able to propose.
RESULTS
Cambodia Rural Livelihood
Agriculture and natural resources: In Cambodia, there is still a majority of poor inhabitants residing
in rural area with agriculture as their main occupation, employing more than half of the country’s
labour force. Rice production, covering more than 80% of total cultivated land areas, is the mostdominant crop. Nearly 80% rural families are rice farmers. Rice production contributed 10% ofcountry’s total export commodities in 2007 (Yu and Diao, 2011). Fishing is also an important part ofrural people’s daily life. Nearly 80% of Cambodian animal protein consumption is from fish (Hortle,
2007). Animal husbandry is one of the key drivers in rural livelihood, contributing to 7.6% of GDP.
Cattle and buffaloes are the biggest share of the sector with nearly 80% of the total animals in the
country (FAO, 2004) and number of animals in 2009 was 29 million being known as not only thesource of draught forces but also savings (Bansok et al., 2011). Forestry is a subsistence source of
livelihood for nearly 80% of the population in rural areas. However, the pressure being put on these
forest areas by economic land concessions is gradually putting the livelihood of the rural people under
threat (Bansok et al., 2011).
Poverty and migration: Poverty and inequality are still rampant in Cambodia. Poverty rate wasreported to be around 25.8% in 2010 of which 91.1% of them were residing in rural areas (MoP, 2010)
and the figure was 20.5% in the year 2011 (The World Bank, 2013). Despite the small proportion of
the poor, the group that is sensitive to poverty is proportionally large, i.e. a small change in
consumption should bring 41% of the rural people back into the group under the poverty line (TheWorld Bank, 2013). The vulnerability of the rural people is very high as low income is unable to copewith natural shocks and migration to other parts of Cambodia and abroad is a kind of an autonomously
adaptive mechanism to disaster events (Bylander, 2013). Floods caused migration as in the floods ofyear 2011, which caused around 9% of rural poor migrated to obtain jobs (RGC, 2012). This would beⒸ ISERD

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greater in the near future because of the upsurge of rural labour forces and less available land for
agricultural production due to economic land concessions (Scheidel, 2013).
Impacts of Climate Change
Direct impacts of natural phenomena such as storms, floods and droughts are significant. Typhoon
Ketsana in 2009 resulted in large damages and losses. For rural road alone, the costs were estimated to
be about USD 28 million (RGC, 2010). The adverse effect of the 2011 flood on rural infrastructure wasone of the worst impacts in Cambodia's recent history resulting in immense damages on rural
infrastructures (Wise, 2012). In addition to floods, droughts have been found to have the most frequenteffect on rural people despite being paid less attention from related state authorities (UNDP, 2010). CC
has a strong association with rural livelihood. Any changes can make profound impacts on foodsecurity and way of life in the rural areas. For example, changes in rainfalls and temperatures have asignificant impact on productivity of rainfed rice (Mainuddin et al., 2012), resulting in decreasing rice
yield (Johnston et al., 2010). The effect is even worse as agricultural production in rural areas generally
depends mainly on rainfall and only 18% of the cultivated land areas have irrigation systems (Yu andDiao, 2011). Animal husbandry is reported to be sensitive to changes in temperature (Jhonston et al.,2010). Infections and diseases are more likely to occur (Seo and Mendelsohn, 2007), especially during
the hottest period of the year (Bansok, 2011). All of these have made people think that agriculture is
not a good choice (Bylander, 2013). These factors have made rural people greatly vulnerable to theimpacts of CC as their adaptive capacity is weak (Gallopin, 2006).
Climate Change Adaptation Mechanism
National adaptation mechanism: Adaptive mechanism to CC in Cambodia is complicated withoverlapping roles of institutions. The most well-known institution dealing with disaster and risk
reduction is National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), albeit having limited authorities
and budgets for implementation. A number of state institutions have declared that they have themandates to tackle the issues. In late 2006, the National Climate Change Committee was establishedwith a coordinating body under Ministry of Environment and a number of state institutions as members
including the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, Ministry of Water Resources, andMeteorology, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Planning as implementing agencies. Another agency
is Ministry of Interior that involves mainly with deconcentration and decentralization reform (CCCN,
2014). The Ministry of Interior is leading a nationwide reforming programme of the country and is also
involved in the process of integrating CC concepts into local authority plans and budgets. The statebudget has channelled funding to local level authorities through this programme (Kimchoeun, 2011).
Despite having a coordinating institution, the actual process in coordinating is difficult and time
consuming.
Sub-national level mechanism: There is no specific study spelling out the mechanism at sub-national
level in response to CC, except the common state administrative system; national, provincial, district,community, and village level. Each administrative area can have a chance to be supported on the topicof CC unless the area has been included in any CC programmes or projects. Apart from this common
administrative structure, the system being used to respond to climatic hazards of the National
Committee for Disaster Management and the CC capacity building of Ministry of Environment isalmost the same to the existing administrative system of the government.
Non-governmental organizations: Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Organizations
are playing a major role in developing rural areas and communities. International development
organizations coordinate for financial support, implement climate change related projects and advocate
the establishment of policy documents. These organizations include UNDP, the World Bank, Asia
Development Bank, DANIDA, IFRC-RCS, SIDA, Plan Cambodia, and Oxfam (AIT, 2010). TheⒸ ISERD

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organizations provide financial, technical, and policy advocacy in the country. Local organizations
make proposals for financial support from these international development organizations to implement
projects at community level.
Community Mechanism and Resilience
Sovacool et al. (2012) have indicated four domains of CC resilience: institutional, capacity, financial,and infrastructural; that should be included in any development project implementation. These fourdomains have been so far accomplished to some extent. Insight analyses of these domains depicting thelevel to which local communities that are capable to adaptation and being resilient to CC are provided
below.
Institutional resilience: Cambodia has made its progress in sub-national reform. In the year 2001, aCommune, Sangkat Law, was established to decentralize the state authorities to local authorities.
Another move was made in 2008 as the establishment of Organic Law giving birth to thedeconcentration reform making the district and provincial levels closer to community level rather thannational level (Niazi, 2011). Apart from the administrative reform, the efforts in integrating CC
concepts at grassroot level have already been framed and legalized to some extent. These include theestablishment of livelihood based groups, such as water user groups, livelihood improvement groups,
and farmer water user groups at community level. However, these groups are not in a good position to
respond to the challenge of climatic events in a broader perspective because their capacities are at thestage of requiring further supports, including technical, managerial and financial. Moreover, thesegroups minimally contribute to their livelihoods (Conan et al., 2013; UNDP, 2013a; Silva et al., 2013).
In this regard, a number of established local organizations are unable to survive long after their support
has ended. Additionally, poor governance in almost all sectors at all management levels is observed
rampant and is hindered the country’s sustainable development (Nguyen et al., 2010).
Capacity resilience: Institutional and individual capacity of Cambodian rural communities is weak.
Cambodia is ranked as the 138th in the world Human Development Index (UNDP, 2013b). According
to MoE et al. (2011), the Human Development Index of each province varies greatly based on location.
Knowledge on CC is found to be limited among villagers who find it difficult to define andinformation regarding their problems for practical purposes. This has brought another barrier for local
community to respond to CC as they have limited and irregular sources of information about the
coming weather related events from Early Warning System or responsible institutions (CCCN, 2014).
Without proper information and institutional support, the capacity of rural communities tends to be
weak putting them at immense risk, particularly the poor and the near poor. In addition, the adaptive
capacity of the communities is limited. These require continuous technical support to strengthen thecapacity for both individual and communities.
Financial resilience: As the people of the country become aware of the concept of CC and externalfunding for providing this issue is more available, there is a shift in conventional development focus ofNGOs toward CC resilience building and adaptation. One major concern of finance is that externalsources contributed nearly 90% of the country’s development investment since 2005 (Sato et al., 2011).
The current external support of CC finance is reported to be worth about US$ 655.6 million out of
which US$ 338.8 million has been disbursed and US$ 316.8 million is for the years 2014-2020(Pheakdey, 2013). A decentralized system should have been a long-term source of budget for local
development. However, fiscal decentralization is not in place for implementation (Kimchuen, 2011).
Though, there is room for collective actions for communities - including water user groups, farmer
water user groups and livelihood improvement groups - in mobilizing local resources for specificpurposes. However, the groups are either more self-dependent or rely more on support of nongovernmental organizations that are themselves generally facing the problem of viability. These havegiven the authorities limited financial solutions toward both conventional development needs andconsequences of climatic events.
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Infrastructural resilience: The majority of Cambodian rural infrastructures are designed for normal
situations without consideration for climate hazards or natural phenomenon. As a result, theseinfrastructures can be damaged easily. According to RGC (2010), poor quality of foundations andsubgrades, prolonged wet conditions and poor standard of designs, e.g. inadequate drainage systems
are identified as factors contributing to rural roads being unable to withstand bad weather. The conceptof climate resilience infrastructure has been newly introduced into various sector infrastructuredevelopments. Climate resilient infrastructure projects are being integrated into various related
Ministries with the support of Project for Piloting the Climate Resilience (PPCR) that allocates budgetof US$86 million to improve the climate resilience of Cambodia’s core sectors. This includes water
management, agriculture, and rural infrastructure as well as institutional capacity development (CIF,
2012). There is no other sign of allowing for CC integration into the infrastructure development of thecountry.
DISCUSSION
Despite availability of provision for good CC structures and mechanisms at national level, and fordecentralization and de-concentration systems at sub-national level, there are still major concerns
regarding financial, capacity and infrastructural resilience building. Considering poor governance andmanagement at all levels, in combination with dependence on external sources of finance, it is hard toforecast a strong future for Cambodian rural communities (Hill and Menon, 2013; Nguyen et al., 2011).
This has become worse with the rural infrastructures being insensitive to environmental shocks andweak individual capacity. It will be difficult to reverse this situation because external funding is going
to decline over time. The situation could become better when there are proper financial mechanisms toprovide adequate sources of investment in each community and the introduction and implementation of
fiscal decentralization. By making this reform, communities would be able to mobilize local resources
and be able to respond immediately to the occurrence of any climatic disasters. This does notnecessarily mean that the problem of making provision for CC in the future is insurmountable.
Administrative reform in enhancing a community based taxation system, encouraging safe migration as
an additional source of funds replacing agriculture, and strengthening the ecological system as asecondary source of livelihood would mitigate the problem. The concern related to water shortage
could be solved by enhancing small scale irrigation systems. This would bring back community
capacity to systematically cope with CC nationwide. For example, a government program on microfinance credits – with low interest rates to involve more private sector participation to invest in thewater sector – would help farmers escape from the water shortage which occurs frequently in
Cambodia. Being aware of the possibility of natural disasters happening and being ready to respond todisasters should be encouraged. Farmers or local people should have adequate and accessible toinformation and knowledge on how risks can be mitigated. This needs more attention to the existenceof CC and more understanding of the problems by both national and sub-national level of CC related
institutions.
CONCLUSION
Cambodian rural communities are facing barriers in coping with CC with very limited resources
including financial, capacity and infrastructure, albeit institutional mechanism slightly strengthened
lately. Programmes based on ad hoc supports will not improve the situation since the financial andtechnical capacity of local people varies so greatly from one location to another. Construction andmaintenance of irrigation systems and climatic event information dissemination need to be done
regularly. As migration is the farmers’ coping mechanism in response to environmental shocks, itmeasures to ensure that migration is safe for them is required. Additionally, natural resourcesⒸ ISERD108

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conservation is significant because migrants utilize natural resources as part of their livelihood
activities. It would, therefore, be better for the farmers to be trained to be resilient so that all livelihood
activities - including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, water and provision of climatic
information - can properly interact and all the farmers and villagers can be reliably informed. In theface of CC and limited financial resources, fiscal decentralization for creating local sources of funds
and encouraging private sector participation would be optimal for community people to give them
freedom in choosing solutions to tackling the issues though technical and managerial supports should
never be left out of the agenda.
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AIT. 2010. Scoping assessment for national implementation in Cambodia-Summary. Asian Institute ofTechnology and Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia, Bangkok, Thailand.
Bansok, R., Phirun, N. and Chhun, C. 2011. Agricultural development and climate change, The case of Cambodia.
Cambodia Development Resource Institute. Working Paper Series No. 64. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Bylander, M. 2013. Depending on the sky: Environmental distress, migration, and coping in rural Cambodia.
International Migration. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
CCCN. 2014. Many factors in an uncertain future: Situation climate change among local community priority in
Cambodia. Cambodian Climate Change Network, Cambodia.
CIF. 2012. Pilot program for climate resilience: Cambodia. Climate Investment Fund.
Conan, A., Ponsich, A., Goutard, L.F., Khiev, R., Tarantola, A., Sorn, S., and Vong, S. 2013. A communitybased education trial to improve backyard poultry biosecurity in rural Cambodia. Acta Tropica, 125, 294-302.
FAO. 2004. Livestock sector brief: Cambodia. FAO. Rome, Italy.
Gallopin, C.G. 2006. Linkages between vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity. Global Environmental
Change, 16, 293-303.
Hill, H., and Menon, J. 2013. Cambodia: Rapid growth with weak institutions. Asian Economic Policy Review, 8,46-65.
Hortle, K.G. 2007. Consumption and the yield of fish and other aquatic animals from the lower Mekong basin.
Mekong River Commission, MRC Technical Paper no. 16. Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Johnston, R., Hoanh, C.T., Lacombe, G., Noble, A., Smakhtin, V., Suhardiman, D., Pheng, K.S. and Sze, C.P.
2010. Scoping study on natural resources and climate change in southeast Asia with a focus on agriculture.
Report prepared for SIDA. IWMI: Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Kimchoeun, P. 2011. Fiscal decentralisation in Cambodia: A review of progress and challenges. Cambodia
Development and Research Institute. Working Paper Series No. 50, Cambodia.
Kreft, S. and Eckstein, D. 2012. Global climate risk index 2014. Germanwatch. Bonn, Germany.
Kreft, S. and Eckstein, D. 2013. Global climate risk index 2014. Germanwatch. Bonn, Germany.
Mainuddin, M., Kirby, M. and Hoanh, T.C. 2012. Water productivity responses and adaptation to climate change
in the lower Mekong basin. Water International, 37 (1), 53-74.
MoE, UNDP and MEF. 2011. Building resilience: The future of rural livelihoods in the face of climate change.
Cambodia Human Development Report 2011. Ministry of Environment, Cambodia.
MoP. 2010. Achieving Cambodia’s millennium development goals update 2010. Ministry of Planning, Cambodia.
Nguyen, H., Shaw, J. and Prabhakar, S.V.R.K. 2010. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in
Cambodia In: Shaw, R., Pulhin, M.J., and Pereira, J.J. (Ed.) Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk
Reduction: An Asian Perspective. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, UK.
Niazi, T.H. 2011. Deconcentration and decentralization reforms in Cambodia: Recommendations for an
institutional framework. Asian Development Bank. Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
Pheakdey, H. 2013. Climate change financing in Cambodia. The NGO Forum in Cambodia.
RGC. 2010. Cambodia post-Ketsana disaster needs assessment. Royal Government of Cambodia.
RGC. 2010. National strategic development plan update 2009-2013. Royal Government of Cambodia.
RGC. 2012. Cambodia post-flood relief and recovery survey. National Committee for Disaster Management,
Cambodia.
RGC. 2013. Cambodia climate change strategic plan 2014–2023. Royal Government of Cambodia.

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Sato, J., Shiga, H., Kobayashi, T. and Kondoh, H. 2011. Emerging donors from a recipient perspective: An
institutional analysis of foreign aid in Cambodia. World Development, 39 (12), 2091-2104.
Scheidel, A., Giampietro, M. and Ramos-Martin, J. 2013. Self-sufficiency or surplus: Conflicting local andnational rural development goals in Cambodia. Land Use Policy, 34, 342-352.
Seo, N.S. and Mendelsohn, R. 2007. Climate change impacts on animal husbandry in Africa: A ricardian analysis.
World Bank Policy Research. Working Paper 4261.
Silva, D.S., Johnston, D. and Thuon, T. 2013. Local institutions for irrigated agriculture in Cambodia. IWMI
Issue Brief No.2, Sri Lanka.
Sovacool, K.B., Agostino, D.L.A., Meenawat, H., and Rawlani, A. 2012. Expert views of climate change
adaptation in least developed Asia. Journal of Environmental Management, 97, 78-88.
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UNDP. 2013a, Case study in Cambodia community based adaptation: Two examples from rural affected
communities. UNDP, Cambodia.
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Wise, S. 2012. Cambodia post-flood relief and recovery survey. WFP and NCDD. Phnom Penh,Cambodia.
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Research article
erd

Farmers’ Soil Conservation Practices of Maize Production,
Paklay District, Sayabouly Province, Lao PDROUDTANIVANH LUANGDUANGSITTHIDETH*
Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Email: l.oudtanivanh@gmail.com

BUDSARA LIMNIRUNKUL
Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Received 15 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Soil degradation is a big problem on the hill slopes in the Lao PDR where maize isthe main crop and intensively grown. Due to this, maize yield was lower than 3.8 ton/ha which
also impacted the environment as well as farmers’ incomes. Soil Conservation Practices (SCP)
are important alternative methodologies for soil conservation on sloping land. The objective of
this study was to examine the farmers’ current soil conservation practices for maize productionin Paklay district, Sayabouly province. The study employed participatory rapid appraisal (PRA)
methods and data was collected through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews
from three villages (Village 1: Palay 46 households, Village 2: Boumlao-Phakeo 90 households
and Village 3 Senphon 25 households, totaling 161 households). The key informant interviews
were implemented through the staff of the District Agriculture and Forestry Office (DAFO) andthe village headmen. The results showed that 73% of farmers practiced SCP; the major SCP
practices included 100% intercropping, 60% crop residue management, 12% crop rotation, 12%conservation tillage and 3% organic fertilizer application. The use of SCP showed an increasein soil fertility, an improvement in the maize yield and soil erosion prevention on hill slopes.
The majority of maize farmers who adopted SCP applied the legume intercropping method. The
legume (i.e. groundnut, red bean, mungbean and black bean) were planted two weeks before themaize harvest. Crop residue was used for mulching (conserving soil moisture and soil nutrition).
Furthermore, knowledge of SCP systems such as chemical use, residual crops, intercropping,mulching, tillage, and chemical soil contamination needed to be provided to farmers by staff ofthe DAFO.
Keywords maize, soil conservation practice, crop rotation, intercropping

INTRODUCTION
In Laos, many rural farmers have traditionally been engaged in subsistence food production. Since themiddle of 1980s, the government of Laos has publicized a slow liberalization of the national economy.
Shifting cultivation was replaced by the intensive cultivation of cash crops such as maize, sugarcane,cassava and rubber (Viengpasith et al., 2012). Amongst the cash crops, maize has been ranked the firstin terms of volume (Phanvilay et al., 2006). Therefore, the area of maize production has increased
more than 7 times from 2003 to 2010 (Thanichanon, 2012).
Sayabouly province is one of the provinces which produces the largest amount of maize as maize
covers more than 98% of the total area (Lestrelin and Castella, 2011). However, over the past decade,maize production has extended into preserved forest areas. Moreover, plowing practices and increased
application of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers contribute to soil degradation (e.g. soil
erosion, weed outbreak, and chemical contamination) (Lestrelin et al., 2012). In addition, an increase inⒸ ISERD

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the volume of maize production combined with low productivity will need more farmland and thistends to cause a change in land use and land covers.
In the 2000s, conservation agriculture had been promoted in Sayabouly province by Application
Site Southern Sayabouly or Point d’Application du Sud du province de Sayabouly (PASS) and the
National Programme on Agro-Ecology or Programme National Agro-Ecologie (PRONAE) in order tomaintain soil fertility for sustainable agriculture in the transitional period for agriculture while
controlling the negative impacts on land use. Conservation agricultural practices such as no-tillage,
cover crops, crops rotation and/or crop residue management have been shown to have positive impacts
on preventing soil erosion, as well as having a positive impact on soil maintenance and/or the renewalof the soils’ physical, biological and chemical properties and on soil moisture (Lestrelin et al., 2012).
Therefore, one of the key factors for improving the efficiency of maize production is to increase
the technical efficiency of maize farmers (Southavilay et al., 2012). Moreover, soil conservation
practices are the best way to enhance maize product and sustainable land use.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to examine farmers’ current soil conservation practices on maize
production in Paklay district, Sayabouly province.
METHODOLOGY
Samples were selected from the famers who currently cultivate maize and the famers who had been
involved in the PASS and PRONAE projects in years 2000s in Paklay district. Data collection was
done through the participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) approach in 3 villages (village1: Palay, village 2:
Boumlao-Phakeo and village 3: Senphon). Village headman interviews, focus group discussions andhousehold interviews were conducted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 161
household representatives, which was made up of 46 households from Village 1, 90 households from
Village 2 and 25 households from village 3. The topics for focus group discussions and interviews
included a history of farmers’ traditional practices, soil management practices, cropping patterns andphysical characteristics of the study areas. The total numbers of samples were calculated by Yamane(1967) as shown in Table1.
Table 1 Household interviewees in three target villages
Village

Total Household(HH)

Percentage of household (%)
Cultivating maizeHousehold interviewed(HH)

Village 1
Village 2
Village 3
Total
Source: Field survey, 2015

348
928
295

98
95
98

46
90
25
161

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Background of Conservation Agriculture Promoted in Study Area
For intensive crops production in hill slope areas, conservation agriculture (CA) had been promoted
through PRONAE (started 2001) and PASS (started 2005) in the 2000s. The concept of the projectsⒸ ISERD112

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was direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems. DMC systems are cropping systems thatinvolve no-tillage and permanent plant cover on the soil. The government had set a policy to spread
CA over all the country to reduce soil degradation, chemical use and improve soil fertility to help
preserve the environment.
Main Crops and Soil Characteristic
Farm types: There are various crops which are grown in these areas. Rice is the main crop forhousehold consumtion, while maize, legume and other crops are commercial crops. Farm types in all
the three villages have a similar pattern because the environmental context and the livelihoods are
similar in terms of the cropping areas in each village. In Village 1, maize production covered 31% of
the planted area, rice covered 54% and the legume area covered 15%. In Village 2, maize production
was highest at 77%, while the rice planted area was 12% and the legume planted area was 8%. For
Village 3, rice covered 15% of the planted area, maize covered 58% and legume covered 23% asshown in Fig. 1.

Village1: Palay

Village 2: Boumlao-Phakeo

Village 3: Senphon

Fig. 1 Farm types in three villages of study area
Soil charateristics: According to the interviews with farmers, it was found that there are six different
soil types in the study areas. The majority of soil types are loamy soil. This soil type is very suitable forcultivation, especially for maize production. The soil characteristics in the three villages are quite
similar. Loamy soil contributes to 67%, 60% and 76% of the agricultural area in villages 1, 2 and 3
respectively. In addition, there is chalky soil at 12%, 17% and 20% for villages 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
Table 2 Soil characteristics of three villages
PhysicalSoil type

Village 1 (n=46)
 Loamy67%
 Sandy Clay8%
 Silty14%
 Peaty Chalky
12%
Source: Field survey, 2015








Village 2 (n=90)
Loamy
60%
Sandy
4%
Clay
1%
Silty
10%
Peaty
9%
Chalky
17%








Village 3 (n=25)
Loamy
76%
Sandy
Clay
Silty
Peaty
4%
Chalky20%

Cropping calendar: In the study areas, most of the cropping activities were concentrated during therainy season because the area is sloping land. There were no irrigation systems for crop production in
the dry season. Table 3 shows the duration of the cropping season for the three villages.

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Table 3 Cropping calendar of the study areas
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Month
8
9

10

11

12

1

2

3

4

Upland rice
Rice
Maize
Groundnut
Black bean
Red beanCassava
White sesame
Source: Field survey, 2015

Famers’ Practices in Maize Cultivation
Maize production systems: In the past, maize production was a traditional practice where farmers
depended on indiginous knowledge. Since the government has introduced the policy of stopping slashand-burn and shifting cultivation, the area was replaced by intensive, market-oriented agriculture.
Maize became the first and most important cash crop which generally involved the use of hybrid
varieties, fertilizers and pesticides, the burning of crop residues for land preparation and plowing on
steep slopes, (even mechanical plowing with tractors). After a conservation agriculture project had
been impremented, the maize production system has been changed to intercropping and crop rotation
so the famers in the study areas mostly practice maize and legume relay intercropping. There are fourkinds of legumes which include groundnut, red bean, black bean, and mungbean in this system.
Soil conservation practices: It was found that the farmers in the three villages practiced similar
methods of SCP because the context of the area was also similar. In total, 73% of farmers practiced
SCP. The major practice of SCP was 100% intercropping followed by 60% crop residue management,
12% crop rotation, 12% conservation tillage and 3% organic fertilizer application as shown in Table 4.
Table 4 Soil conservation practices of farmers in the study areas (N=161)
Study area

Palay
Boumlao-Phakeo
Senphon
Total

Soil
conservation
practices
(%)
no.
%
30
19
71
44
17
11
118
73

Soil conservation practices
Inter-croppingCrop
residueCroprotation

Conservation
tillageOrganic
fertilizer

no.
30
71
17
118

no.
17
44
10
71

no.
5
3
4
12

no.
5
3
4
12

no.
2
1
1
4

%
25
60
14
100

%
24
62
14
60

%
42
25
33
10

%
42
25
33
10

%
50
25
25
3

Source: field survey, 2015

The households interviewed were questioned about the methods of SCP that they had applied totheir farmland and were asked to explain the details of each method. The current practices for SCP in
the study areas had the following processes:
Intercropping: The farmers’ responses showed that legumes have been used for intercropping withmaize production. Legume cropping starts near the end of the rainy season because it’s resistant to dry
conditions and it is also a short duration crop. In practicing intercropping, farmers planted legume
within one or two weeks before the maize harvest; they planted only some part of the maize area in one
year and moved to other parts of the maize area for the next year. As the farmers observed, legumeⒸ ISERD

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intercropping could improve soil fertility. Furthermore, legume production could increase the family
income.
Crop residues management: In general, crop residue management is not widely practiced yet but
some farmers have used the agricultural residues for controlling soil erosion and suppressing weeds. In
addition, maize residue can be bean trellis and livestock feed. There are a small number of farmers whoburn crop residues after the harvest for land clearance before they plough the land to grow maize.
Conservation tillage: In the study areas, only 10% of farmers practiced conservation tillage. The
condition of the areas is suitable for conservation tillage because land preparation for the high slopes
must consider soil erosion. The conservation tillage methods are practiced for reducing soil erosion on
the farmland and the plowing is conducted across the slope. Moreover, conservation tillage maintains
soil fertility. There were farmers that do not plough or plough only some years to preserve soil fertility,
decrease soil degradation and soil erosion. However, farmers are still concerned about conservation
tillage as it may cause hard soil and extreme weed growth.
Crop rotation: Farmers grew legume as a part of a crop rotation program, especially groundnut. They
would grow groundnut after maize, but the proportion of groundnut was less than maize. Aside from
improving soil fertility, legume rotation also has the advantage of reducing soil degradation. It could
also generate more income for the farmer.
Organic fertilizer: In the study area, not many farmers applied organic fertilizer in order to improvesoil fertility, mainly by using manure from livestock. Organic fertilizer has not been wellacknowledged and livestock production in the study area still uses traditional systems so famers do nothave much manure from their livestock to apply to farmland. After the planting season, farmers let
their cattle roam freely so their farmland gained manure from freely released animals. Althoughorganic fertilizer is not enough for crop production, it can still help to improve soil fertility.
Farmers’ adoption level on SCP: Depending on the number of SCP methods practiced, it was foundthat there were three levels of farmers’ adoption of SCP, 11.80%, 33.54% and 27.95% of farmers had
high, medium and low levels of adoption respectively. In addition, there were 26.71% of farmers who
did not adopt any method of SCP.
Table 5 Adoption levels of farmers sampled
Adoption Category
0
1
2
3
Total

Variable

Frequency
Number
43
45
54
19
161

Non-adoption
Low adoption level
Medium adoption level
High adoption level

Percentage
26.71
27.95
33.54
11.80
100.00Source: field survey, 2015

Farmers’ understanding on SCP: According to focus groups discussions and semi-structured
interviews, it showed that farmers understood the advantages and disadvantages of SCP methods
before the adoption of SCP. In addition, the practices also showed that farmers understood soil
conservation practices.
CONCLUSION
This study indicated that about 73% of farmers practiced SCP, which included the five main methods.
100% of farmers practiced SCP by intercropping, 60% by crop residue management, 12% by crop
rotation, 12% by conservation tillage and 3% with organic fertilizer. Furthermore, it was found that
there were three levels of farmers’ adoption of SCP, 11.80%, 33.54% and 27.95% of farmers had high,medium and low levels of adoption respectively. In addition, there were 26.71% of farmers who didⒸ ISERD

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not adopt any method of SCP. Moreover, farmers understood that SCP is the knowledge, perception
and practice needed for soil fertility improvement. Therefore, in order to improve soil fertility, it isnecessary to improve the knowledge, the perceptions, adoption levels and the practices of famers of
SCP methods.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to gratefully acknowledge the Center for Agricultural Resource System Research, Facultyof Agriculture, Chiang Mai University and IDRC-SEARCA for the sponsoring fund for the research
project. Also,I would like to gratefully acknowledge the DAFO Paklay district and villageorganizations for supporting the field survey.
REFERENCES
Jullien, F., Tivet F., Lestrelin, G., Quoc, H.T., Lienhard, P., Khamhung, A., Rattanatray, B., Panyasiri, K.,
Chabanne, A., Julien, P. 2008. A farmer-group based approach linking research and development for thepromotion of conservation agriculture in the Lao PDR. Regional Worshop on Conservation Agriculture,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR, NAFRI, CIRAD196-207.
Lestrelin, G. and Castella, J.C. 2011. Accompanying the agroecological transition in Lao PDR: Opportunities andchallenges for conservation agriculture in maize production areas. [Online]. Available at: http://
agroecologie.cirad.fr/content/download/7982/40662/file/congres_brisbane_lestreling.pdf [Accessed Feb. 20,
2015].
Lestrelin, G., Quoc, H.T., Jullien, F., Rattanatray, B., Khamxaykhay, C. and Tivet, F. 2012. Conservation
agriculture in Laos: Diffusion and determinants for adoption of direct Seeding Mulch-based Cropping
Systems in Smallholder Agriculture. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 27 (1), 81-92.
Phanvilay, K., Thongmanivong, S., Fujita, Y., Fox, J. and Center, E.W. 2006. Agarian land use transformation in
upland area of northern Laos. In SSLWM Workshop. [Online]. Available at: http://lib.icimod.org/record/
12157/ files/3540.pdf [Accessed March 7, 2015].
Thanichanon Puwadej. 2012. Effects of market integration on land use and welfare in Xayaburi, Lao PDR. Centre
for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Switzerland.
Viengpasith, V., Yabe, M. and Sato, G. 2012. Analysis of technical efficiency of smallholder maize farmers innorthern Lao PDR: Case study of Paklay district, Sayaboury province. Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture,
Kyushu University, 57 (1), 309-315.

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Research article
erd

Improving Waxy Maize, the Heritage of South East Asia
PETER STAMP*
ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
Email: peter.stamp@usys.ethz.ch

SANSERN JAMPATONG
Kasetsart University, Nakhonpathom, Thailand

HAM LE-HUY
Agricultural Genetics Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam

SEBASTIAN STREB
ETH, Zurich, Switzerland

CHOOSAK JOMPUK
Kasetsart University, Nakhonpathom, Thailand
Received 4 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Amylose-free (waxy), i.e. amylopectin maize has been a vegetable and staple food in
East and South-East Asia for centuries, resulting in hundreds of landraces (LR). Eating
preferences could have resulted in the additional selection for different starch properties ofwaxy maize, of interest in the food and feed industry. But within twenty LR from Vietnam andThailand, disappointingly no evidence was found for special starch properties. For minority
ethnic groups waxy LR are still the main staple food, well liked for their soft grains withfavorable cooking properties. But maize protein is severely lacking in quality that makes waxy
maize an unsuitable staple food especially for small children. High quality protein maize(QPM) developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has
90% of the nutritive value of milk protein. We combined the recessive waxy and QPM alleles
into modern high yielding lines resulting in double quality grains. In a second step this double
quality was introgressed into two landraces of the Hmong minority by two backcrosses. Seeds
are available now of the two improved waxy landraces, which possess high yield potential, highprotein quality and good eating quality. Consumption of double-quality waxy maize as staple
food will improve the diets of children, a good reason to produce it.
Keywords waxy maize landraces, starch quality, quality protein maize, ethnic minorities

INTRODUCTION
Maize was probably introduced to Asia in its native wild-type form during the 16th century fromCentral America. Normal grain starch consists of two glucose polymers, amylose and amylopectin,
which assemble into semi-crystalline granules. Amylopectin accounts for 60 to 90% of the granuleweight. It is a highly branched polymer in which the glucose units are linked via α-1,4 and α-1,6glucosidic bonds. In contrast, amylose consist mostly of α-1,4-linked glucose, forming long linear
chains inside the starch granule.
Soon after arrival, amylose-free (waxy) mutants were cultivated as a common vegetable and staple
food from Japan down to Myanmar. This closely follows an old consumer preference for amylose-freerice, also called glutinous or sticky rice, in Asia that dates back 2000 years (Olsen and Purugganan,Ⓒ ISERD

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2002). The selection for the recessive waxy allele can be attributed to a strong preference for soft grains
with more desirable cooking and flavor properties (Fergason, 2010). Sequence analysis of waxy
landraces (LR) from southwest China, suggest independent parallel selection for the waxy trait in thisregion (Fan et al., 2008).
South East Asia was successful in reducing hunger and poverty by less rice and more meat andmilk consumption (FAO, 2008). However, in hilly marginal areas the majority of people belong todiverse minority ethnic groups. Beside global poverty and low educational level, the main problems of
those minority ethnic groups are the access to land, water and markets (Huynh, 2002). For them, waxy
maize landraces still remain the staple food and meat is only rarely consumed (Swinkels and Turk,
2006). This makes an urgent task to improve their protein uptake.
Waxy maize has soft grains that are especially suitable for preparing traditional dishes such as
porridge or for the consumption of immature ears as a vegetable. Sensory acceptance of waxy maize ismostly determined by the right degree of firmness and the absence of stickiness of cooked kernels. Inturn, both firmness and stickiness are controlled by the structure and composition of starch. In waxy
maize, starch basically consists of branched high-molecular amylopectin; the linear amylose is virtuallyabsent. Protein of maize is lacking both in quality and quantity. For the nutrition of humans lysine is
one of the most important amino acids, followed by tryptophan. But the lysine and tryptophan contentsof zeins, the main protein type in maize, are quite low (FAO, 1992). Therefore it is essential to raise
the protein quality in maize based diets. Breeding for maize with enhanced protein quality started in the
mid of the 1960s, when mutants with an increased lysine content, like opaque2 (o2) and floury2 (fl2),
were discovered; the increase in essential amino-acids results from a change of the relative amounts ofdifferent fractions constituting the maize endosperm proteins (Vasal, 2001). An agronomically superior
form of o2 germplasm with hard endosperm was named high quality protein maize (QPM) by theInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, Mexico), in opposition to the soft
endosperm o2, called standard o2. This novel maize type has 90% of the nutritive value of milk protein
for young children (FAO, 1992).
In recent years we were successful in combining two recessive traits, waxy and QPM (w/o), into
one new kernel type with normal aspects, i.e. suitable for staple food (Dang et al., 2011; Sinkangam etal., 2012). Those findings were recently confirmed (Zhang et al., 2013). This provides now a firm basis
to tackle the problem of protein malnutrition in a double approach, improving the staple waxy maize
agronomically as well as nutritionally: as our new w/o lines are derived from modern agronomic stock,
they should be suitable to upgrade by introgression the protein quality of traditional landraces and to
improve the yield by residual effects. Waxy maize landraces from the Hmong minority in Vietnam
were chosen as targets that excelled by good eating taste.
OBJECTIVE
The very low indigenous protein quality of waxy maize landraces must be improved by incorporating
quality protein (QPM) genes. This requires that two grain mutants are expressed together without
impairing the vitality of the grain. This double quality breeding material can then be implemented into
the food chain of malnourished people in South East Asia. In a second approach, the starch quality of arepresentative set of Thai and Vietnamese waxy landraces was going to be analyzed for the potential of
new types that could be of value for the food and feed industry.
METHODOLOGY
Starch QualityⒸ ISERD

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Waxy maize landraces (LR) were chosen (Fig. 1) that are or had been used by ethnic majorities andminorities in Thailand (12 LR; Anonymous, 1983) and in Vietnam (8 LR; Maize germplasm section National Maize Research Institute, 1997) in representative regions of cultivation. A commercial waxy
feed grain hybrid (PR38A22, DuPont/Pioneer) was used as a control.
For amylose quantification, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and starch granule size
distribution was utilized, extracted starch was analyzed for amylose content according to Hostettler etal. (2011). Starch granule size was quantified by digital image analysis coupled to light microscopy(Wilson, Bechtel, et al., 2006). Gelatinization temperature and enthalpy of starch suspensions were
determined using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC 2010) from TA instruments (Jacquier, Kar,et al., 2006).
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) for the relationships between starch properties
and the level of significance (p) for two-tailed test were calculated in Excel.
Quality Protein Maize (QPM)
Two waxy Hmong landraces of good taste (White waxy Cao Bang 3-Highland, North Vietnam; WVN 3
and White waxy S2- Highland, North Vietnam; WVN 10), were crossed with two waxy x QPM (w/o)
lines of modern agronomic background, ETH w/o (southern Chinese origin; Dang et al., 2011) andAgron w/o (Thai origin; Sinkangam et al., 2012), w/o types were selected from sib-mated plants. The
resulting top crosses were then backcrossed once again to the parental waxy LR. Field experiments
were conducted at Suwan Farm, Thailand (14.5°N, 101°E, 360 m above sea level; lowland climate) in
2011, 2013 and 2014. For further technical information see Sinkangam et al. 2012. Molecular analyses
were needed to assay for the recessive opaque-2 and the waxy alleles and carried out according tomethods described in detail by Sinkangam et al. (2012). Data of the quality and agronomic traits wereanalyzed according to a randomized complete block design (RCBD).
Table 1 Ear yield, eating and protein quality of improved landrace (LR) S2 after crossing
with ETH W/O and AGRON W/O and back-crossings to LR S2Pedigree

QPM = Yes
QPM = No

Ratchata 1 (Hybrid)
S2 (LR Vietnam)
S2 waxy x QPM

No
No
Yes

Ear fresh
weight
t/ha
7.81a
6.41b
7.73a

Bite test
(1-9)
6.7a
5.0b
6.3a

Tryptophan
in protein
%
0.48b
0.41b
0.82a

Rating score of bite test (1-9) = 1 is poor and 9 is good.

Table 2 Ear fresh yield, eating and protein quality of two test hybrids anda commercial hybrid
Pedigree
Big White 852 (commercial
hybrid)
SW14D-B7-1055-11 x 34
SW14D-B7-1055-14 x 34

QPM = Yes
QPM = NoNo

Ear fresh
weight
t/ha
7.39b

Yes
Yes

12.35a12.05aRating score of bite test (1-9) = 1 is poor and 9 is good.

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(1-9)
7.0a

Tryptophan
In protein
%
1.19b

6,3ab
5,7b

1,75a
2,04a

Bite test

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Fig. 1 Origin and purity of Thai and Vietnamese landraces used in the study
Amylose free landraces (waxy/waxy) are shown in yellow, landraces with mixed background (WAXY/waxy)
in green and wild-type plants (WAXY/WAXY) in black.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
StarchGenetic resources, like the hundreds or more, probably thousands, of waxy LR in South-East and East
Asia, cannot be easily accessed for research due to their well protected status. On the other hand, they
never made it to the international genebank of CIMMYT; their conservation unluckily depends on
activities of individual nations. We had access to collections in Thailand and Vietnam but noinformation existed for tests on waxy purity, and for the maintenance history. The more recent
Vietnamese collection was pure waxy. Within the Thai collection, three LR were wrongly classified aswaxy and some other were mixed or heterogeneous (Fig. 1). A practical approach was successfully
taken to regenerate pure waxy genotypes within the LR of mixed status. This was done by iodine
staining for lack of amylose. This experience with national or local conservation of germplasm
highlights the challenge to maintain essential but recessive traits.
For the now pure waxy LR, starch quality tests were done in comparison with a commercial waxy
fodder maize from France for gelatinization fine structure of amylopectin and starch granule size. No
significant differences existed for these traits within the Asian LR and between them and thecommercial hybrid (data not shown).
The Thai and Vietnamese collections of waxy maize landraces (LR) have probably not been
complete, considering the varied traditions in the mountainous areas of Southeast Asia. Zheng et al.
(2013) analyzed the genetic diversity of Chinese waxy landraces, and modern waxy inbred lines
proving a wide genetic diversity.
We identified four different waxy mutations in our LRs. Two of these are known from South
Chinese genetic resources (Fan, Quan, et al., 2008), the other two have been first found here in SouthEast Asian LR. This suggests a strong and parallel selection for amylose free varieties by local farmers
throughout the last centuries, as nowhere else in the world these rare mutations have been targeted forspecialty food before varieties from Asia had been described (Collins, 1909; Weatherwax, 1922), andlater on used for the production of quality feed. We investigated if the remaining amylopectin was also
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targeted by selection rendering its structure to meet the eating preferences. However, we could not
identify alteration in amylopectin in the LRs. Therefore, our hypothesis of concomitant changes in the
branching pattern of amylopectin in waxy LR, leading to altered starch traits of economic interest had
to be rejected.
QPM
This work started with collections of waxy maize landraces (LR) from Thailand and Vietnam (Fig. 1).
From 48 initial LR, two vigorous Vietnamese of good taste were selected according to field vigor andexcellent taste. They were crossed with two waxy x QPM lines that had been developed by us (Dang etal., 2011; Sinkangam et al., 2012), one with a southern Chinese and one with a Thai background. Theiroffspring was further selected in several generations at Kasetsart University, Thailand. Today, seeds
are available from open pollinated varieties that are close to the original parental LR, but with the
improved protein of QPM and quite some agronomic advantages.
As waxy maize is usually eaten as a vegetable, the right harvest time is at dough stage. In atropical climate this was reached three weeks after flowering. On average almost 80% of the maximum
grain yield was attained at this time with grain moisture content at about 45%. An example for theyield and quality potential of the new material is presented in Table 1. The protein content was 11%
without differences between the genotypes. The commercial waxy hybrid had the highest yield, but theprotein-improved LR S2 achieved similar values. Despite the good ratings for eating quality in
Vietnam, the original LR was inferior in the test for grain softness by the biting test to the hybrid andthe improved LR. Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids lacking in cereal protein, it is wellcorrelated with the quality of the whole protein fraction. Its content in protein was doubled in thegrains in the improved LR S2. This is a great success indeed as it was not known before if two
mutations, waxy and QPM could be combined within one grain without damaging the grain
development.
As waxy maize is still an important vegetable or snack all over South East Asia to South Korea,
we started a second approach on protein improved (QPM) hybrids that combine agronomic vigor withexcellent agronomic performance. For this we used the waxy x QPM lines that had been originallydeveloped by us (Dang et al., 2011; Sinkangam et al., 2012), one with a southern Chinese and one witha Thailandese background. The lines have been further adapted for a good seed production and a goodcombining ability in the last years, providing a promising platform to utilize general breeding progressin Thailand and southern China. Up to date 44 test hybrids have been analyzed for their field
performance. Data are presented for two advanced test hybrids (Table 2). Both protein improved test
hybrids are very high yielding in comparison to a commercial waxy hybrid, though a little bit inferior
to eating quality as indicated by the biting test. However, the goal of fundamentally upgrading theprotein quality was reached, as indicated by very high tryptophan contents in protein.
As both of our two waxy lines for QPM had a modern agronomic background, a positive residual
effect on agronomic performance was expected and indeed achieved; which is a plus for convincing theethnic minorities to accept new varieties bio-fortified for high protein quality (Dang et al., 2011;
Sinkangam et al., 2012). The “Bite test” is a quality test using human preference. A “9” indicates a thin
pericarp, a good tenderness and good aroma. It has to be kept in mind that this test has been developed
for vegetable waxy maize, cooked at the doughy stage. Ethnic minorities, however, use a large
proportion of their harvest as a staple, therefore the quality requirements for preparing food may vary.
The protein content of mature grains had reached good levels above 11%, without significant
differences between entries. Lysine and tryptophan contents are closely correlated in maize grains(Sinkangam et al., 2012). The high values in crosses corresponded well with findings by Vasal (2001)
and Prasanna et al. (2001) who indicated that QPM genotypes had almost double the amount of
tryptophan compared to normal maize, but were similar in overall protein content.
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Based on this new w/o germplasm, the next step must be an introduction to carefully selected
regions of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. The Hmong people, as a large minority, are the main target,
often eating three times per day waxy maize as a staple. This germplasm has the genetic potential to befurther adapted as it is still genetically broad, due to its Chinese and Thailandese QPM background. A
successful integration of waxy x QPM could provide an extra advantage for local communities withnew market chances selling healthy snacks.
CONCLUSION
The understanding of the uses and requirements of waxy maize LR may open new possibilities for its
cultivation of this traditional maize type. Major changes had been expected in the structure ofamylopectin as different mutations for the waxy mutation had occurred in Asia in the past; this would
be of high interest for industry or specialty production. According to our investigations, however, there
are no indications that waxy maize with additional new specific starch properties exist for economic
purposes.
On the contrary, we are excited that we have developed two types of QPM x waxy materials,
directly to be used to alleviate the protein deficiency for ethnic minorities depending on a maize diet,and secondly as high-yielding hybrids that can be used as a protein improved vegetable or healthysnacks, especially for school kids.
REFERENCES
Anonymous, 1983. Exploration and collection of indigenous strains of glutinous corn, popcorn and Job’s tears in
Thailand. Mission Team Field Research Institute, Department of Agriculture, Bangkok, Thailand, 1982 /1983.
Collins, G.N. 1909. A new type of Indian corn from China. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of
Agriculture-BULIEflNNO.16L.
Dang, N.C., Munsch, M., Aulinger, I., Renlai, W., Le-Huy, H., Jampatong, S. and Stamp, P. 2011. Compositionof starch and protein in the endosperm of newly generated double recessive waxy and opaque 2 maize (Zeamays L.) Genotypes. J Agric Sci Technol B 1, 631-637.
Fan, L.J., Quan, L.Y., Leng, X.D., Guo, X.Y., Hu, W.M., Ruan, S.L., Ma, H.S. and Zeng, M.Q. 2008. Molecularevidence for post-domestication selection in the waxy gene of Chinese waxy maize. Molecular Breeding, 22,329-338. doi:10.1007/s11032-008-9178-2.
FAO. 1992. Maize in human nutrition. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
FAO. 2008. The state of food and agriculture in Asia and the Pacific region. FAO/Regional Office for Asia andthe Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.
Fergason, V. 2001. High amylose and waxy corns. In: Hallauer AR, (Ed). Specialty corns. Boca Raton, CRC
Press, 63-84.
Huynh, T.B., Duong, B.H., Bui, T.C., and Plant, R. 2002. Indigenous peoples/Ethnic minorities and povery
reduction, Vietnam. Asian Development Bank.
Jacquier, J.C., Kar, A., Lyng, J.G., Morgan, D.J. and McKenna, B.M. 2006. Influence of granule size on the flow
behaviour of heated rice starch dispersions in excess water. Carbohydr Polym,66, 425-434. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2006.03.029.
Olsen, K.M. and Purugganan, M.D. 2002. Molecular evidence on the origin and evolution of glutinous rice.
Genetics, 162, 941-950.
Prasana, B.M., Vasal, S.K., Kassahun, B. and Singh, N.N. 2001. Quality protein maize. Current Science, 8, 13081319.
Sinkangam, B., Stamp, P., Srinives, P., Jompuk, P., Mongkol, W., Porniyom, A., Dang, N.C. and Jompuk, C.
2012. Integration of quality protein in waxy maize (Zea mays L.) by means of SSR markers. Crop Sci, 51,
2499-2504.
Swinkels, R., and Turk, C. 2006. Explaining ethnic minority poverty in Vietnam: A summary of recent trends andcurrent challenges Hanoi – Vietnam. Worldbank.
Vasal, S.K. 2001. High quality protein corn. Specialty corns. Hallauer, A. R., CRC Press LLC.
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Weatherwax, F. 1922. A rare carbohydrate in waxy maize. Genetics, 7, 568-572.
Wilson, J.D., Bechtel, D.B., Todd, T.C. and Seib, P.A. 2006. Measurement of wheat starch granule size
distribution using image analysis and laser diffraction technology. Cereal Chem, 83, 259-268. doi: 10.1094/
Cc-83-0259.
Zhang, W., Yang, W., Wang, M., Wang, W., Zeng, G., Chen, Z. and Cai, Y. 2013. Increasing lysine content of
waxy maize through introgression of opaque-2 and opaque-16 genes using molecular assisted andbiochemical development. PLoS ONE 8 (2), e56227. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056227.

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Research article
erd

Carbon Dioxide Release as an Index of Mineralization Rates ofOrganic Substrates
SAMBO PHEAP*
Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email: psambo@rua.edu.kh, ph.sambo@gmail.com

GINA V. PANGGA
Agricultural Systems Cluster, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, Los Baños,
Laguna, 4013, Philippines

JOCELYN D. LABIOSAgricultural Systems Cluster, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, Los Baños,
Laguna, 4013, Philippines

EVALOUR T. ASPURIA
Crop Science Cluster, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna,4013, Philippines
Received 15 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Mineralization of nutrients from organic materials is vital for optimum plant growthand development. Various methods have been used to evaluate the mineralization rate ofdifferent organic substrates. Of these, carbon dioxide release is a reliable method to estimate
mineralization rate. Four different substrates: dry chicken manure, Azolla, coconut coir dust
(CCD), and Gliricidia sepium leaves and the combination of these substrates with SNAP
solution on their rates of mineralization was determined. The results were significantly different
in the amounts of CO2 released from the substrates. CO2 release from the substrates was
stimulated by SNAP. Among all treatments, G. sepium with SNAP yielded the highest amountwhile coconut coir dust gave the lowest. Nitrogen mineralized to about fifty percent (50%)
during the first week of all treatments. Using soil organic materials such as G. sepium leaves
would quickly provide the soil with more mineralized nutrients which are available for plant
growth and development.
Keywords mineralization, CO2 release, organic substrates, Gliricidia sepium

INTRODUCTION
Mineralization is an important process which regulates the nutrient cycle (Curtin et al., 1997). It is alsoa continuous process which is controlled by many factors such as temperature (Curtin et al., 1997;
Crohn, 2004; Gaskel and Smith, 2007; Li and Li, 2014), moisture (Curtin et al., 1997; Gaskel andSmith, 2007), pH (Curtin et al., 1997; Ouyang et al., 2008), microorganisms (Frankel and Bazylinski,
2003; Allison et al., 2009) or organisms of higher class such as earthworms (Coúteaux et al., 1995),
herbivores (Schrama et al., 2013), soil properties such as clay types (Deenik, 2006), substrate quality
and quantity (Howard and Howard, 1993; Eiland et al., 2001; Gaskell and Smith 2007; Li and Li,2014), and the cultivation practices.
Understanding the processes involved in mineralization, and the factors that affect mineralization
rate, would help estimate the right type and amount of mineralized material to guarantee optimum yieldⒸ ISERD

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and minimize the adverse effects of the over application of nitrogen (N) sources (Pereira et al., 2006;
Hartz et al., 2000; Crohon 2004; Bordilio et al., 2013; Li and Li, 2014).
The contents of carbon dioxide (CO2) determine the rate of mineralization by measuring thetrapped CO2 in the alkali solution, such as Ca(OH)2, NaOH or KOH and titrate it against hydrochloric
acid (HCl) with addition of barium chloride (BaCl2) (Peirera et al., 2006; Hartz and Britton, 2003;
Makende and Ayeni, 2013).
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to estimate the mineralization rates of different organic materials
using the CO2 release as an index, and to examine the effects of nutrient additions on themineralization rates of these materials.
METHODOLOGY
Soil samples (Alipit Clay Soil) were collected from an unfertilized upland area of the U.P. Los Baños
Central Experiment Station. The soil was air-dried, cleaned from vegetative material and passed
through a 2.0 mm sieve. Fifty (50) grams of this sieved soil was placed inside incubation jars andmixed with 0.125 g of each nutrient source (5 t ha-1). Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three
replications was used in this experiment. The treatments were: Control (CT)-soil alone with noadditional nutrients, dry chicken manure (CM), coconut coir dust (CCD), Gliricidia sepium (GS),Azolla (AZ), simple nutrient addition program (SNAP) nutrient solution, CM + SNAP, CCD + SNAP,
GS +SNAP and AZ + SNAP. The incubation study was conducted from April to May 2014 in the Soil
Fertility Laboratory of the Agricultural Science Cluster (ASC), College of Agriculture, U. P. Los
Baños, Philippines.
The Simple Nutrient Addition Program (SNAP) nutrient solution was formulated by the Instituteof Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, U.P. Los Baños. The solution was prepared by combining
20 ml of SNAP A and 20 ml of SNAP B, and adding this to one liter of distilled water. Forty (40) ml of
the prepared SNAP solution mixture was added to each SNAP-treated jar.
Determination of Carbon Dioxide Release and Mineralized Nitrogen
Mineralization rate was measured by determining the amount of CO2 released from the different
treatments. The incubation jar set-up was prepared prior to the start of the experiment. Prior toapplication, the substrates were grounded and oven-dried overnight at 40qC. The appropriate amount ofresidue was added to 50 g soil at a rate of 0.125 g jar-1. Based on the amount of soil, this application
rate approximates to 5 t ha-1, the amount of residue applied in many farming systems. For the control
treatment, no organic material was added in the same amount of soil. The experiment was conducted
for the duration of approximately 8 weeks.
The mixtures of soil and treatment nutrient sources were supplied with moisture at field capacity.
A 50 mL beaker containing 30 mL of 0.3 M NaOH was placed in the center of the jar to trap the CO2
released from each treatment. The trapped CO2 was then transferred to a 100 mL beaker, and 3 drops ofphenolphthalein were added before titration with 0.2 M HCl.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The incubation experiment examined the mineralization rate of different organic materials over a 7-day
period. Results showed that there were significant differences between treatments. The highest amountⒸ ISERD

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of CO2 released on the first day was measured from Azolla and AZ + SNAP with 78.3 and 76.6 mg kg-1
soil, respectively. These treatments were closely followed by G. sepium and CM + SNAP with 72.3
and 70.9 mg kg-1 soil respectively. Since the measured CO2 from these four treatments were ranked
closely, differences of the CO2 released were found to be insignificant.
The measured CO2 on the second day showed that soft, fresh materials with high source of N
continuously exhibited faster rate of mineralization when compared with other organic materials.
Treatments with Azolla and G. sepium demonstrated the highest amount of CO2 with 74.2 and 72.7 mg
kg-1 soil, respectively. The addition of nutrients hastened the mineralization rates as shown by Azolla +SNAP and GS+ SNAP. Similar effects were observed from Day 3 to Day 7 as those treatments with
SNAP recorded high amount of CO2 release. The G. sepium + SNAP Treatment dominated othertreatments and their differences were found to be significant. Its performance is clearly presented inFig. 1. Treatments with Azolla and G. sepium alone ranked second and third. It is also interesting tonote that coconut coir dust played second on Day 3 to 4. Fontaine et al. (2003) reported that theincrease in the amount of CO2 released in the first week for all treatments may be attributed to theactivities of microorganisms attacking the labile and readily decomposable substrates such as sugar,
starch, and cellulose. The surge of CO2 released from the soil in the first day (Fig. 1) might due torewetting of the soil which allowed the surviving microorganisms to immediately attack SOM and thesubstrates (Keift et al., 1987). The control, although having a lower total CO2 release, it had a starting
point which was also as high as chicken manure and SNAP solution. The soil had high SOM content(6.3%) could increase mineralization.
CO2 evolution (mg kg-1)

100
80
60
40
20
0
1

2

3Time (Day) 4

ControlAzolla (AZ)
Gliricidia sepium (GS)CM + SNAP567Dry Chicken Manure (CM)
Coconut Coir Dust (CCD)
SNAP solution (SNAP)AZ + SNAP

Fig. 1 Daily carbon dioxide (mg kg-1) released from different organic substrates
over the period of seven days
Franzluebbers et al. (1994) concluded that N mineralization can be related to the amount of SOM
in the soil. Another study of Chuwdhury et al. (2014) on the effect of malic acid addition to CO2
release found that treatments with or without nutrient addition had very high CO 2 production from 20
to 40 hours after incubation. According to Chen at al. (2014), fresh materials have faster mineralization
rates and release more CO2. G. sepium treatment was observed with consistent high amounts of CO2
released, followed by Azolla and chicken manure.

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Haney et al. (2008) also found a strong relationship between organic carbon sources and CO2
release in the first day of incubation. In their study on the effect of drying and rewetting, the greatest
CO2 respiration lasted for three days. The reason which led to this highest rate of CO2 release might bedue to the active microbial biomass breaking it down when they were exposed to dryness.
The incubation experiment also examined the mineralization rate of different organic materials overan 8-week period. The results showed that there were significant differences between treatments. The
highest amount of CO2 released in the first week was measured from G. sepium + RR with 375.13 mg kg1
soil. It was followed by Azolla and GS with 312.84 and 312.40 mg kg-1 soil, respectively. Notably,
their values are almost equal. Azola + SNAP and CM + SNAP rank next with 299.72 and 288.14 mg kg1
soil, respectively. There is a significant difference of the amount of CO2 released from G. sepium
compared the succeeding treatments ranked. In a similar study, Pangga et al. (2000) observed that morethan 50% of total C has released during the first week of incubation.
A sharp decline in the amounts of CO2 released was observed in Week 2. The highest amount of
CO2 released during this week was from CM and GS + RR, both yielding 93.28 mg kg-1 soil. This wasfollowed by Azola and CM + RR with close values of 83.60 and 80.96 mg kg-1 soil, respectively.
Differences of the CO2 released among treatments were found to be insignificant since the measured CO2
from these four treatments were ranked closely, From Week 2 to Week 6, CM and GS + RR recordedhigh amounts of CO2 released compared to the other treatments. However, the highest amount of CO2
released during Week 7 a nd 8 was measured from G. sepium.
CO2 evolution (mg kg-1)
400

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Time (week)
ControlAzolla (AZ)
Gliricidia sepium (GS)CM + RR
CCD + RR

Dry Chicken Manure (CM)
Coconut Coir Dust (CCD)
SNAP solution (SNAP)AZ + RR
GS + RR

Fig. 2 Weekly carbon dioxide (mg kg-1) released over the period of eight weeks
from different substrates and with the addition of SNAP solution
Throughout the succession of weeks, the amounts of CO2 lowered, although several peaks occurred,
yet they were lower after each time. In the third week, there was an increased observation in CM+ SNAP
treatment which measured 80.96 to 100.03 mg kg-1. Then there was another peak in AZ+ SNAP (60.72 to
65.41 mg kg-1). On the seventh week, there were three rises of CO2 in GS, AZ and SNAP treatments(45.17 to 58.66, 38.72 to 55.78 and 41.65 to 45.32 mg kg-1, respectively). Makinde and Ayeni, (2013)
also observed several peaks of CO2 release in their study. The decomposition of OM can be divided
into three stages—(i) active (1-6 weeks), (ii) reduced or slow (7-8 weeks) and (iii) stable or moderatelyⒸ ISERD

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stable (9-16 weeks) (Ayeni, 2011). In the active stage, the most readily available and easily
decomposed substrates and OM will be decomposed. At the same time, microorganism populations
also increase quickly. When substrate quality was reduced, microorganism population becomes stableor dead and decomposed to serve as the nutrient source for other microorganisms and plants.
Cumulative CO2 release also showed that addition of substrates increased the amount of CO2 ascompared with the treatments with substrates only (Figs. 1 and 2). Fresh materials have fastermineralization rates (Chen at al., 2014), especially G. sepium which consistent high amounts of CO2
released was observed, followed by Azolla and chicken manure. Additional nutrient sources will
increase CO2 and CH4 production (Gogo and Pearce, 2009). Generally low-quality soil carbon limits
microorganism activities as well as carbon mineralization. When additional nutrient sources are added
to the soil, microorganisms will attack these sources and rapidly increase their population (Fontaine etal., 2003).
CONCLUSION
Mineralization of organic materials was about fifty percent (50%) in all substrates as compared to theamount of carbon dioxide released during the first week. The highest total CO2 released was produced
during the first week and the peak was between the first two days. The amount of CO 2 released lessand less through time as the quality of the substrates eventually decreased. Using additional nutrient
source (SNAP) to all organic materials resulted in faster rates of mineralization. Overall, the GS +SNAP treatment has the fastest rate of CO2 release.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors extend the gratitude and appreciation to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate
Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Philippines, for granting scholarship in this study; andRoyal University of Agriculture (RUA) for the opportunity and providing valuable assistance in thecompletion of the study.
REFERENCES
Allison, S.D., LeBauer, D.S., Ofrecio, M.R., Reyes, R., Ta A.M. and Tran, T.M. 2009. Low levels of nitrogen
addition stimulate decomposition by boreal forest fungi. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 41, 293-302.
Ayeni, L.S. 2011. Cumulative effect of combined cocoa pod ash, poultry manure, NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer on
major cations release for crop production in southwestern Nigeria. Int. J. Agric. Soil Sci.,1 (7), 248-253.
Bordilio, L.J., Singh, A.K., Patiram, M.K. and Hazarika, S. 2013. Microbial biomass nitrogen as an index of N
availability in acidic soils of North East India. Indian Journal of Hill Farming, 26 (1), 22-28.
Chen, X., Wang, X., Lieman, M., Cavigelli, M. and Wande, M. 2014. Influence of residue and nitrogen fertilizer
additions on carbon mineralization in soils with different texture and cropping histories. PLoS ONE 9 (7):e103720. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0103720.
Chowdhury, N., Marschner, P. and Burns R. 2011. Response of microbial activity and community structure to
decreasing soil osmotic and matric potential. Plant Soil, 344, 241-254.
Coúteaux, M.M., Bottner, P. and Berg, B. 1995. Litter decomposition, climate and litter quality. Tree, 10 (2), 6366.
Crohon, D. 2004. Nitrogen mineralization and its importance in organic waste recycling. UC Cooperative
Extension, University of California, Davis, USA.
Curtin, D. and Smillie, G.W. 1979. Original of the pH-dependent cation exchange capacities of Irish soil clays.
Geoderma, 22, 213-224. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
Deenik, J. 2006. Nitrogen mineralization potential in important agricultural soils of Hawaii. Soil and CropManagement, 15, 5.
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Eiland, F., Klamer, M., Lind, M.A., Leth, M. and Baath E. 2001. Influence of initial C/N ratio on chemical andmicrobial composition during long term composting of straw. Microb. Ecol, 41, 272-280.
Fontaine, S., Mariotti, A. and Abbadie, L. 2003. The priming effect of organic matter: A question of microbial
competition? Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 35, 837–843. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(03)00123-8
Frankel, R.B. and Bazylinski, D.A. 2003. Biologically induced mineralization by bacteria. Biomineralization, 54,
95-114. ISSN 1529-6466, doi: 10.2113/0540095
Franzluebbers, K., Weaver, R.W., Juo A.S.R. and Luebbers, A.J. 1994. Carbon and nitrogen mineralization form
cowpea plants part decomposing in moist and in repeatedly dried and wetted soil. Soil Biology andBiochemistry, 26, 1379-1387.
Gaskell, M. and Smith, R. 2007. Nitrogen sources for organic vegetable crops. Horttechnology, 17 (4), 431-441.
Gogo, S. and Pearce, D.M.E. 2009. Carbon, cations and CEC: Interactions and effects on microbial activity inpeat. Geoderma, 153, 76-86.
Haney., R.L. Brinton, W.H. and Evans, E. 2008. Estimation soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus mineralizationfrom short-term carbon dioxide respiration. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 39, 27062720. ISSN 0010-3624 print/1532-2416 online, doi: 10.1080/00103620802358862
Hartz, T.K., Mitchell, J.P. and Giannini, C. 2000. Nitrogen and carbon mineralization dynamics of manures andcomposts. HORTSCIENCE, 35 (2), 209-212.
Hartz, T.K. and Brittan, K. 2003. Nitrogen mineralization rate of biosolids and biosolids compost. Department of
Vegetable Crops, University of California, Davis, USA.
Howard, D.M. and Howard, P.J.A. 1993. Relationships between CO 2 evolution, moisture content and temperature
for a range of soil types. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 25, 1537-1546.
Keift, T.L., Soroker, E. and Firestone, M.K. 1987. Microbial biomass response to a rapid increase in water
potential when dry soil is wetted. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 19, 119-126.
Li, S.T. and Li, L.L. 2014. Nitrogen mineralization from animal manures and its relation to organic N fractions.
Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Advance Online Publication. doi: 10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60769-3.
Makinde, E.A. and Ayeni, L.S. 2013. Determination of mineralization rate of organic materials using carbon
dioxide evolution as an index. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science, 2 (1), 16-23.
Ouyang, X.J., Zhou, G.Y., Huang, Z.L., Liu, J.X., Zhang, D.Q. and Li J. 2008. Effect of simulated acid rain on
potential carbon and nitrogen mineralization in forest soils. Pedoshpere 18 (4), 503-514.
Pangga, G.V., Blair, G. and Lefroy, R. 2000. Measurement of decomposition and association nutrient releasefrom straw (Oryza sativa L.) of different rice varieties using a perfusion system. Plant and Soil, 223, 1-11.
Pereira, J.L., Trindade, H. and Moreira, N. 2006. Nitrogen mineralization in soils receiving different rates ofcattle-slurry and cropped with forage maize. Grassland Science in Europe, 11, 724-726.
Schrama, M., Veen, G.F., Bakker, E.S., Ruifrok, J.L., Bakker, J.P. and Olff, H. 2013. An integrated perspective to explain
nitrogen mineralization in grazed ecosystems. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 15,
32-44.

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Research article
erdChange in Effectiveness of Stung Chinit Irrigation System
within a Social Economic in Santuk District,Kampong Thom Province
SAVEN THAI *Faculty of Agricultural Technology and Management, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Email: savenlypoc@gmail.com

SOKHEM PECH
Pech Climate System Consultancy and Research, North Vancouver, BC, Canada

LYTOUR LOR
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

NARETH NUT
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Received 16 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Functional irrigation system is one of the most important mechanisms for preventing
or minimizing crop failure, and increasing crop yields and cropping calendars. It is functional,
if it is properly designed, built, operated and maintained, as well as climate-proofed. It isprojected that the climate change effects – flood, drought, and temperature rise – will adversely
affect water availability, hence impacting the reliability of the irrigation system and its services.
The findings illustrate that Chinit Irrigation System faces several challenges such as insufficientbudget for operation and maintenance, especially for repairing the broken earthen canals causedby heavy traffic, cattle, crabs and mice, and flooding. After construction, rice yield, land sizeand seasonal growing are increased and most of the farmers within the system coverage could
access enough water for irrigation, so farmers’ livelihood is improved. After completing theinfrastructure, households’ average net-income increased from 2.44 to 3.14 million riel perhousehold. There are other income sources such as small business, construction and factory
workers, taxi-driver and so on that can be further diversified as the competition for water use is
expected due to climate change and an increase in water demand in this Watershed.
Keywords Stung Chinit, irrigation system, effectiveness, climate change

INTRODUCTION
Irrigation system is an artificial construction which ideally can store water and drain in or out the water
when it is needed. Currently, construction and rehabilitation of irrigation have become one of the top
priorities set by the Government, international organizations, private companies, and other donors.
They have actively involved in its development to support farmers and water users to secure water toirrigate their farming in both rainy season’s supplementary irrigation and wet season (Sakhoeurn,2006). Construction of irrigation systems, including their maintenance and operations are supposed tocontribute to poverty reduction and achievement of the ambitious milled rice-export target set by theGovernment (CGIR, 2014). According to the Food of Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2010), theaverage dry season rice yield has increased from 1.39 tons to 2.07 tons per hectares. However, theirⒸ ISERD

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prospects may be challenged by the current climate hazards and long-term climate change as they havebeen identified as significant environmental and developmental issues in Cambodia. Climate variability
and extremes are presently manifested in ways such as floods, droughts, storms, increased coastal
erosion, heat waves, and outbreaks/intensification pests and diseases (MOE 2013). All these changes
have both positive and negative impacts on the agriculture including the irrigated farm land. These
challenges affect the irrigation system’s reliability and effectiveness because of drought and whereas
overflow and extreme flood can damage the system (MOE, 2014). For the last 15 years, Cambodia has
severely affected by the climate variability and change’s events such as extreme flood, windstorms,
and droughts. These frequent disasters and poor maintenance and operation damaged many
infrastructures such as road, street and irrigation system (FAO/WFP, 2012). Climate change is
expected to exert compounded pressure on Cambodia’s water resources, which will be significantly
altered by hydropower development and withdrawals for irrigation expansion within and beyond
Cambodian borders. Prevailing poor infrastructure conditions and operation and maintenance of thesystem also remain a significant factor contributing to current and future vulnerability of systems toclimate change (MOE, 2013).
OBJECTIVE
The research was conducted for the following two main objectives:
1) To identify the potential and constrains of Irrigation System;2) To compare of farmers’ livelihood level before and after constructing irrigation infrastructure
METHODOLOGY
The research was conducted in 3 villages, namely, Khvaek, Banteay Yumreach, and Pleyplo villages.
To collect the data, primary data and secondary data (asking households, key informants, related
institutes and observation) was implemented. 84 households were sampled for interviews and three
Focus Group Discussion were also carried out to validate and obtain more quantitative information. All
the collected data was analyzed by Statistic Package for Social Science (SPSS and Excel).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Change in Rice Cultivation Calendars
The result in Table 1 indicates that before irrigation scheme, most of the farmers in the three villages
cultivated their rice later in rainy season from June to December, because of concern over the water
availability during the early phase of rainy season, as most of them heavily relied on rainfall for 61%,
82%, and 67% respectively in Khvaek, Prey Phlu, and Banteay Yumreach villages. Whereas after the
Chinit irrigation infrastructure was put in place, 65% of households in Khvaek and 77% in Prey Phlu
started to cultivate the rice from May to November relying on water from the irrigation system.
However, the farmers in Banteay Yumreach still continue with old cropping calendar from June to
December, because of their higher land elevation, and lack of paddy level irrigation canals throughtheir rice field, and some farmers near the canal do not allow the water to the other fields. Furthermore,because of the canals in the upper-land are deeper than the paddy field, it has to operate by more costly
pumping.

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Table 1 Farmers’ calendar rice before and after constructing irrigation scheme
Wet rice before scheme

Villages

Wet rice after scheme

May-Nov

Jun-Dec

Jul-Jan

May-Nov

Jun-Dec

Jul-JanKhvaek

21.70%

60.90%

17.40%

65.20%

34.80%

0.00%

Prey Phlu

11.77%

82.35%

5.88%

76.50%

23.50%

0.00%

Banteay Yumreach

16.70%

66.70%

16.60%

31.80%

61.40%

6.80%

Means for Irrigation

BeforeSchemeAfter
SchemeFig.1 illustrates that there were only 4.34% of households irrigated their farm by gravity, 21.73% bypumping and gravity, and 73.91% by rainfall before constructing irrigation system. Whereas thefarmers in Prey Phlu village, there were only 5.88% of households irrigating their farm by gravity,
5.88% by pumping and gravity, and 88.25% relying on rainfall while the farmers in Banteay Yumreachwere 27.27% by gravity, 18.18% by gravity and pumping, and 55.55% by rainfall. After constructionof the Chinit irrigation system, 100% of farmers in Prey Phlu, 52.17% in Khvaek, and 72.73% inBanteay Yumreach irrigated their farming by gravity, and they stopped relying on rainfall.

Rainfall

0.00

Drainage and Pump

47.83

Drainage

52.17

Rainfall

72.73

73.92

Drainage and Pump
Drainage

27.27
54.55

21.73

18.18

4.34
0%

27.27
20%

40%

Kvaek

Preyplo

60%

80%

100%

Banteay YoumreachFig. 1 Ways of farmer for irrigating their farming before and after scheme
Farmland Size Before and After Constructing Irrigation Scheme
Figure 2 shows the paddy field and crop-land size per hectare per household before and after
constructing the irrigation scheme. The rice-land of the two villages, Khaek and Banteay Yumreach
was slightly increased of 0.04 and 0.12 hectare per household, respectively, whereas the paddy fieldsize of Prey Phlu remained the same. Increasing in paddy field size and production in the two villages
were possible because the farmers could get enough water and reclaim available forest land, andincrease their outputs to generate more income for supporting the everyday lives of their growing
families. In contrast, the other crop-land size of three villages has decreased marginally from 0.55 to
0.122, 0.32 to 0.30, and 0.37 to 0.30 respectively in Khvaek, Prey Phlu and Banteay Yumreach. Thiswas because some of the farmers could not grow vegetables in the cropland and the fields have toomuch water coming from the canal, and some others grow rice instead of cropping.

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2.50

2.22

2.00

2.02

2.26

1.65

2.14
1.65

1.50
1.00

0.55

0.50

0.32 0.37

0.12 0.14

0.30

0.00
Before Scheme

After Scheme

Before Scheme

Rice Land
KhvaekAfter Scheme

Crop Land

Prey Phlu

Banteay YumreachFig. 2 Average farmland size/household before and after constructing irrigation scheme
Rice Yield Before and After Constructing Scheme
According to the data in the Table 2, farmers do not grow any rice during dry season before irrigation
construction. After Chinit system’s completion, Banteay Yumreach and Khvaek cultivate dry season
paddy rice with a higher yield. But Prey Phlu villagers do not grow any dry-season rice, because theconcern over the rampage by domestic animals, insects and so on. Furthermore, because of labor
shortage and low profit from rice cultivation comparing to other occupations in urban areas, factory,collecting/working in the forestry, or other countries. After completing construction irrigation system,
the average of rainy-seasonal rice yield increases only from 0.24 to 0.69 tons per hectare among thethree villages.
Table 2 Average rice yield by seasons before and after scheme
Villages
KhvaekPrey Phlu
Banteay Yomreach

Before scheme
Dry-season rice
Rainy-season rice
0
1.45
0
1.59
0
1.66

After scheme
Dry-season rice
Rainy-season rice
3.95
2.14
0.00
1.96
3.23
1.90

Access to Water Before and After Scheme
Table 3 illustrates the accessibility of water used by farmers among the three villages. According to thetable, it showed that after constructing irrigation scheme, 74% of farmers in Khvaek and 88.20% inPrey Phlu villages have enough water for irrigating while the water security for farmers in Banteay
Yumreach decrease by 15.90%. It was because the lack of paddy field water distribution canals andarrangement as well as, upland areas, and high water evaporation and seepage.
Table 3 The situation of farmers’ accessible enough water use before and after scheme
Villages
KhvaekPrey Phlu
Banteay Yumreach

Before scheme
Percent (%)
30.4
29.4
61.4

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After Ssheme
Percent (%)
73.9
88.2
45.5

Changes
Percent (%)
43.5
58.8
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Causes of Damaging Irrigation System
Farmers around 88% thought that the irrigation system had been broken by three main factors such as
operating of transportation including trucks, cattle, mice, and crab, or over flow (heavy rain and flood).
Fig.3 indicates that the main canal, distributary canal, release canal and release gates were dramaticallydamaged by flood and heavy rain. These canals were broken due to heavy rain and over flow from theriver and Tonle Sap including cattle stamping, mice and crap digging holes caused the canals eroding
and breaking. The sub-canals were severely affected by cattle, mice, and crab; flood and heavy rain
while the small sub-canals, 50%, were crucially damaged by cattle, mice and crab, because these canals
seemed as dike through the rice field so they were easily affected by cattle, mice, and crabs.
100

100
75

Percent

80

61
50 50

60
40

31

38

31

50

35

20

25 25
4

0

Distributary
canalssub-canals

25
0

0

0

0
Main Canal

Cattle, Mouse and Crab

Small subcanals

Release canals Release Gates

Flood and heavy rain

Transportation

Fig. 3 the causes of damaging irrigation system after constructing irrigation system
The Efficiency of Farmers’ Livelihood Before and After Constructing Irrigation Scheme
The farmers generally expended on agriculture products, general expense (food, electric etc.), andfarmers’ income are mostly from on-farm (cultivation crop, husbandry, fishing etc.) and non-farmincome (small business, teaching, wage, factory worker etc.). The changes of average net income
increaseed 2.51 million riels/household in Prey Phlu, 2.44 million riels/household, in Khvaek, and 3.15
million riels/household in Banteay Yumreach; however there was no significant difference among thethree villages due to P-Value is greater than 0.05 (p>0.05). The efficiency of income in Khvaek village
before constructing irrigation system shows that the farmers invest 1 riel per unit then they gain income
2.75 riel means that they got profit 1.75 riel. After constructing irrigation system indicated that farmers
invest 1 riel per unit then they received income 2.11 riel which means that they gain profit 1.11 riel.
Table 4 Comparison of efficiency before and after construction irrigation scheme
Items

Prey Phlu
After
Changes
188.11
95.78
89.17
55.59

Banteay Yumreach
BeforeAfter
Changes285.83 592.40
306.57101.11 306.37
205.26

Before113.0449.56

KhvaekAfter
Changes315.41202.37177.08127.53184.73286.03101.3063.48

138.3374.85

TR (MR)TC (MR)

Before
92.33
33.58

Π

58.75

98.94

Aver π/HH

3.46

5.97

2.51

2.33

4.77

2.44

2.84

5.99

3.15

E (Riel)

2.75

2.11

-0.64

2.83

1.93

-0.89

2.28

1.78

-0.50

40.18

P=0.84>0.05 (Change in the average of net income/household)*TR (Total Revenue), TC (Total Cost), π (net income), Aver π (average of net income), * MR (Million Riel), *E (Efficiency)Ⓒ ISERD

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In conclusion, the research demonstrated that even though the average net income of farmers
increased in all three villages, but if we look through the efficiency of households decreases 0.64 riel in
Banteay Yumreach, 0.89 riel in Khvaek, and 0.50 riel in Prey Phlu village, because farmers heavily pay
for agricultural input (fertilizers and pesticide, rice broadcasting or transplanting, harvest, plough etc),
on food, children, illness and inflation.
CONCLUSION
Irrigation system is one of the key tools to boost the agricultural products. Most of the farmers could
access enough water to irrigate their farm, and double their cropping calendar with higher yield, andcultivate the farm on time. Moreover, after constructing irrigating system, it can ensure minimize
vulnerability to flooding and drought. Furthermore, it also sustains farmers’ livelihood because most of
the farmers rely on agriculture. But there are several problems such as extremely flood, heavy rain,over flow, cattle, mice, crabs, and transportation, as well as lack of adequate fund for operation andmaintenance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors would like to acknowledge for the financial support from Cambodia’s Leading Independent
Development Policy Research Institute (CDRI) and Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) for goodcollaboration.
REFERENCES
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)/Water, Land, and Ecosystems Mekong(WLE Mekong)/International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM). 2014. The impact of watersupply infrastructure on floods and droughts in the Mekong region and the implication for food security.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Food of Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO). 2010. FAO's information system on water andagriculture. FAO. Rome, Italy.
Food of Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) / World Food Program (WFP). 2012. Crop andfood security update mission to Cambodia. FAO. Rome, Italy.
Ministry of Environment (MoE). 2013. Synthesis report on vulnerability and adaptation assessment for key
sectors including strategic and operational recommendation. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Ministry of Environment (MoE). 2014. ADB CDTA strategic program on climate resilience (SPCR). Draft
Inception Report. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sakhoeurn, K. 2006. Effectiveness of irrigation system management by farmers water use community in Poborey
Dam, Preah Sdach and Perm Chor district, Prey Veng Province. Bsc. Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture of
Economic and Rural Development, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia.

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Research article
erd

Soil Loss Mitigation by Applying Animal Waste Slurry
SERGIO AZAEL MAY CUEVAS
Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Email: azaelmay@gmail.com

MACHITO MIHARA*
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Email: m-mihara@nodai.ac.jp
Received 28 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The application of excreta wastes is beneficial for soil conservation, especially indegraded soils and soils being susceptible to erosion. In this study animal dung was used as aresource for protecting soils against erosion. The objective of this study is to measure theeffectivity of animal waste slurry for mitigating soil loss in leptosol from Mixteca Region,
Mexico. For this purpose, a splash erosion model and a surface runoff model were used. Splash
erosion model consisted in stainless steel cores of 1.0 cm long with inside diameter at 1.1 cm.
Soil was placed inside at a dry density of 1.0±0.1 g/cm3. Fifty drops of artificial rain weredripped into the soil inside the core and soil loss was measured. On the other hand, surface
runoff model consisted of a plot of 91 cm x 3.15 cm x 1.4 cm, with a triangular section. Soilwas filled in with the same dry density of raindrop model and 1.2 cm3/s of deionized water was
supplied during one hour on a 12 degrees’ slope. Discharge was collected every ten minutes andsoil loss was measured. As treatment for both models, animal waste slurry was used. Horsedung was collected in the Horsemanship Club of Tokyo University of Agriculture and passed
through a sieve at 212 µm in order to obtain slurry. 2 treatments were set up: the first was cattle
slurry incorporated with soil and the second was crust formed with animal waste slurry; andcontrol. Soil losses were compared among these 2 treatments. Raindrop experiment results
showed that the addition of slurry decreased significantly soil loss rate from 6.4% to 1.3% inslurry incorporated cores and 0.2% in formed bio-crust cores. The same tendency was observedin the slope model experiment, where the application of slurry reduced significantly the soil
losses from 558.6 g/m2 to around 60 g/m2 in both plots where slurry was added. Therefore, it
can be concluded that the application of animal waste slurry was effective to reducesignificantly soil losses by protecting the soil against kinetic energy of raindrops, as well as
against shearing force of runoff on a 12 degrees’ slope in leptosol soil of Mixteca Region.
Keywords slurry, soil erosion, horse dung, leptosol, Mixteca Region

INTRODUCTION
Several studies point that the application of excreta wastes could be beneficial for soil conservation,
especially in degraded soils and soils being susceptible to erosion (Pinamonti and Zorzi, 1996). The
use of compost or mulch blankets as a soil cover could help control soil erosion and provide
sustainable alternatives to disposal for many biomass resources (Faucette et al., 2009).
Mixteca Region is located in Oaxaca State and has an average annual precipitation of 1988 mm
and an average mean temperature of 15.0 ºC (Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, 2010). Oaxaca State is
the main state by numbers of goats (Around 952,000 goats), which represents 10.9% of the national
production (SAGARPA, 2008). Moreover, according to García Hernández (1996), the majority of unitsof production are extensive, where goat dung is left in the croplands. Animal dung was used as a
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resource for protecting soils against soil erosion. For that reason, the objective of this study is tomeasure the effectiveness of animal waste application for mitigation of soil loss by raindrop andsurface runoff and to discuss effective conservation measures with animal waste slurry application
based on the amounts of soil and nitrogen component losses.
METHODOLOGY
For this experiment soil samples from Mixteca Region were used. The samples were collected from arainfed corn field located in a slope of 12 degrees. Physical and chemical properties are summarized inTable 1.
Table 1 Physical and chemical properties of soil experimental design
Soil

Specific
gravity

GravelLeptosol

2.59

5.4

Particle size distribution, %CoarseFine
Silt Clay
sand
sand
25.6
29.9
19.5 19.6

SoiltexturepHEC(μS/cm)

IL
(%)

SCL

5.81

15.5

25.76

For this experiment, as animal waste, horse dung was used. It was obtained from thehorsemanship club of Tokyo University of Agriculture. Analysis of total nitrogen, total phosphorus andcoliform bacteria was conducted (Table 2).
Table 2 Properties of soil and animal waste

Soil

T-N
(mg/kg)920.20T-P(mg/kg)124.28

Coliform bacteria(cfu/g)0

Slurry6744.19

13466.06

3.2 x 107

SampleThe preparation of slurry was carried out through the sieving of the horse dung through a sieve of
212 µm to eliminate straw residues. Deionized water was used for this process. Since the slurry had ahigh water content after this process, and for reducing the amount of coliform bacteria (Saito andMihara, 2010), slurry was dried up during four weeks (Fig. 1).

Horse dung fromhorsemanship club ofTokyo NODAI

Sieve of 212 µm
Air dried for four weeks

Horse dung slurry

Fig. 1 Animal waste slurry
For measuring the effectiveness of animal waste slurry, two experiments were carried out. The
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added soil to decrease erosion by kinetic energy of raindrops. The second experiment was surface
runoff model with the purpose of measure the ability of slurry added soil to decrease surface erosion.
For both experiments, two treatments were applied.
Splash Erosion Experiment
For this experiment stainless steel cores were used, which are averagely 1.0 cm long with an internal
diameter of 1.1 cm. They were filled with soil under a dry density of 1.0 ±0.1 g/cm3 to keep a similar
compaction between samples. Constant water pressure was controlled by means of a Mariotte’s bottle(Fig. 2). A needle from the DIK-6000 rainfall simulator equipment was used for this experiment. The
kinetic energy of raindrops was 2.36 x 10-5J, calculated based in the equation Ek= ½ m v2.
Mariotte’s bottle forkeeping constantpressure

Remaining mass of soilin the core wasmeasured

50 drops of artificial
raindrop were dripped
into the coreFig. 2 Splash erosion modelFor both experiments (Fig. 2), two treatments were defined. In these two treatments, the same
dried mass ratio of soil : slurry was kept at 66:1. The first treatment consisted on incorporating theslurry into the soil by mixing both materials and placing the mixture into the stainless cores(incorporated with soil treatment). The second treatment consisted in placing the soil into the stainlesscore, compacted under the above mentioned dry density, and then covering completely its surface withanimal waste slurry (formed bio-crust treatment).
For each treatment, 10 cores were used. 50 drops of artificial rain (deionized water) were dripped
into every stainless core. Then, the remaining mass of soil inside the core was calculated (Eq. 1).

(1 -𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒) x 100(1)

Surface Runoff Experiment
In this experiment, a triangular-section plot was used. The length was 91.0 cm and the triangularsection had a height of 1.4 cm and a base of 3.1 cm (Fig. 3). Similar to the previous experiment, thecompaction was keep under a dry density of 1.0 ±0.1 g/cm3. And for this experiment the constant
supply of deionized water (1.2 to 1.3 cm3/s) was done by the use of a Mariotte’s bottle during 60
minutes. The slope of this plot was determined as 12 degrees for all the samples.
The percolation water and runoff water was collected every 10 minutes for analyzing the amountof soil loss and the contents of total nitrogen.
Similar to the previous experiment, two treatments were defined for the surface runoff experiment.
The first treatment consisted on incorporating the slurry into the soil by mixing both materials andplacing the mixture into the plots. The second treatment consisted in placing the soil into the plot andthen covering completely its surface with animal waste slurry. In both treatments, dried mass ratio of
soil : slurry was kept at 66:1 (equivalent to 10 tons of slurry per hectare with a water content of 5.87).
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Fig. 3 Surface runoff plot model
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Splash Erosion Experiment
For every treatment ten stainless cores were used. After the 50 drops were applied, the samples weredried and then the weight inside every can was measure. Figure 4 shows the cores after the experiment.
As can be observed, the cores in control showed a higher dispersion of soil particles.

Control

Incorporated with soil

Formed bio-crust

Fig. 4 Cores after raindrop experiment
After the fifty drops were dripped into the stainless cores, the soil loss rate was calculated. As canbe observed in Fig. 5, control samples showed a higher dispersion of soil particles caused by the
impact of raindrops compared to the treatments were animal waste slurry was added into the soil.
The average soil loss in control was 6.4%. The incorporation of slurry into the soil reduced thesoil loss to 1.3%, and the application of slurry into the surface reduced the soil loss until a 0.2%. It was
found that there was a significant difference between the control samples and the treatment with slurry.
However, there was no significant difference between treatments. This can suggest that either way of
applying slurry, being incorporated into the soil as a mixture or just applied on the surface is effective
for reducing soil loss caused by the raindrop energy.

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Soil loss rate (%)

8

A**

6
4
2

B**

B**

0
Control

Incorporated
Treatment

Bio-crustFig. 5 Soil loss rate between treatment

Surface Runoff Experiment
The collection of runoff samples was carried out every ten minutes during one hour in the surface
runoff experiment as shown in Fig. 6.

Control

Incorporated with soil

Formed bio-crust

Fig. 6 Runoff experiment plots
Figure 7 shows the results of the samples after being analyzed for cumulative soil losses and total
nitrogen. Fig. 7(c) showed that there was no significant difference in the amount of discharge among
treatments during the hour the experiment last. However, as can be observe in figure 7(a), control plot
presented a much higher amount of soil losses, compared to the plots where slurry had been added.
Concerning the amount of total nitrogen, in Fig. 7(b) can be observe that control plot shows a higher
amount of nitrogen released, compared to treatments where slurry has been added. So even if slurry
contains nitrogen, when added to the soil there was a fewer release of nitrogen into the runoff water
samples.
It is considered that between the treatments, the addition of slurry, incorporated to the soil as well
as applied in the surface to form a bio-crust significantly reduced the amount of soil losses compared tothe control plot, in both the raindrop experiment and the runoff model. This could be due to thecohesion force produced by adding organic materials of animal waste slurry into the soil particles
being beyond the kinetic energy of raindrops or shearing force of surface runoff.

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600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

Cumulative amount of T-N losses(g/m2)

Cumulative amount of soil losses(g/m2)A**

Control
Incorporated
Formed biocrust

B**
B**
0

10

20

30

40

50

0.20
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00

A**
B**
C**
Control
Incorporated

10

60

20

30

40

50

60

Time (min)Time (min)3500

Discharge (ml)

3000
2500
2000
1500

Control

1000

Incorporated

500
0
10

20

30

40

50

60

Time (min)Fig. 7 Analysis of runoff experiment samples
CONCLUSION
Adding slurry into the soil, incorporated or applied on the surface, reduced splash erosion rate
significantly in leptosol of Mixteca Region, as well as soil and nitrogen loss in the surface runoff. This
could be because the addition of organic matter into the soil in the form of slurry improved the soil
aggregation (Six, 1998), making it stronger against the kinetic energy of raindrops or the shearing
forces of surface runoff. However, future research has to be conducted in order to ensure that theaddition of slurry is not harmful for the environment. Furthermore, from a view point of nitrogen loss
in the runoff experiment, formed bio-crust may be recommendable to apply as a conservation strategy
above the incorporation of slurry into the soil.
REFERENCES
Faucette, L.B., Scholl, B., Bieghley, R.E. and Governo, J. 2009. Large-scale performance and design for
construction activity erosion control best management practices. Journal of Environmental Quality, 38, 12481254.
García Hernández, A. 1996. La caprinocltura en la mixteca oaxaqueña. Ciencias, 44. Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México.
Pinamonti, F. and Zorzi, G. 1996. Experiences of compost use in agriculture and in land reclamation projects.
The Science of Composting, I, 517-527.
SAGARPA. 2008. Sistema de información agricola y pesquera SIAP.
Saito, Y, and Mihara, M. 2010. Management of manure taking into account of E. coli loss from farmland. IJERDInternational Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, 1 (1), 175-180.
Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, México. 2010. Climatological normal values for Coicoyán de las Flores,
Mixteca Region, 1951-2010.
Six, J., Elliott, E.T., Paustian, K. and Doran, J.W. 1998. Aggregation and soil organic matter accumulation incultivated and native grassland soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 62, 1377.
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Research article
erd

The Comparison of Liquid Bio-slurry and Rice Husk Biochar
Application on the Production Yield of Dai Neang Chili Pepper(Capsicum annum L)
SOTH HONG*
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
E-mail: hongmorhousoth@yahoo.com

LYTOUR LOR
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

NARETH NUT
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

DYNA THENG
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

VARY VUN
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

VANNARY UNG
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

LYHOUR HIN
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

DARA PHUONGNational Biodigester Programme(NBP), Department of Animal Production and Health, Phnom
Penh, Cambodia
Received 21 December 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract In Cambodia, Dai Neang chili pepper (Capsicum annum L) has mostly grown in areas
around Tonle Sap Lake and some other provinces such as Prey Veng, Kandal, Kampong Cham,and Kampong Thom. However, farmers keep practicing conventional methods, which do not
get high yield. Liquid bio-slurry and rice husk biochar which obtained from biodigester and riceproduction residues, could be applied to improve soil fertility for the chili production. The key
objectives of this study were (1) to analyze the fertility compositions [nitrogen (N),phosphorous (P), and potassium (K)] contents in the liquid bio-slurry and rice husk biochar and(2) to investigate the effects of liquid bio-slurry and rice husk biochar on yield of Dai Neangchili pepper. In the research, different proportions of combination of liquid bio-slurry and ricehusk biochar were applied on Dai Neang chili pepper in a total quantity of 1.4kg/m2. Data of
total yield, plant height, plants diameter, roots length, number of branches, leaves area, fruit
length, and fruit weight per plant, good fruits and damaged fruits were collected as the primarydata. As the results, the percentages of N-P-K compositions in the liquid bio-slurry and in thebiochar were 0.52%, 1.22%, 0.30% and 0.78%, 0.73%, 3.00%, respectively. The treatmentusing liquid bio-slurry 25% and rice husk Biochar 75% obtained highest yield and more numberof branches compared with other treatments and the control. In conclusion, liquid bio-slurry, awaste of biogas and rice husk biochar could improve the soil fertility and yield of Dai Neangchili pepper.
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Keywords liquid bio-slurry, rice husk biochar, Dai Neang chili pepper, fertilizer

INTRODUCTION
Currently, 80% of Cambodia’s population lives in rural areas and 60% depend on agriculture, whichmakes the government determined that the development of the agricultural sector is a key priority to
reduce poverty and contribute to increase macroeconomics (MoP, 2014). The agricultural sectors havecontributed 31.6% of Gross Demonstrate Products in 2013 (MAFF, 2013). In the Cambodia, vegetable
crops are the most important after rice crop as foods for human consumption. Dai Neang chili pepper is
one of a supplementary vegetables which favored by consumers countrywide. It contains high vitamin
C. which helps to prevent oxidation and many other nutrients that are importance to human (LPI, 2011).
In general, fertilizer application is a common practice of farmers in crop cultivation in order to
add nutrients into soil for growing crops. Most of agricultural production often uses chemical fertilizers
and pesticides. As a result, substances of these chemicals remain in fruits and vegetables, which makemost products to be tainted and to affect the human’s health. Meanwhile, long term of chemicalfertilizers application resulted in soil degradation, soil pH fluctuations and losing soil microbes which
improve the soil fertility (Kim, 2003). Hence, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in
Cambodia has urged farmers to produce crops by applying natural fertilizer to improve soil fertility,
obtain high yield and less effect on human’s health as well as environments (MAFF, 2013).
Rich husk biochar is one of the natural fertilizers, a coal derived from burning rice husk (pyrolysis
condition). Its function is to help improve soil quality by increasing the pH, phosphorus, and, porosity
in the soil to let plant roots absorb minerals and water easier. In addition, to increase shift level
between potassium and magnesium to have a strong valid for making photosynthesis. The core of ricehusk biochar contains small holes that absorb liquids well. It helps to increase micro-organs in the soil,
reduce the number of insects and other harmful diseases to crops. The rice husk biochar contains otherminerals that plants can absorb into subsistence for rapid growth and healthy. Especially, it helps toneutralize the acid and alkaline substances stable in the soil, which contains chemicals that thesefeatures have made the convenience for farmers’ cultivation (Oyetola, and Abdullashi, 2006).
Meanwhile, considering agricultural waste management, National Biodigester Programme,
Cambodia has suggested a liquid bio-slurry, which is fertilizer that obtained from stocking cattle
manures in anaerobic conditions of biodigester that animal wastes were kept under high temperaturesin the biodigester for 40 days at least (NBP, 2013).
Considering the availability of liquid bio-slurry and rice husk biochar in rural areas of Cambodia,
farmers should pay attention to apply these natural fertilizers to their crops instead of chemicalfertilizers. However, the nutrients component and the suitable amount of liquid bio-slurry and rice husk
biochar apply in agricultural crops are needed to be determined.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study are: (1) to analyze the composition [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), andpotassium (K)] in liquid bio-slurry and rice husk biochar and (2) to investigate the effects of liquid bioslurry and rice husk biochar on yield of Dai Neang chili pepper.
METHODOLOGYThe Dai Neang chili pepper was grown at faculty of Agricultural Engineering in Royal University ofAgriculture, Cambodia from May to September 2015. The experiment was designed in a randomized
block design with applying liquid bio-slurry and rice husk biochar at different proportion following theⒸ ISERD

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standard of organic fertilizer application of 1.4 kg/m2 or 14 t/ha. There were six treatments in this study.
Each treatment was conducted in four replications. The size of one experimental plot was 2 m2 and allplots of this experiment covered 80.75 m2.
Treatment- 1.T1: RHB (100%) 14 t/ha
- 2.T2: RHB (75%) with LBS (25%) 14 t/ha
- 3.T3: RHB (50%) with LBS (50%) 14 t/ha
- 4.T4: RHB (25%) with LBS (75%) 14 t/ha
- 5.T5: LBS (100%) 14 t/ha
- 6.T0: Control (No Fertilizer)
Note: RHB=Rice Husk Biochar, LBS=Liquid Bio-slurry.

Fig. 1 Liquid bio-slurry (left) and rice husk biochar (right)
Table 1 Total fertilizer allied for chili pepper
Treatments

RHB
(kg)

LBS
(kg)

Rep.

Surface(m2)

Total RHB
Quantities (kg)

Total LBS
Quantities (kg)

Total
(kg)

T0

0.00

0.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

T1

1.40

0.00

4.00

2.00

11.20

0.00

11.20

T2

1.05

0.35

4.00

2.00

8.40

2.80

11.20

T3

0.70

0.70

4.00

2.00

5.60

5.60

11.20

T4

0.35

1.05

4.00

2.00

2.80

8.40

11.20

T5

0.00

1.40

4.00

2.00

0.00

11.20

11.20

Total

3.50

3.50

24.00

12.00

28.00

28.00

56.00

(RHB=Rice Husk Biochar, LBS=Liquid bio-slurry, Rep= Replicates)

After 25 days of seeds sowing, chili pepper seedlings were transplanted with 0.5 m X 0.5 m
between rows and plants.
The soil in experimental plots was sandy with silt, with pH 7.5, humus 0.8%, containing total
nitrogen (0.035%), total phosphorous (0.0197%), total potassium (0.12%), total carbon (0.156 mil/100
g soil), a C/N = 5, with organic matter 0.26% (Bona, 2007).
In order to get rice husk biochar, rice husk has burned in pyrolysis apparatus for 6 hours. Liquidbio-slurry and rice husk biochar was determined for some compositions and nutrients such as pH, N-PⒸ ISERD

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K, and moisture content. nitrogen has determined by Kjeldahl method, phosphorus measured byspectrophotometer, and potassium determined by flame photometer (Latiff et al, 1996).
Chili fruits were harvested manually when they had reached maturity in 3 stages. Data collection
was conducted on 50% flowering day, 100% flowering day, branch of plants, leaves area, fruit length,roots length, plant diameter, height, weight per plant, good fruits weight, bad fruits weight, and total
fruit weight. Data subjected and to analyze of variance in Statistic 8. If interactions were significant,they used to explain all of data. If interactions were not significant, means have separated with Tukey
test.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results showed that the N-P-K percentage of LBS and RHB were 0.52%, 1.22%, 0.30% and 0.78%,
0.73%, 3.00%, respectively (Fig. 2). Furthermore, total chili pepper yield was shown in Fig. 3.
Moreover, plant growth parameters such as plant height, plants diameter, roots length, number ofbranches, leaves area, fruit length, fruit weight per plant, good fruits and damaged fruits weight wereshown in Table 2.
3.5

3

Quantitities (%)

3
2.5
2
1.22

1.5
1

0.52

0.5

0.78

Liquid Bio-slurry

0.73
0.3

Rice Husk Biochar

0
N

P

K

Fig. 2 Quantities of N-P-K substance in both fertilizers
Table 2 Means of plant growth parameters and yield of Dai Neang chili pepper
Treatment
50% flowering day
100% flowering day
Plant Height (cm)Plant Diameter (mm)Branch/Plant
Leaf Area (cm2)
Fruit Length (cm)
Root Length (mm)Fruit weight per plant (g)Bad fruit weight (t/ha)
Good fruit weight (t/ha)
Total fruit weight (t/ha)

T0
29.00
35.75
58.05
6.28
6.66
13.72
5.18
26.20
95.45
0.18
2.43
2.60

T1
29.25
36.75
62.90
6.89
8.35
19.48
5.83
31.65
106.35
0.11
3.44
3.55

T2
28.50
36.00
69.45
8.23
9.35
20.39
5.39
35.40
129.85
0.19
4.58
4.76

T3
30.00
36.50
64.20
7.23
8.34
19.90
6.32
30.60
107.75
0.11
4.02
4.13

T4
28.50
35.50
65.50
7.56
8.72
18.31
5.77
31.50
117.20
0.14
3.94
4.08

T5
28.00
35.00
74.55
8.23
7.28
25.06
5.44
31.75
113.00
0.17
4.33
4.50

The result obtained from counting days of 50% flowering showed that the treatment thatexperienced first flowering was T5=28 days in Table 2, and T3 was the treatment in which 50%
flowering appeared the latest because it used 50% of RHB and 50% of LBS. The difference in 50%Ⓒ ISERD

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Total Weight(t/ha)

flowering days was highly significant (p-value < 0.01, CV = 1.70%). Days of 100% flowering werealso counted, and the result indicated that the treatment which first reached full flowering was T5,
which took 35 days, whereas T1 took the longest time until flowers fully appeared. This difference in
100% flowering days was significant (p-value = 0.05, CV = 2.03%). In addition, plant diameters
measured in each treatment were significantly different (p-value < 0.01, CV = 6.21%), and the largest
diameter was 8.23 mm both in T2 and in T5. Moreover, fruit length in each treatment was significantly
different (p-value < 0.01, CV = 2.86%), and the treatment which had the longest fruit length (6.23 cm)
was T3 and T0 had the shortest fruit length (5.18 cm). Fruit weight per plant in each treatment differedsignificantly (p-value < 0.01, CV = 4.71%), and the treatment that had the heaviest fruit weight (129.85
g/plant) was T2, while T0 had the lightest fruit weight (95.45 g/plant). Furthermore, the weight ofdamaged fruit in each treatment did not differ (CV = 34.03%), but the difference in weight of goodfruit was significant (p-value < 0.01, CV = 2.16%), and the maximum weight of good fruit was 4.58
t/ha in T2 and 2.43 t/ha in T0.
As shown in Table 2, plant height, leaf area, branch of chili plant, and root length were also
detected. As a result of the ANOVA test, plant height in each treatment differed significantly, and T5
had the greatest plant height (74.55 cm), followed by T2 with plant height of 69.45 cm, whereas T0
was the shortest in height (58.05 cm). Leaf areas in each treatment were significantly different, and thebiggest leaf areas were 25.06 cm2 in T5 and 20.39 cm2 in T2, and the smallest leaf size (13.72 cm2) was
found in T0. Branches per plant in each treatment differed significantly. T2 had 9.35 branches per plant,
but T0 had the fewest branches (6.66 branches). Furthermore, the lowest plant diameter was T0, andthe difference in root length measured in each treatment was very significant. Among all of thetreatments, T2 had the longest root length (35.40 mm). In addition, shortest roots length was T0=26.20
mm.
5.00
4.50
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00

4.76

4.50

4.13

4.08

T3

T4

3.55
2.60

T0

T1

T2

T5

Fig. 3 Total yield from each treatment
Figure 3 showed that total weight of chili from each treatment. The highest yield was T2=4.76
t/ha followed by T5=4.50 t/ha and the lowest yield was T0=2.60 t/ha. However, yield of each treatment
were different from previous research as Kbal Koh vegetable research station mentioned that nonfertilizer application on chili can gain the yield from 2.5 to 2.70 t/ha same as the experiments in Royal
University of Agriculture (KKVRS, 2000).
Furthermore, considering other factors that might affect chili pepper growth that can be observedin this experiment include soil type in experimental plots, mulching for weed controlling or keeping
moisture, ditching for crop’s irrigation or fertilizer application (burying, spraying and etc.).

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CONCLUSION
According the rice husk biochar (RHB) and liquid bio-slurry (LBS) application on Dai Neang chili
pepper, it can be concluded that the fertilizers improved the chili pepper yield effectively. The results
showed that the N-P-K percentage of LBS and RHB were 0.52%, 1.22%, 0.30% and 0.78%, 0.73%,
3.00%, respectively. And according to the results, where the criterion for fertilizer selection and its
application rate is based on total chili pepper yield, then the following fertilizer application can berecommended: T2= rice husk biochar 75% add liquid bio-slurry 25% which obtained the highest yieldof 4.76 t/ha in this experiment and next suitable was T5= liquid bio-slurry 100% that obtained yield of
4.50 t/ha.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Mr. Lor Lytour, and my assistants for advising and guiding on myresearch. Also many thanks to the People in Need Organization (PIN) whose provided financial
support for my bachelor thesis. Besides that, I also express my gratitude to National Biodigester
Programme (NBP) for providing the research documents and for helping in consultation. My respective
teacher, who has always been sincere and helpful in making me, understanding the different system oflegal research and conceptual problems in my manuscript.
REFERENCES
Bona, S. 2007. Efficiency of rice husk biochar mix different rate on Sen Pidor rice variety at Royal University ofAgriculture. Bachelor Thesis, Faculty of Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia, 43-44.
Kim, S. 2003. The effect of chemical fertilizers using in Kean Svay district, Kandal. Bachelor Thesis, Faculty ofAgronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia, 46-47.
KKVRS, 2000. Vegetable species and crop production. Kbal Koh Vegetable Research Station, Cambodia.
LPI. 2011. Annual report of data analysis center and research. Linus Pauling Institute, India.
MAFF. 2013. Cambodia annual report on agriculture, water, and food. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, Cambodia.
MoP. 2014. Annual report of national strategic development plan. Ministry of Planning, Cambodia.
NBP. 2013. Biodigester using techniques for farmers. National Biodigester Programme, Cambodia.
Olfati, J.A., Peyvast, G., Qamgosar, R., Sheikhtaher, Z. and Salimi, M. 2010. Synthetic humic acid increased
nutrient uptake in cucumber soilless culture. Acta. Hort. (ISHS), 871, 425-428.
Oyetola, E.B. and Abdullash, M.I. 2006. The use of rice husk charcoal in low-cost sandcrete block production.
Leonardo Electronic Journal of Practices and Technologies, 8, 58-70.

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Research article
erd

Proposed the Model for Estimation of Nitrogen Load in theAgro-Forestry Watershed
YURI YAMAZAKIThe United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Iwate, JapanTOSHIMI MUNEOKA*
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan
Email: muneoka@obihiro.ac.jp

HIROMU OKAZAWA
Faculty of Regional Environmental Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo
Received 15 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Increasing nitrogen concentration in the river water caused by agricultural activities
was reported in the Tokachi River basin, Hokkaido, Japan. The water quality conservation isrequired for the compatibility between the agricultural production and the environmental
protection. It is important to analyze the nitrogen load in the watershed for water quality
restoration. Nitrogen load is estimated by the nitrogen concentration in the river water and thewater discharge. However, this model needs frequent samples of the nitrogen concentrations
and water discharges. Also, many observations at multipoint have been required to figure out
where and how much the nitrogen load occurs in the watershed. Here, we proposed a model toestimate the nitrogen load by land use in a watershed. The land use data such as watershed areaand land use classification could be taken easily from a satellite image. Also, it can estimate thenitrogen load at any investigation point by using land use data for the estimation model. In the
Tokachi River basin, the nitrate-nitrogen concentration in the river water had a positive
correlation with the proportion of agricultural land in the watershed. Further, the water
discharge was proportional to the watershed area. Thus, the estimation model of nitrogen load
could be substituted the nitrogen concentration with the proportion of agricultural land, and thewatershed discharge with the watershed area. From this, there is a high possibility to estimate
the nitrogen load in the watershed by the agricultural land area in the Tokachi River basin.
Future subject of this model is how to correct for the variations of nitrogen concentration andriver water discharge at different investigation periods.
Keywords nitrogen load, estimation model, land use, nitrogen concentration, water discharge

INTRODUCTION
The Tokachi River basin is a large scale agricultural land located in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan.
Although Japan’s food supply is heavily dependent on imports from overseas because of the low selfsufficiency in food production, the Tokachi River basin plays an important role as a major food base ofJapan and has been expected to help develop a sustainable food supply. However, pollution of the riverwater by nitrogen caused by agricultural activities has been reported in this basin (Okazawa et al.,2011; Muneoka et al., 2013; Yamazaki et al., 2013, 2014). From the investigation in 2007 carried out
by Okazawa et al. (2011), total nitrogen (T-N) concentrations in the river water were in the range of
0.30-7.00 mg/L (mean: 1.81 mg/L), and positive correlations were observed between the T-Nconcentration in the river water and the proportion of agricultural land in the watershed in the TokachiRiver basin. Methods to mitigate the nitrogen pollution of the river water in the Tokachi River basinⒸ ISERD

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include changing the method and amount of nitrogen fertiliser, proper management of livestock
manure and modifying the land use in the watershed. The development of adequate and effective
measures to determine the source and amount of the nitrogen component runoff into the river isessential for reducing the amounts of the nitrogen load from agricultural areas.
Estimation of Nitrogen Loads
Different methods exist for estimating loads in rivers. For example, one method is to estimate theamount of emerging toxic substances by a basic unit and then multiplying by a runoff ratio. Anothermethod is to calculate the load based on the water discharge and the concentration of substances in theriver water. For the first method, we need to validate the accuracy and time variation of the basic unit
and the runoff ratio. The second method, Walling and Webb (1985) introduced a typical model formulafor toxic substances. The basic model formula to estimate the river loads was computed by multiplying
the river discharge and the concentration of substances in the river water (Eq. 1).

N loadC Q(1)where Nload is the base flow of nitrate load in the river water (g/s), C is the base flow of the T-Nconcentration in the river (mg/L), and Q is the river discharge rate (m3/s).
Walling and Webb (1985) provided some comments regarding the reliability of load estimatesderived using instantaneous water sampling data. They reported that high frequency (i.e. continuously
sampled) and multipoint observation data was required to obtain correct river loads. However,extensive work is required to obtain the water sample, investigate the discharge rate and analyse thewater quality at high frequency and accuracy in large-scale watersheds.
The nitrogen concentration present in one of the parameters of the model formula to estimate thenitrogen loads of the river has been correlated with the land use in the watershed (Eq. 2). Muneoka et al.
(2012) reported that there is a significant and positive correlation between the nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N)
concentration in the river water and the proportion of agricultural land in the Tokachi River basin. Also,
the river discharge has a proportional relationship with the associated watershed area in general (Eq. 3).

Acrop

C

D

Q

J A

A

rE

(2)
(3)

where Acrop is the agricultural land area in the watershed (km2), A is the watershed area (km2) and α, βand γ are the coefficient factors.
Substituting Eq. 2 and Eq. 3 into the Eq. 1 provides a method to estimate the nitrogen loads (Eq.
4):

Nload

D c  Acrop r D cc  A(4)where α' and α" are the coefficient factors. The agricultural area of the watershed can be calculated
easily from the public land use information or satellite images.
In this study, we examined the correlations between the T-N concentration and proportion ofagricultural land, river discharge and watershed area using a decade of investigation data. Additionally,
we considered the construction of a model formula to estimate the nitrogen loads from the size of the
agricultural area in the Tokachi River basin.

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METHODOLOGYThe Tokachi River basin is located in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan (142.68–144.02°N, 42.55–
43.65°E, 0–2,077 m altitude), with a stream length of 156 km and a drainage area of 9,010 km2 (Fig. 1).
The annual mean air temperature is 6.8°C, with the highest and lowest recorded temperatures of 25.2°C(in August) and −13.6°C (in January), respectively, as measured in Obihiro City from 1981 to 2010.
The annual precipitation is 887.8 mm/year. The soil types in the Tokachi River basin are volcanic,
lowland, upland and peat soils. The upper part of the Tokachi River and the tributaries are forested
areas covered with mixed forests of conifers and broad-leaved trees. The low-lying areas are used for
agricultural purposes, such as cropland, grass and pasture. The crop cultivation period of this basin isfrom May to November, and the cultivated crops are rotated through wheat, potato, sugar beet andbeans. Both chemical fertilisers and livestock manure are applied to the agricultural land to provide therequired nutrients for crop growth.
The daily river discharge rates and the total nitrogen concentration of the river water wereobtained from the Water Information System provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism, Japan to determine the trends and fluctuations of the water information on the
Tokachi River. Five investigation points on the Tokachi River were selected in the decade between
2004 and 2013. However, we selected the water information during April to November to exclude theimpact of snow cover in the winter season and subsequent melting.

Fig. 1 Watershed and land use information in the Tokachi River basinⒸ ISERD

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We analysed the land use in the watershed with GIS software to utilise the watershed information
as an influencing factor on the river discharge and water quality. The National Land Numerical
Information provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan was used
for basic watershed information. The watershed area of each investigation point was calculated basedon the ‘river’ and ‘watershed boundaries’ of the National Numerical Information with GIS. We also
calculated the area and proportion of agricultural land in the watershed based on the ‘Land use
fragmented mesh’ released in 2009 because there was almost no variation in the cultivation area in the
Tokachi River basin from 2000 to 2015 according to the Census of Agriculture and Forestry provided
by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Correlations Between the T-N Concentration and the Proportion of Agricultural Land,
River Discharge and Watershed Area
Figure 2 (a) shows the correlation between the T-N concentration of the river (decade mean values)
and the proportion of agricultural land, and Figure 2 (b) shows the relationship between the riverdischarge (decade mean values) and the watershed area. In the Tokachi River basin, the T-Nconcentration had a positive correlation with the proportion of agricultural land (y = 0.043x + 0.26, r =0.96), and the river discharge also had a positive correlation with the watershed area (y = 0.036x, r =0.95) over the investigation points. Based on these results, the T-N concentration could be replaced by
the proportion of agricultural land and the river discharge could be replaced by the watershed area todevelop an estimation model of the nitrogen load of the river. Thus, the nitrogen load of the TokachiRiver basin could be estimated by the size of the agricultural land area in the watershed and theassociated coefficients.

Fig. 2 (a) and (b) Relationships between the T-N concentration and the proportion ofagricultural land (a); the river discharge and the watershed area (b)However, there were variations in the correlational equations between the T-N concentration andthe proportion of agricultural land and the river discharge and the watershed area by annual meanvalues (Table 1). Muneoka et al. (2013) reported variations in the correlational equations between the
NO3-N concentrations and the proportion of agricultural land from their water quality investigation in
the Tokachi River basin from 2007 to 2009. Yamazaki et al. (2013) also reported similar variations intheir investigation of the northwestern region of the Tokachi River basin from 1992 to 2012. The
nitrogen concentrations of the river were considered to have been affected by the agricultural scheduleⒸ ISERD

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and the meteorological environment, and the river discharges fluctuated due to daily and seasonalchanges in the precipitation and evaporation in the Tokachi River basin. In other words, we had to set
some parameters that considered the impact of the fluctuation of the T-N concentrations and the riverdischarges to estimate the nitrogen loads accurately by the agricultural land area in the watershed.
Relationships Between the Nitrogen Load and the T-N Concentrations or the River Discharges
Table 1 Regression expression and coefficient correlation (r) between the T-N concentrationand the proportion of agricultural land and the river discharge and the watershedarea by annual mean values

Fig. 3 (a) and (b) Relationships between the nitrogen load and the T-N concentration (a)and the river discharge (b)We calculated the nitrogen load of the river by the T-N concentrations and the river discharges at 5
investigation points in the Tokachi River basin. The T-N concentrations and the river discharges used
for calculation of nitrogen load were investigated once a month for a year from 2004 to 2013. Figures 3(a) and (b) show the correlations between the nitrogen load of the river and the T-N concentrations (Fig.
3 (a)) or the river discharges (Fig. 3 (b)), respectively. From this figure, the nitrogen load had a strong
positive correlation with the river discharge (y = 1.73x, r = 0.89); i.e. the fluctuation of the nitrogenⒸ ISERD

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load was dependent on the fluctuation of the river discharge more than the T-N concentrations. This
result suggested that the parameters for calculating the river discharge fluctuation were required toestimate the nitrogen load in the river water.
CONCLUSION
In this paper, we examined the correlations between the T-N concentrations and the proportion ofagricultural land, as well as the river discharges and the watershed area based on a decadal
investigation in the Tokachi River basin located in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan. The decadalmean T-N concentration had a positive correlation with the proportion of agricultural land, and thedecadal mean river discharge also had a positive correlation with the watershed area. Also, the nitrogenload of the river, calculated by multiplying the T-N concentration and the river discharge, had a strong
correlation with the river discharge. From the basic model formula of nitrogen load and the results as
discussed above, the nitrogen load of the Tokachi River basin could be estimated by the agriculturalland area of the watershed. However, the parameter could also be set by considering the impact of theriver discharge fluctuation because the nitrogen load strongly depends on the river discharge. Also, theresults could potentially be used to verify the nitrogen runoff behaviour during flood conditions as a
future subject.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI, Grant Number 15J04743, 2015.We would like toexpress my gratitude for the research assistance provided by the students, the Obihiro University ofAgriculture and Veterinary Medicine.
REFERENCES
Muneoka, T., Yamazaki, Y., Wakou, S,. Shimura, M., Yoshino, K., Tsuji, O. and Tabuchi, T. 2013. The nitrogen
runoff characteristics in agricultural watersheds after enforcement of animal waste regulation. IJERD, 4 (2),56-61.
Okazawa, H., Muneoka, T., Kudo, Y. and Takeuchi, Y. 2011. Effect of land use agglomeration on nitrogenconcentrations in river water in the Tokachi River. IJERD, 2 (1), 37-42.
Yamazaki, Y., Muneoka, T., Wakou, S,. Shimura, M., Yoshino, K., Tsuji, O. and Tabuchi, T. 2013. The
difference of agricultural land use in watersheds and long term fluctuation on the river water quality. IJERD,
4 (1), 152-157.
Yamazaki, Y., Muneoka, T., Wakou, S,. Kimura, M. and Tsuji, O. 2014. Characteristics of ion components inriver water with multivariate analysis and piper diagram in agricultural area. IJERD, 5 (1), 160-164.
Walling, D.E. and Webb, B.W. 1985. Estimating the discharge of contaminants to coastal waters by rivers: somecautionary comments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 16 (12), 488-492.

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Research article
erdCharacteristics of the River Water Quality Under Base Flow
Condition in the Tokachi River Basin, JapanYURI YAMAZAKIThe United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Iwate, JapanTOSHIMI MUNEOKA*
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan
Email: muneoka@obihiro.ac.jp

HIROMU OKAZAWA
Faculty of Regional Environmental Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo

MASATO KIMURA
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, JapanOSAMU TSUJI
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan
Received 15 November 2015

Accepted 11 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The Tokachi River basin has an important role as a food base of Japan. It is one of thesignificant challenges that achieve a good balance between a food production and water quality
conservation for the sustainable agriculture in this basin. Here, we carried out the river water
monitoring in the Tokachi River basin and evaluated the river water quality under base flow
condition. 37 sampling points in the main stream and the tributaries were monitored in late June,late August or early September, and late October 2007 to 2011. Five-year mean values andstandard deviation of pH, BOD, SS and EC were evaluated. The water quality of the TokachiRiver showed variations at each investigation period. However, there were no change trends ofseasons or years. The mean pH values of the Tokachi River basin were the range of 7.1-7.5.
The river water quality was neutrality and stable at each sampling point. The mean BOD
showed comparatively low values in the Tokachi River basin (0.9-1.8 mg/L). However, theBOD values increased gradually with the main stream flow. The mean SS values were less than
25 mg/L at all sampling points. Also, the SS values tended to increase basically with the mainstream flow. The mean EC values increased from upstream to downstream of the main stream(6.8-12.4 mg/L). Also, the EC values in 13 of 20 sampling points of the tributaries were higher
than the main stream values (5.0-22.2 mg/L). There were significant correlations between theEC values and the proportion of the agricultural land or forest land. From these results, it wasconsidered that the dissolved matter in the river water increased with a high proportion ofagricultural land in the Tokachi River basin.
Keywords river water quality, base flow condition, the Tokachi River basin

INTRODUCTION
One of the most important challenges that the world is facing today is the development of a sustainable
food system. The world population is expected to reach 9.1 billion people by 2050, and hence, we haveto double the current food production to accommodate the world food demand. Japan has a lower selfsufficiency rate than the United States and EU and depends on food from overseas for domesticⒸ ISERD

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consumption. The Tokachi River basin in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan, is a large area ofcropland and dairy farming and is focused on as a food base of Japan. However, there are large
challenges with not only increasing the crop production such as improving the cultivation method, crop
breed and management of water resources but also reducing the environmental load from agriculturalland. For example, hydrosphere pollution caused by agricultural activities has been widely reported(Parris, 2011). Increasing nutrient runoff from agricultural land causes eutrophication of lakes,
ecosystem collapse and landscape deterioration. In the Tokachi River basin, increasing nitrogenconcentrations in the river water and a positive correlation between agricultural land and nitrogenconcentrations in the river water have been reported (Okazawa et al., 2011; Muneoka et al., 2013;
Yamazaki et al., 2013). Also, the water pollution in the agricultural area is considered to be caused bymaterials other than nutrient salts, such as pesticides, minerals, bacteria and metals. Until now, there
was no report of water quality evaluation by indicators other than nitrogen and phosphorus in the
Tokachi River basin.
Here, we report the result of a 5 year observation of pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD),
suspended solids (SS) and electrical conductivity (EC) measurements of the river water and evaluate
the current status of river water quality in the Tokachi River basin to improvement of water quality
with a goal of sustainable food system.
METHODOLOGYThis study was conducted in the Tokachi River basin located in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan(142.68–144.02°N, 42.55–43.65°E, 0–2,077 m altitude) (Fig.1 and Table 1). The basin has a total areaof 9,010 km2 and a total stream length of 156 km. The Tokachi River basin is characterized as a warm
summer continental climate type (Dfb) according to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification with anannual mean air temperature of 6.8°C and an annual precipitation of 887.8 mm/y; measurements were
performed at Obihiro city from 1981 to 2010. The soil types in the Tokachi River basin are volcanic
soil, lowland soil, upland soil and peat soil. In particular, volcanic soil (andosols) is widely distributedin this basin. The main land uses in this river basin are agriculture and forests, with 60 % of the
agricultural land used as cropland and the remaining 40 % used as pasture. Both chemical fertilizers
and livestock manure are applied to the agricultural land.
The river water quality was monitored at 37 sampling points located on the main stream (nos. 1–17) and each tributary (A–T) of the Tokachi River basin in June, either August or September andOctober from 2007 to 2011 under base flow conditions. Water samples were analysed for pH, BOD,
SS and EC.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Mean pH, BOD, SS and EC Values and the Standard Deviations in the Tokachi River Basin
Figure 2 shows the mean values and standard deviations of the pH, BOD, SS and EC measurements ofthe main stream and the tributaries in the Tokachi River basin. The pH values of the main stream andthe tributaries ranged from 7.2 to 7.3 and 7.1 to 7.5, respectively, indicating that the pH values in the
Tokachi River basin were neutral and stable. The standard deviations of the pH values were small andstable.
The mean BOD values of the main stream ranged from 1.1 to 1.8 mg/L and gradually increased
from upstream to downstream. The mean BOD values of the tributaries ranged from 0.9 to 1.8 mg/L
and were comparable with the values from the main stream. Since there were some variations in the
BOD values by each observation year and season, the BOD in the Tokachi River basin ranged from 0.5
to 3.0 mg/L.
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Fig. 1 Locations and land uses in the Tokachi River basin
The mean SS values of the main stream ranged from
4.2 to 18 mg/L. Although the values fluctuated at eachsampling point, there was an increasing trend fromupstream to downstream. The SS values of the main stream
fluctuated by observation year and season, resulting incomparatively high standard deviations. On the other hand,
the mean SS values of the tributaries ranged from 1.1 to 20
mg/L, and except 2 sampling points, the mean SS values
were ≤10 mg/L. The standard deviations of 16 of the 20
sampling points were small, and the SS values of thetributaries were stable at these sampling points.
The mean EC values of the main stream ranged from
6.8 to 12 mS/m and increased from upstream to downstream.
The mean EC values of the tributaries ranged from 5.0 to 22
mS/m. The tributaries located in the upstream area had
lower EC values than the main stream; however, thetributaries located in the downstream area had EC values ofapproximately 20 mS/m. There were different trends in theEC values according to the location of the tributaries. The
standard deviations of the EC values were small and stable.
From these results, the river water quality in the
Tokahi River basin was at neutrality and stable with a pH
value of approximately 7, and there were small variations
between observation periods. However, the BOD, SS andEC values showed an increasing trend from upstream todownstream. In particular, the EC values of each sampling
point of the tributaries had a different trend according to the
upstream area or the downstream area. Based on theseresults, the river water quality in the Tokachi River basin
was considered to have been affected by land use andanthropogenic impacts in the watershed.

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Table 1 Watershed and land use
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Fig.2 Results of water quality in the main stream (a), (c), (e) and (g); that of tributaries (b), (d),(f) and (h); mean pH values (a) and (b); mean BOD values (c) and (d); mean SS values (e)and (f); mean EC values (g) and (h).

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Correlation Coefficients Between the River Water
Quality and the Land Use in the Watershed

Table 2 Correlation coefficeints
between the river water
quality and the land
uses in the TokachiRiver basin

We further examined the relationships between the riverwater quality and the proportion of land uses (agriculturalland, forest land and other land use). Table 2 shows thecorrelation coefficients of the relationships between themean pH, BOD, SS and EC values obtained from theTokahi River basin (i.e. the main stream and the tributaries),
and the proportion of the agricultural land, forest land andother land use (such as urban areas) at each sampling point.
The EC values had a significant correlation with theproportion of agricultural land and forest land (p < 0.01),
where the EC values of the river water tended to be higher
with a higher proportion of agricultural land and tended to
be lower with higher proportions of forest land. In general, the EC of river water is correlated with
dissolved materials such as ionic components in river water (de Sousa et al., 2014; Pawlowicz, 2015).
The results indicated that the dissolved materials in the river water might have increased with theintensity of agricultural land use in the watershed because the fertilizer components, livestock manureand cropland soil runoff into the river easily in an agricultural watershed.
The mean BOD and SS values of the Tokachi River basin had no correlation with the proportionof land uses. However, the BOD and SS values in the river water tended to increase with higher
contents of dissolved materials and nutrients in the river water.
CONCLUSION
In this study, the river water quality in the Tokachi River basin, which is the most important area for
agriculture in Japan, was determined to have deteriorated due to agricultural activity in the watershed.
At the main stream, the BOD, SS and EC values tended to increase from upstream to downstream, with
the EC values of the tributaries particularly showing higher concentrations in the downstream area.
Since the EC values of the river water had a positive correlation with the proportion of agricultural land,
the increase in dissolved materials in the river water was attributed to the presence of agriculturalactivities in the Tokachi River basin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI, Grant Number 15J04743, 2015.We would like toexpress our gratitude for the research assistance provided by the students and the Obihiro University ofAgriculture and Veterinary Medicine.
REFERENCES
De Sousa, D.N.R., Mozeto, A.A., Carneiro, R.L. and Fadini, P.S. 2014. Electrical conductivity and emerging
contaminant as markers of surface freshwater contamination by wastewater. Science of the total environment,
484, 19-26.
Muneoka, T., Yamazaki, Y., Wakou, S,. Shimura, M., Yoshino, K., Tsuji, O. and Tabuchi, T. 2013. The nitrogen
runoff characteristics in agricultural watersheds after enforcement of animal waste regulation. IJERD, 4 (2),56-61.
Okazawa, H., Muneoka, T., Kudo, Y. and Takeuchi, Y. 2011. Effect of land use agglomeration on nitrogenⒸ ISERD

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concentrations in river water in the Tokachi River. IJERD, 2 (1), 37-42.
Parris, K. 2011. Impact of Agriculture on water pollution in OECD Countries: Recent trends and future prospects.
Int J Water Resour D, 27, 33-52.
Pawlowicz, R. 2015. The absolute salinity of seawater diluted by riverwater. Deep Sea Research Part I:
Oceanographic Research Papers, 101, 71-79.
Yamazaki, Y., Muneoka, T., Wakou, S,. Shimura, M., Yoshino, K., Tsuji, O. and Tabuchi, T. 2013. The
difference of agricultural land use in watersheds and long term fluctuation on the river water quality. IJERD,
4 (1), 152-157.

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Research article
erd

Can Organic Farming Be an Alternative to ImproveWell-Being of Smallholder Farmers in Disadvantaged Areas?
A Case Study of Morogoro Region, Tanzania
CHIE MIYASHITA*
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro Tanzania,
Email: chie_626@yahoo.co.jp; chie.miyajp@gmail.com

KIM ABEL KAYUNZE
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
Received 17 November 2015

Accepted 29 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract This study assessed the contribution of organic farming to improvements in the wellbeing of smallholder farmers as measured by crop productivity, profit, and food security amongsmallholder farmers in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The results showed that organic farmers
had diversified crops and availability of water for irrigation, and they had better selling
situation of their crop products. It also showed significant differences in profit and food security
between organic and conventional/traditional farmers. Profit among organic farmers was
revealed to be more than ten times of profit among conventional/traditional farmers, with lessexpenditure for farm activity and higher income from their crops. Food security was analysedusing food consumption score and dietary energy comsumed, and showed significantly better
results among organic farmers. The factors that significantly influenced productivity included
sex of the household head, number of household member, access to constant markets, andlivestock keeping. The number of years of practising organic farming showed a significant
association with profit, and livestock keeping and age of the household head had significant
impacts on food security. It was revealed that there are challenges to organic farming, including
difficulty of land preparation, access to markets, getting premium price for organic products,
and contamination from other non-organic farms. In conclusion, organic farming has thepotential to improve the well-being of smallholder farmers in disadvantaged areas, especiallywith regard to profit and food security. Therefore, it is recommended that more emphasisshould be placed on the promotion of organic farming by agricultural stakeholders.
Keywords organic farming, smallholder farmers, disadvantaged area, alternative development

INTRODUCTION
As countries develop, there are always people in the shade of that development who do not benefit, andare the ones who should actually be targeted. A country’s development sometimes skips people atlower levels, allowing them to remain in poverty. There are approximately 2 billion smallholder
farmers worldwide who depend on themselves for their livelihood. Rural poverty is a problem that has
been discussed for decades (IFAD, 2011), and it is generally said that peasants have not benefitted
from development efforts thrust upon them by governments, multinational corporations, andinternational agencies (Leonard, 2006). In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Tanzania is
steadily developing by more than 7% as of 2014 (WB, 2015). However, this economic development
does not appear to affect rural citizens, and they have not seen improvement in their lives with regard
to economy and food security (NBS, 2014). Due to limited opportunities for agricultural modernizationⒸ ISERD

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and inactive public support, organic farming has been suggested as a possible alternative development
method to improve smallholder farmers’ well-being in agriculture-based countries.
Organic farming is defined as a system that relies on ecosystem management rather than external
agricultural inputs (FAO, 2014). Although organic farming has the potential to help smallholder
farmers improve their well-being, it has been minimally practised by smallholder farmers in
disadvantaged areas in Tanzania (UN, 2008; Aher et al., 2012; Anderssonet al., 2012). Therefore, thegoal of this study was to assess the contribution of organic farming to improvements in the well-being,
as measured by crop productivity, profitability, and food security, of smallholder farmers in
disadvantaged areas. Specifically, we wanted to assess this in a non-conducive environment where
farmers are geographically, politically and relationally limited to external advantages such as goodmarkets, financial services and export contracts.
Specific objectives of this study were to examine how farmers implement farming practices andsell their products; compare productivity, profit, and food security between conventional/traditional
farmers and organic farmers; determine factors affecting productivity, profit, and food security; andidentify challenges of organic farming.
METHODOLOGYThis study was conducted from September 2014 up to January 15 in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The
Morogoro Municipality, Morogoro Rural District and Mvomero District were purposively selected forthe study as all have small-scale organic farmers conducting multi-crop organic farming for their local
consumption. For quantitative data, a total of 324 farmers including 160 organic farmers and 164
conventional/traditional farmers were selected, and a face-to-face structured questionnaire survey was
conducted. To collect qualitative data, 24 organic farmers from three villages with different
environmental conditions were chosen purposively to participate in focus group discussions.
Frequencies and percentages were used to summarise farming practices and products selling.
Productivity, profit and food security were compared between organic farmers andconventional/traditional farmers by using independent samples T test. Food security was analysed withindicators of food consumption score and dietary energy consumed, and compared between two
farming groups by using independent samples T test. Each respondent was asked about food items
consumed at home over a period of previous 7 days. Multiple linear regression was used to determine
impacts of some variables on productivity, profit and food security. Content analysis was used toanalyse the challenges of organic farming
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Implemented Farming Practices and Selling Situation
The average number of different crops grown by organic farmers was 8.54 while that of crops grownby conventional/traditional farmers was 4.70. More than 70% of organic farmers had water available
for their farms because many were living in mountainous areas with rivers, whereas, more than 80% ofconventional/traditional farmers depended on rain. Mountainous areas are disadvantaged with regard totransportation and marketing. However, the geographic situation provided the benefit of water
availability for irrigation in organic farming. Out of a total number of conventional/traditional farmers,
21.3% used chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The low percentage of farmers using agrochemicals
showed that there were many traditional farmers who did not utilize synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
For this reason farmers were categorized into organic farmers and “conventional/traditional farmers” inthis study.
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Constant markets were more available to organic farmers. More than two-fifths (43.1%) oforganic farmers had constant markets, compared to only 8.5% of conventional/traditional farmers. Thissituation may result from a trend in crops grown and the farmers’ motivation to sell crop products.
Specifically, because conventional/traditional farmers grow fewer crops in comparison with organic
farmers, they do not have much crop variety available to sell. Furthermore, since starting organic
farming, organic farmers seemed to be more motivated to sell their crop products specifically asorganic products. Of the organic farmers, 38.1% sold at least some of their crop products as organic
products, and other organic farmers sold their crop products without mentioning that they are organic.
Among those who sold their crop products as organic, 18.1% sold their crop products, or at least a
portion of them, for a higher, premium price. This implies difficulty in gaining customer attention withregard to crop status, and connecting that attention to a premium price.
Comparison of Productivity, Profit and Food Security between Organic Farmers andConventional/Traditional Farmers
Maize, cow peas, and pumpkins were the most grown crops in both farming groups. These crops
showed higher levels of productivity among organic farmers, but the differences between organic
farmers and conventional/traditional farmers' outputs were not significant, as shown in Table 1 (p >0.05). Significant differences were seen in some other crops such as tomato, Chinese cabbage, andamaranth, but these crops did not have enough samples. Those three crops are often said that they canshow immediate changes along with organic farming practice such as organic fertilizers and pesticides,
and they are often used in organic farming training sessions (University of Kentucky, 2007). Therefore,
those results imply that crops that farmers are taught on how to grow more likely show higher
productivity. There are two possible reasons for the higher productivity of organic farms. First, organic
farming practices promote high productivity by creating a richer environment for crops. Second,
farming techniques learned in organic farming training, such as how to arrange crops in a farm promotehigh productivity. One farmer in Bamba explained that they did not know how to arrange crops in a
farm, and used to plant crops very roughly. After training on organic farming, they got to know thenecessary length between crops in a seed bed, and many of them had feelings that productivity had
increased.
Table 1 Crop yields’ mean productivity per ha
Crops
Maize
Cow peas
Pumpkins

Farming style
Organic
Conventional/traditional
Organic
Conventional/traditional
Organic
Conventional/traditional

n
141
162
80
92
95
81

Mean (kg)1156.30
1039.44207.77186.31
409.62261.83

F

Sig.

1.251

0.264

0.250

0.875

2.436

0.120

The mean profit among organic farmers was significantly higher than that among
conventional/traditional farmers, with a smaller minimum amount and larger maximum amount asshown in Table 2 (F = 13.652, p ≤ 0.001). In 2013, the mean profit of conventional/traditional farmers
was less than one-tenth that of organic farmers. This large difference was due to a large proportion of
conventional/traditional farmers experiencing an income deficit. Among conventional/traditional
farmers, 44.5% had no income from their crop production, and 58.5% had a deficit. By contrast, only
13.1% of organic farmers had a deficit, because organic farmers can lower farm by taking advantagesof hand-made organic fertilizers and pesticides, and can bring higher income by making farmersⒸ ISERD

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connected to markets with more crop varieties. The mean income among organic farmers was morethan four times that of conventional/traditional farmers. This combination of lower expenditures andhigher income for organic farming is supported by several studies that showed a reduction in input
costs and an increase in income in organic systems (Peramaiyan et al., 2009).
Table 2 Profit (Tanzanian Shillings*) among farmers
Farming group

n

Min

Max

Mean

Organic farmers

160-391,000

5,4736,000

1,636,608.14

Conventional/traditional farmers

164-1,879,000

16,625,500

146,970.55

F

Sig.

13.6520.000* US $ 1.00 = Tanzanian Shillings (TZS) 2,165.02 in September, 2015

The mean food consumption score of organic farmers was 51.17, higher than that ofconventional/traditional farmers (49.45). Scores were calculated for three categories: poor (1),borderline (2), and acceptable (3). Scores were compared between the two farming groups, and thecomparison showed higher means among organic farmers with a significant difference (F = 6.514, p <0.05). With regard to dietary energy consumed, households of organic farmers had a higher mean for
dietary energy consumed (2,976.53 kCal per adult equivalent per day) than the households ofconventional/traditional farmers (2,912.25 kCal per adult equivalent per day). Households wereclassified as food-insecure and food-secure based on a cut-point of 2,200 kCal, the national caloric
poverty line per adult equivalent per day in Tanzania (NBS, 2014). Among households ofconventional/traditional farmers, 24.4% were below the cut-point, whereas only 19.4% of thehouseholds of organic farmers fell below the cut-point. The score of the food-insecure group, which
consumed below 2,200 kCal (1), and the score of the food-secure group, which consumed more than
2,200 kCal (2) were compared, and the difference between organic farmers andconventional/traditional farmers was significant (F = 4.793, p ≤ 0.05). From a food security perspective,
organic farmers had better scores. Therefore, it could be said that organic farming contributes to foodsecurity at the household level. There are two possible reasons for this better household food security.
First, increased quantities of crops in organic farms provided increased access to food. Second, thehigher income of organic farmers increased their purchasing power.
Table 3 Independent sample T test comparing food security
Variable compared

n

Mean

Food consumption score of organic farmers

160

2.77

Food consumption score of conventional/traditional farmers

164

2.70

Scores of dietary energy consumed of organic farmers

160

1.81

Scores of dietary energy consumed of conventional/traditional farmers

164

1.76

F

Sig.

6.514

0.011

4.793

0.029

Factors Influencing Crop Productivity, Profit and Food Security
Multiple linear regression was performed to determine impacts of several independent variables oncrop productivity, profit, and food security (Table 4). For maize, results showed that female-led
households had higher maize productivity. This is in contrast to a number of previous studies (Koru
and Holden, 2010). These results imply that female-led households no longer suffer from thetraditional disadvantages that have previously led to lower productivity than male-led households. This
could be explained by women’s high commitment to maize production activities. Results also showedⒸ ISERD

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that those households with more household members had higher maize productivity. We suggest that alarge number of household members leads to a bigger labour force. Results also indicate that having a
constant market leads to higher maize productivity. Households with constant markets may have more
motivation to sell and therefore care more about their farms.
For pumpkins, the results revealed that livestock owners tended to have higher productivity. Total
income from livestock keeping was found to have a significant impact on productivity of maize inregression (p ≤ 0.05). The income from livestock may help farmers purchase farm inputs andequipment and allow them to prepare a separate farm for pumpkins. Many households did not have aseparate farm of pumpkins, because maize, cow pea and pumpkins are the crops used most forintercropping. It may cause lower productivity of pumpkins in this study, since the study did notconsider whether they intercropped or not when calculating productivity. In addition, farm yard manurefrom the livestock could be utilized to help the pumpkin crop thrive.
Profit was influenced by the number of years practising organic farming. This implies that moreexperienced organic farmers tend to have higher profits. One possible reason for this is thatexperienced organic farmers easily take advantage of organic fertilizers and pesticides by utilizing
local materials instead of purchasing them, whereas some new organic farmers have not yet found areasonably priced source of animal manure. Moreover, experienced organic farmers could achieve
higher incomes by establishing markets to sell their crop products.
Factors affecting food security were analysed using aspects of the food consumption score anddietary energy consumed. Multiple linear regression of food consumption scores showed that scores
were affected by whether the farmer owned livestock and age of the household head. Specifically,
households with livestock had a higher food consumption score, as did households headed by an elder.
The higher food consumptions scores for households with livestock could be related to additional
income associated with livestock ownership. In 2013, about half of the livestock keepers received
income from selling their livestock or livestock products such as eggs and milk. The additional
earnings from crop production may have improved the economic situation of those households and led
to better food security. The age of the household head may have a positive effect on food security
because of their richer experiences. Multiple linear regression did not show a significant effect of anyof the variables with regard to dietary energy consumed.
Table 4 Impact of some of the independent variables to productivity, profit, and food security
Dependent variable
Productivity of maize

Independent variablen

B Coefficients

Beta

T

Sig.

Sex of a household head*324-0.337-0.296-3.1050.002

Number of people in a household

324

0.061

0.248

2.599

0.011

Whether they had a constant market

324-0.203-0.216-2.2870.024

Productivity of pumpkins

Whether they owned livestock

324-0.937-0.380-3.3840.001

ProfitYears of practising organic farming

324

337206.131

0.375

3.839

0.000

Food consumption score

Whether they owned livestock324-6.377-0.244-2.831

0.005

Age of a household head

324

0.169

0.226

2.622

0.010

* This table only shows the independent variables which showed significant impacts on the dependent variable

Challenges of Organic Farming
Challenges of organic farming were grouped into categories using content analysis (See Box 1).

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Box 1: Difficulties of conducting organic farming
Below are some quotations from farmers with regard to difficulties in conducting organic farming.
1. Difficulty of farm land preparation“If you have a farm of 1.5 ha, you cannot make terraces by yourself. Hiring a temporary worker for making one
terrace costs TZS 5,000*. It is expensive.” (Old woman in Ruvuma)
2. No market place“There is nowhere to sell the products. Sometimes amaranths stay at farm until they get rotten.” (Young girl in
Kireka)3. Difficulty of selling for a premium price“Prices of our organic products should be the same as those of neighbours.” (Old woman in Kauzeni)“People know organic farming, but they do not know values of health. You can tell a customer that your one
bunch of carrots is for TZS 1,500. She/he goes for carrots of TZS 600 which are grown with agrochemicals.”(Old man in Ruvuma)
4. Contamination of soil by conventional farmers“Some neighbours are using chemicals. Our crops get contaminated on farm.” (Old woman in Kauzeni)
5. Water requirements“When you grow vegetables, it is necessary to have water.” (Old woman in Ruvuma)* US $ 1.00 = Tanzanian Shillings (TZS) 2,165.02 in September, 2015

It was revealed that land preparation was a big burden on organic farmers. With regard to themarket place, there were organic farming groups which could access the organic shop for selling andsome which could not. In addition to this accessibility issue, meagre scale of the organic shop was alsoa constraint. One farmer mentioned that, “If you order for only five crop products, others get rotten in a
big farm”. The issue of premium price is important to consider when promoting organic farming. One
farmer in Ruvuma explained that when they promote organic farming to other farmers, some farmers
are not attracted because the selling price is the same. Contamination of soil by nearby conventional
farmers is a difficult issue. Even though there were not many conventional farmers using agrochemicals during the time of this research, according to the country’s trend, the number of users ofagro-chemicals will increase in the future. Especially in mountainous areas where no efficient coping
strategies against soil erosion are used, soil is likely to suffer serious damage. The availability of water
is important. Organic farming organizations provided hose pipes or sprinklers to farmers when
beginning organic farming training. One traditional farmer in Lukobe mentioned, “If I buy water for
TZS 200 per bucket for growing vegetables and sell one bunch of them for TZS 200, can I really get
profit?” This water issue is an essential concern for conventional/traditional farmers considering
beginning organic farming.
CONCLUSION
This study found that organic farmers take advantage of organic farming practices including cropvarieties and water availability. Organic farmers had a more beneficial market situation for their crop
products, but there were still difficulties in being able to sell their crop products as organic and receivea premium price due to low awareness of the value of organic products. Therefore, increased awarenessof organic branding is a key to the practice of organic farming. It was also revealed that organic
farming may be an avenue for higher profit by balancing expenditure and income, and also an avenue
to better food security in terms of food consumption scores and dietary energy consumed. As access toa constant market significantly influenced productivity of maize, construction of additional market
places would help smallholder farmers achieve higher crop productivity. The number of years
practising organic farming showed significant association to profits and supported the contribution ofⒸ ISERD

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organic farming to profitability. Because food consumption scores showed that livestock keeping was asignificant determinant of food security, livestock keeping is an important factor to be taught in farm
training for improvement in socio-economic well-being. For smallholder farmers to conduct organic
farming smoothly, solutions for challenges of land preparation in mountainous areas that need terraces
are required. Moreover, further support is required to address the soil contamination problem.
This research demonstrates that organic farming can be an alternative to improving the well-beingof smallholder farmers with respect to profit and food security. It could be said that organic farming,
which is enhanced by accessible local resources, can replace former development efforts as asustainable rural development approach.
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IFAD. 2011. Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in the United Republic of Tanzania. International
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Koru, B. and Holden, S. 2010. Difference in maize productivity between male- and female-headed households in
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Leonard, T. (Ed). 2006. Impact of economic development on peasants. Encyclopedia of the Developing World 3,1256-1258, Routledge, New York.
NBS. 2014. Household budget survey main report, 2011/12. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania.
Peramaiyan, P., Halberg, N. and Hermansen, E. 2009. Organic agriculture in relation to food security ofdeveloping.VaxtEko, Aarhus.
UN. 2008. Organic agriculture and food security in Africa. United Nations, New York and Geneva.
University of Kentucky. 2007. Organic farming in Kentucky-A survey poll ranks crops from easiest to hardest to
grow organically. [http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CCD/introsheets/organicsurvey.pdf] site visited on 23/3/2015.
WB (World Bank). 2015. Tanzania-Overview. [http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/tanzania/overview] site
visited on 11/11/2015.

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Research article
erd

Impact of Smallholder Agricultural Cooperatives on Market
Participation of Vegetable Farmers in Cambodia:
A Case Study of Svay Rieng Agro-Products Cooperative
DARY PHON*
University of Tokyo, Kashiwa City, Japan
Email: phondary@gmail.com

EIJI YAMAJI
The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa City, Japan
Received 14 November 2015

Accepted 29 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Agricultural cooperatives play a crucial role in improving Cambodian farmers’participation in vegetable markets. Cambodia’s vegetable sector is afflicted by the dual
problems of supply and quality; the country imports huge amounts of vegetables from Vietnam
and Thailand, and most domestic vegetable production is still inorganic. This quantitative study
shows the impacts of Svay Rieng Agro-Products Cooperative (SAC) on its members’
participation in vegetable markets. Data was collected from a survey of 44 SAC members and
20 non-SAC members in Svay Rieng province. A market participation index was used tomeasure the level of respondents’ market participation. Based on the quantity of vegetables sold,the 64 sample farmers represent four levels of market participation across 52 market
participation scores: level 1 includes scores 4-16 (35.9% of total respondents); level 2 scores12-32 (32.8%); level 3 scores 24-36 (17.2%); and level 4 scores 32-52 (14.1%). T-test analysis
shows that the participation in vegetable market of SAC members is higher than that of nonmembers. Logit model reveals that variable of growing vegetables as a primary source ofhousehold income is positively related to the probability of selling vegetables to SAC. Tobit
model is used to determine factors affecting market participation levels of SAC members. The
study revealed five factors as critical variables affecting effective market participation: 1)
education level of household head, 2) receiving market information, 3) volume of vegetableproduction, 4) distance to main market, and 5) the extent to which vegetable growers supply
SAC. The study stresses the importance of agricultural cooperatives in improving famers’participation in vegetable markets. Plus, the results concerning the probability of sellingvegetables and level of participation in vegetable markets can usefully contribute to informing
and improving the royal decree and prakas on agricultural cooperatives in Cambodia.
Keywords agricultural cooperative, market participation, Cambodia

INTRODUCTION
Cambodia’s agriculture sector contributed about 27.5% of total GDP in 2012, and crop production
alone accounted for 55% of agricultural GDP (MAFF 2013). Although vegetable production in
Cambodia increased between 2007 and 2013 (MAFF 2013), Cambodia supplements 40-50% of its
vegetable consumption with imports from Vietnam and Thailand. In 2010, for instance, vegetable
imports amounted to 70 to 80 tonnes a day (Vietnam Business News, 2010). This huge volume ofimports is affecting most stakeholders in the vegetable sector. The Cambodian government iscommitted to improving agricultural development and promoting smallholder livelihoods through theestablishment of agricultural cooperatives. Agricultural cooperatives play an important role in ruralⒸ ISERD

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economic development and poverty alleviation (Chea, 2010). Yet few studies have examined theimpact of agricultural cooperatives on farmers’ participation in vegetable markets in Cambodia.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the study are to evaluate the impacts of SAC on market participation of SAC
members, and to determine the factors affecting the extent of their market participation.
METHODOLOGYHousehold survey: A structured questionnaire was used to gather information from 44 SAC member
households and 20 non-member households. Household heads or other adult family members wereinterviewed face-to-face. Six of the 20 areas covered by SAC were selected for survey. These areas
were chosen because the farmers there are more likely to grow the crops of interest, namely cucumbers,
Chinese cabbage, Chinese greens, pickle cabbage and dwarf cabbage, than in the other areas. All
farmers in the six areas who had produced these five crops in the previous growing season were
engaged in face-to-face interviews.
Data analysis: Market participation index, T-test, logit and tobit regression models were used.
Following Gani and Adeoti (2011), the market participation index was used to measure the level ofmarket participation among respondents in the study areas. Table 1 describes the index used incomputing the total market participation index (TMPI).
Table 1 Market participation index

Quantity sold (L)Homestead(X1)>0 - <450kg (L1)1451 - 1000 (L2)21001-1450 (L3)3>1450 (L4)4
Note: * Developed by authors
Source: Gani and Aeoti 2011Market location (X)Farm Village
Town
gate
market market
(X2)
(X3)
(X4)
2
3
4
4
6
8
6
9
12
8
12
16

ScoresPeriod of sale (Y)City
OnOffmarket season
season
(X5)
(Y1)
(Y2)
5
1
2
10
2
4
15
3
6
20
4
8

Buyer (Z)
Consu
-mer
(Z1)
1
2
3
4

Trader
(Z2)

SAC
(Z3)*

2
4
6
8

3
6
9
12

The total market participation index (TMPI) represents each respondent’s score, and the scoreregulates the level of participation in the market. When the scores for the quantities of vegetables soldand other indices including market location, period of produce sale, and buyers were computed, theminimum market participation score 3 indicates the lowest level and 96 the highest level ofparticipation.
Minimum Score= X1(L1)+Y1(L1)+Z1(L1)=3
Maximum Score= X1(L4)+X2(L4)+X3(L4)+X4(L4)+X5(L4)+Y1(L4)+Y2(L4)+Z1(L4)+Z2(L4)+Z3(L4)=96
In addition, the different levels of farmers’ participation in vegetable markets were determinedusing the following formula:

RTMPI
100
X
NMPWC
1
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where RTMPI = replication/frequency of total market participation indices, and NMPWC =number/size of market participants within a given category.
T-test as modeled by the t-distribution was used to test the statistical difference in the average
market participation score of SAC members and non-members. Logit model was used to determine theprobability of farmer-members selling vegetables to SAC. Tobit model was used to determine factors
influencing the level of SAC members’ market participation in the study areas.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Impact of Svay Rieng Agro-Products Cooperative on Market Participation
The four levels of market participation signify that although the 64 surveyed farmers participated in themarket, they did so to different degrees. The various levels of market participation in the study areas
and their scores are shown in Fig. 1; the main features of the data are described below.
At level 1, 23 respondents (35.9% of the total) participated in the market; score level 4 (4.35%)
has the fewest and score level 16 the most participating farmers (4.35%). Majority of farmers in thislevel fall into score levels 8, 10, 13 (17.39% at each score level).
At level 2, 21 respondents (32.8%) participated in the market; score level 12 (4.76%) has the
fewest and score level 32 the most participating farmers (4.76%). Most farmers in this level areconcentrated in score levels 16 and 20 (19.05%) and 24 (23.81%).
At level 3, 11 respondents (17.2%) participated in the market; score level 24 (45.45%) has the
fewest and score level 36 the most participating farmers (9.10%). Most farmers in this level have ascore level of 24 or 30 (45.45%).
At level 4, 9 respondents (14.1%) participated in the market; score level 32 (22.22%) has the
fewest and score level 52 the most participating farmers (44.45%) in this level. Most farmers havescore levels of 52 (44.45%) or 30 (22.22%).

14.29%

4.76%

17.39%

4.35%

8.70%

17.39%

4.76%

23.81%

9.10%

45.45%

44.45%

Score level 9
Score level 14
Score level 24
Score level 40

11.11%

11.11%

19.05%
13.04%

4.76%
4.76%

13.04%

MARKET PARTICIPATION OF LEVEL 1

4.35%
4.35%

MARKET PARTICIPATION OF LEVEL 2

19.05%

MARKET PARTICIPATION OF LEVEL 3

4.76%

45.45%

MARKET PARTICIPATION OF LEVEL 4

Score level 8
Score level 13
Score level 22
Score level 36

11.11%

Score level 6
Score level 12
Score level 20
Score level 32
Score level 52

17.39%

Score level 5
Score level 11
Score level 18
Score level 30
Score level 48

22.22%

Score level 4
Score level 10
Score level 16
Score level 26
Score level 44

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%

Fig. 1 Four levels of participation in vegetable marketsⒸ ISERD

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The level of SAC members’ market participation is higher than that of non-members; thedifference is statistically significant at the 5 percent level. The average market participation score of
SAC members is 23.4, whereas that of non-members is 16.8 (Table 2).
Table 2 Comparison of market participation level between SAC members and non-members
Dependent variable

Members

Market participation score
23.4
Note: ** statistically significant at the 5% level

Non-members

Differencet-test

16.8

6.6**

1.97

The logit regression model was used to determine the factors influencing the probability of sellingvegetables to SAC; Table 3 presents the regression results. The fit of the data is statistically significant
at the 5 percent level; the concordant is R2=0.22. The results indicate that the specific regressors are 22
percent able to explain the probability of selling vegetables to SAC. The main income source(vegetables are a primary source of household income), which is positively statistically significant at
the 10 percent level, relates to the probability of selling vegetables to SAC. A natural increase in mainincome implies a higher probability of selling vegetables to SAC. Six other variables positively affectthe probability of selling vegetables to SAC but the results are not statistically significant. Those
variables are age, education, male household head, family size, farm size and vegetable prices. Threeother factors that negatively affect the probability of selling vegetables to SAC, and are also notstatistically significant, are married status, dependency ratio and distance to main market.
Table 3 Logit model results for factors influencing the probability of SAC members sellingvegetables to SAC
Variable

Definition of variables

Coefficients

Std.Error

Z-valueP-valueAge

Age of household head

0.026

0.038

0.680

0.497

Education

Number of years household headattended school (years)

0.193

0.121

1.590

0.112

Male
MarriedHousehold head is male (dummy)
Household head is married (dummy)

15.407-16.909

1836.572
1836.572

0.010-0.010

0.993
0.993

Family size

Number of family members
Dependency ratio (adults aged 1565 years)

0.253

0.183

1.380

0.167

-0.7650.827-0.930

0.355

0.000

0.000

0.520

0.605

1.221

0.695

1.760

0.079

0.000

0.000

1.190

0.236

-0.1360.147-0.9200.356

Dependents
Farm size

Area of cultivated land (m2)Vegetable price

Vegetable production is primarysource of household income(dummy)Vegetable price (riel per kg)

Distance

Distance to main market (km)Major income

Constant-3.2933.089-1.0700.286
Note: Number of observations 64; X2= 18.55 (P<0.05); log likelihood = -33.54 (P<0.05); concordant R2=0.22

Factors Affecting Market Participation of SAC Members
In estimating the determinants of the extent of market participation, the tobit model involved nine
regressors (Table 4). Chi-square of 75.21% at the 1% level of significance implies a good fit between
the model and data. The log likelihood is -137.14 at the 1% level of significance; the R2 of 0.22
signifies that independent variables account for 22% of the variability in the level of market
participation. Education of household head, which has a positive sign, is significant at the 5% level; aⒸ ISERD

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unit increase in the level of education will increase the level of market participation by 60%. Receipt ofmarket information, which has a positive sign, is significant at the 5% level. Members who receive
market information are at least three times more likely to take market participation more seriously thanthose who receive none at all. Vegetable production, which has a positive sign, is significant at the 1%
level; a unit increase in vegetable production will increase the level of market participation by 1%.
Distance to main market, which has a positive sign, is significant at the 5% level, meaning a 1 km
increase in distance will increase the level of market participation by 68%. Because SAC cannot buy
all the vegetables its members produce, farmers nearly always have to travel to sell their produce atmore distant markets such as the Svay Rieng market and other district markets, where they get higher
prices. If members sell their produce to wholesalers at the farm gate, they receive lower prices than ifthey were to sell directly on the main market. Supplying SAC, which has a positive sign, is significant
at the 1% level. Members who supply vegetables to SAC are at least six times more likely to takemarket participation more seriously than those who do not. Two variables that positively affect thelevel of market participation but are not statistically significant are family size and vegetable prices.
Four variables that negatively affect the level of market participation and are also not statisticallysignificant are male household head, main income source, farm experience and number of training
subjects.
Table 4 Tobit model results for factors affecting market participation of SAC members
Variable
Education

Definition of variables
Number of years of household head attended
school (years)

Coefficients

Std.Error

Z-valueP-value

0.605

0.283

2.140

0.040

Family size

Number of family members (person)

0.416

0.492

0.850

0.403

Male

Household head is male (dummy)-1.7183.871-0.4400.660

Market information

Receipt of market information (dummy)

4.666

2.247

2.080

0.046

Main income

Vegetable is primary source of householdincome (dummy)-0.2591.984-0.1300.897

Farming experience

Years of growing vegetable (years)-0.0470.105-0.450

0.657

Vegetable
production
Training

Total amount of vegetable production(kg/m2)
Number of training subjects covered

0.014

0.001

10.3900.000-0.2460.671-0.3700.716

Distance

Distance to main market (km)

0.681

0.298

2.280

0.029

Vegetable price

Vegetable price (riel per kg)
Members selling vegetables to SAC(dummy)

0.000

0.000

0.700

0.490

6.479

1.901

3.410

0.002

-3.5055.366-0.6500.518

Supply to SAC
Constant

Note: Number of observations 44; X2= 75.21 (P<0.01); log likelihood = -137.14 (P<0.01); concordant R2= 0.22

CONCLUSION
The study found that the vegetable market participation of SAC members is better than that of nonmembers. Vegetables are the primary source of household income, which is positively related to theprobability of selling vegetables to SAC. The study identifies five factors that affect effective market
participation: 1) education level of household head, 2) receipt of market information, 3) amount ofvegetable production, 4) distance to main market, and 5) the extent to which farmers supply vegetables
to SAC. The analysis emphasises the importance of agricultural cooperatives in improving farmers’participation in vegetable markets. Moreover, the insights into the factors that affect the probability ofⒸ ISERD

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selling vegetables and the level of market participation can usefully contribute to improving the royal
decree and prakas on agricultural cooperatives in Cambodia.
REFERENCES
Chea, S. 2010. Final report on policy analysis. Department of Agricultural Extension, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Gani, B.S. and Adeoti, A.I. 2011. Analysis of market participation and rural poverty among farmers in northernpart of Taraba State, Nigeria. Journal of Economics, 2 (1), 23-36.
MAFF. 2013. Annual report of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. www.maff.gov.kh.
Viet Nam News, 2010. An Giang to tap Cambodian vegetable market.” http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/ 198341/
an-giang-to-tap-cambodian-vegetable-market.html.

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Research article
erdAppropriate Extension Approaches in Disseminating Livestock
Production Technology in Cambodia
PUTHEANY UNG*
Centre for Livestock Development Studies, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
Email: vet_theany@yahoo.com

MYRA E. DAVID
College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines

ROMMEL C. SULABO
Animal and Dairy Science Cluster, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines

AMADO A. ANGELES
Animal and Dairy Science Cluster, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines
Received 15 December 2015

Accepted 29 April 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Understanding the current local livestock-disseminating approaches was very crucial
for the study to present an extension work plan by a technical staff with specific discussion on
the framework in identifying the appropriate extension approaches suitable to Cambodia’s local
situation. Primary data were collected using a structured, comparative criteria-guided
questionnaire from 7 interviewees within 4 purposively-selected extension institutions.
Regarding the comparative criteria for applicable and strongly applicable utilization ofextension approaches, livestock technology extension approaches in Cambodia tended to range
from the top-down general agriculture to more bottom-up, participatory approaches based on its
frequency of all its characteristics. The most applicable livestock extension approach wasparticipatory integrated with farming systems development, cost sharing, project, and education
institution because the growth in overseas-donored development aids created a desire for more
decentralized, participatory extension approach. Therefore, the diffusion of livestock
technology from Cambodian local farmers increasing farmer livestock production perhaps
thereby farmer livelihood would be increased using the participatory approach integrated withothers. The planning key points for disseminating livestock technology was also based on thestrongly applicable participatory approach.
Keywords extension approaches, livestock production technology, Cambodia

INTRODUCTION
To increase livestock production, it seems to be extremely important to keep farmers in updated
information regarding various production process and marketing practices. Inadequate access ofdeveloping-country farmers to relevant livestock information/technology has an effect on all livestock
subsectors and different stages of livestock production. The livestock technology dissemination
therefore is very important for improved smallholder farmer livestock production and consequently
increased farmily income (Khan et al., 2014; Sani et al., 2014). In Cambodia, pluralisticallycharacterised agricultural extension (Mak, 2012; MAFF, 2015) is a key mean to increase farmer cropand livestock production thereby generating farmer income (Axinn, 1988; Touch, 2000; Millar, 2009;
Christoplos, 2010; Mak, 2012; Khan et al., 2014; Sani et al., 2014). Many approaches to technology
dissemination have also been developed and used in both public and private extension services, andⒸ ISERD

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those run by non-governmental organizations in the developing countries (Davis, 2004; Lukuya et al.,2012; Mak, 2012; Khan et al., 2014; MAFF, 2015) such as Cambodia (Mak, 2012; MAFF, 2015). Thiseffort could be contributed by technical personnel becoming the subject matter specialists of their own
generated technologies (Blalock, 1963; Fetsch et al., 2010; Patil and Kokate, 2011; Kahan, 2013).
However, if the new specific generated knowledge could not be diffused to the end consumers
especially, livestock farmers without any appropriate, efficient extension approach and withinsufficient combined efforts from all extension provider institutions despite many approaches used inthose institutions (Axinn, 1988; Davis, 2004; Lukuya et al., 2012; Mak, 2012; Khan et al., 2014), suchthe technology is not practically applied and has no value. Consequently, one or more effective
livestock extension approach (es) is required to deliver new technologies to farmers in Cambodia andthereby the considerable focus of currently local approaches/methods of disseminating the livestock
information to Cambodian farmers is very important to determine if the information of improving
livestock production will be able to be disseminated to the right farmers at the right time.
OBJECTIVE
The study was conducted to present only an extension work plan by the technical staff affiliating to thelivestock production institution with specific discussion on the framework in analysing the suitabilityof an appropriate extension approach in Cambodia's local situation.
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection: Secodary and primary data were collected. The latter was collected at a period ofApril 2015 using a structured questionnaire from 7 key informants each of whom it took around 1 hourfor interviewing, within purposively-sampled 4 extension institutions (Royal University of Agriculture,
Department of Animal Health and Production, Centre for Livestock and Agricultural Development,
and Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture) based on their most potential activities of
livestock extension and availability in Cambodia. The questionnaire was guided by 6 of 7 comparative
criteria introduced by Axinn (1988) in identifying the appropriate extension approach in Cambodia.
The considered criteria with their individual indicators included program (C1), clientele (C2), field
personnel (C3), financial requirements (C4), organizational structure (C5), and leadrship characteristics(C6); and 2 key important options (Applicable or Strongly Applicable) to be selected by theinterviewee (Table 1 and Table 2).
Data Analysis: Using Axinn’s (1988) comparative analysis as framework of the eight extension
approaches (Table 3), analysis of responses indicated which approaches were most likely to fit the conditionof Cambodia. For each comparative indicator (denoting contrasting local conditions), an interviewee
responds by answering either, “Applicable” or “Strongly Applicable” which was counted and calculated aspercentage. The analysis of the gathered information was based on the descriptive criteria given. The
highest percentage for each criterion indicated the most likely appropriate extension approaches that could
be used in disseminating the generated livestock technologies from the research studies.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 shows that all pairs of comparative indicators exception with a few pair of the Axinn's
comparative criteria were practiced in Cambodia. Table 2 shows that best fit extension approach (es)based on the analysed indicators of each criterion should be noticeable in the study. At least theapplicable indicator with higher percentage of the study can be considered as one indicator of eachapproach given (Axinn, 1988).
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Table 1 Analysed livestock extension approaches using Axinn's descriptive criteria considered

Leadership(C6)

Organizational
structure (C5)

Financial requirements
criterion (C4)

Field personal(C3)

Clientele(C2)

Program(C1)

Descriptions of Criteria (with comparative sub-components or indicator)
Nationally oriented scope
Provincial oriented scope (including district, commune, or village)
Goal to increase livestock production for export
Goal to increase livestock production for farmer family and national consumptions
Change the extension messages in response to feedback from rural villages
Not Change the extension messages in response to feedback from rural villages
More focused on livestock technology than on lifting social standards of rural life
Prioritize on lifting social standards and livestock technology also
Technical information decided upon by people inside the local rural village
Technical information decided upon by people outside the local rural village
A simple standardized technical message
Wide-ranging extension message to meet local needs and interests
Focused on larger, commercial, single livestock producers
Focused on broader range of people including poor farmers
To likely deal primarily with male farmers
To most likely deal with male, female and youth farmers
Most likely focused on limited ethnic and social groups
Likely focused on different ethnic and social groups
Target clientele at national level
Target clientele in limited areas within Cambodia
Field personnel from outsiders
Field personnel from insiders
Central government pay the salary
Local government pay the salaryHigh level of education of the field personnel
Lower level of education of the field personnel (under Bachelor's Degree)
Likely to include women and men as personnel
Not likely to include women as personnel
Extension personnel likely to transfer frequently from post to post
Extension personnel likely to remain at post for longer periods of time
Personnel with permanent status
Personnel with contractor/temporary status
Provide jobs for urban educated unemployed
Provide jobs for rural trained people
Incur high cost for information support
Incur low cost for information support
Provide farmer family high cost for producing livestock
Provide farmer low cost for producing livestock
Incur high cost for transportation
Incur low cost for transportation
Major support from central government
Support from other sources
Tends to fit centralization of control of organization
Tends to fit decentralization of control of organization
Emphasize the use of Subject Matter Specialists (SMS)
Emphasize less the use of Subject Matter Specialists
Require little participation of rural people to be served
Require high participation of rural people to be served
Use prominently information media support
Not use information media support
Leadership of organization to be part of central government/authority
Leadership of organization to be part of local government/authority
Leadership of organization to originate from professional
Leadership of organization to originate from clientele
To address a few technical fields
To address broader rural development fieldsⒸ ISERD

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Informants' Responses (%)
Applicable Strongly Applicable
42.9
42.9
14.3
85.7
28.6
28.6
0.0
100.0
28.6
71.4
42.9
0.0
42.9
28.6
42.9
57.1
28.6
71.4
85.7
14.3
71.4
14.3
28.6
71.4
42.9
14.3
14.3
85.7
28.6
0.0
0.0
100.0
28.6
28.6
28.6
71.4
71.4
28.6
14.3
71.4
57.1
28.6
14.3
85.7
57.1
28.6
28.6
71.4
42.9
42.9
28.6
71.4
0.0
100.0
14.3
14.3
28.6
71.4
57.1
28.6
42.9
57.1
57.1
42.9
28.6
71.4
57.1
42.9
42.9
14.3
71.4
28.6
42.9
28.6
57.1
42.9
57.1
28.6
57.1
42.9
85.7
0.0
14.3
85.7
42.9
0.0
14.3
85.7
14.3
85.7
42.9
0.0
14.3
0.0
0.0
100.0
71.4
14.3
42.9
14.3
42.9
42.9
0.0
85.7
0.0
85.7
57.1
14.3
42.9
42.9
28.6
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1

The higher rate of responses on the strong applicable indicators of the C1 (Tables 1 2) indicatedthat PA would be commonly used for extesnion probably due to the limited funds and different projectsof the institutions, and farmers' insufficient access to export business. It is also caused likely by the
integration of the to-be-disseminated technologies generated by subject matter specialists (SMS) andthe knowledge interest of farmers, and it requires the masses of extension messages (e.g. specificlivestock knowledge with human health and farmer needs) without being so far from the planned goal.
Additionally, analyzing the indicators of the C2 and C3 (Tables 1 and 2), PA, FSD, T&V, PR,
and/or CSH would be utilized within the studied institutions due to the more applicable tendency forthe extension dealing with a multitude of stakeholders at limited areas; local insiders employed as field
personnel; both gender, permanent personel with low qualification; frequently personnel transferring;and the personnel salary from the local government (Table 1). This may be based on the extension
consideration for poor smallholder farmers at specific areas as priority of projects funded by the jointly
national and international supports.
The analyzed indicators of C4, C5 and C6 (Table 1) also refered the PA (as the most common),
GA, T&V, FSD, CSH, CA, EI, and/or CS as the commonly used approaches (Table 2) explained by thestrong applicable tendency for supports of extension finance from other sources (e.g. loans,international funds and projects), provision of more job opportunities for the urban educated students,
decentralization control, SMS emphasis, high rural participation, local authority as leadership,professional organization, and solutions for broader rural development fields (Table 1). This would bealso based on the more sufficient and efficient international funding projects jointly with the national
funds which is not only extension supportive source, and the urban educational institutions with moreavailable facilities produces the more qualified personnel for the extension. Being applicable was more
likely for incurring the low cost for the information support and farmers producing livestock (Table 1).
Regarding the studied criteria, livestock technology extension approaches tended to range fromthe top-down general agriculture to more bottom-up, decentralized, participatory approaches in
Cambodia. However, the latter was more applicably used to disseminate the knowledge to farmers
because the extension supports and personnel payment were mostly from local government with othersources and the growth in development aids from oversea donors created a more desire for such theapproaches (Touch, 2000; Race and Millar, 2008; Mak, 2012). The strongly-applicable livestock
extension approaches also tended to be the agricultural extension participatory and the cost sharing (6criteria), the farming systems development (4 criteria), the education institution (3 criteria); and thegeneral agricultural extension project, the commodity specialized (1 criterion). This indicated that there
were current combination of livestock extension approaches in Cambodia which was similar to theutilization of extension approaches in Ghana (DAES, 2011) and other studies (Quizon et al., 2000;
Touch, 2000; Mak, 2012). Not only an approach can success in the livestock technology dissemination,
but at least 2 various approaches are jointly used; the dissemination is for more than one specificcircumstance; and the advantages of one extension approach in a circumstance could provide
disadvantages in another (Axinn, 1988; Rivera et al., 2001; Rivera and Quamar, 2003).
Understanding the mentioned extension approaches, prior to dissemination of the survey andexperimental-generated livestock technology/knowledge to specific local Cambodian farmers, the key
points to be considered and planned were (Rivera et al., 2001; Millar, 2009; Mak, 2012; MAFF, 2015)
1) conducting pre-study (feasibility study) on a specific areas (national, provincial, district, commune
or village levels) to understand mainly key needs and interests of local farmers; 2) using livestock
technology extension participatory approaches combined with others; 3) specifying livestock
knowledge for the respectively specific livestock farmes/groups (e.g. associations or community-basedorganizations) in the specific areas with sufficient availabilities and resources for livestock production;4) conducting the dissemination with supports from extenal donors or projects especially in a large
scope of the extension; and 5) empolying the qualified local or outside field personnel with
communication skills and close relationship with farmers.

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Table 2 Matrix of Axinn's descriptive criteria for the 8 extension approaches
Criteria for Extension Approaches (with indicators)

Leade
rship
(C6)

Structure(C5)

Financial
Requirement(C4)

Field Personal(C3)

Clientele(C2)

CS

Extension Approaches *
T&V
PA
PR
FSD
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

CSH
EI
Life quality focus
x
Responsive to feedbackx
Flexible messagex
x
Goal to increase farmer family consumption
Production goalsxxx
Outside informationxx
xx
Area or provincial scopexxxx
National scopex
Spread statusxx
xx
Men, women, youthxxxx
Narrow focusxxxx
Area target
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Broad staff basex
Temporaryxxxx
Frequent transfer
x
x
x
x
x
High trainingxxx
Local salaryxx
Outside originxxx
Low information
x
x
x
x
x
Low transport
x
x
x
x
x
Urban sourcexxxx
Low costxxx
Other funds
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Central funds
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
High participationx
x
x
Media prominentxxSpecialists emphasized
x
x
x
x
x
DecentralizedxxxProfessional originxxx
Broad representationxx
x
x
Local originxx* Eight extension approaches identified by Axinn (1988) including General Agriculture (GA), Commodity Specialized(CS), Training & Visit (T&V), Extension Participatory (PA), Project (PR), Farming System Development (FSD), Cost
Sharing (CSH), and Educational Institution (EI). Additionally, "XX" is strongly applicable and "X" is applicable.
Program(C1)

GA

CONCLUSION
Livestock production can increase as farmers adopt and practice the new introduced knowledge. In
livestock extension organizations, at least 2 different extension approaches were used concurrently todisseminate new knowledge and technology generated by researchers to Cambodian farmers while
using the participatory approach would be optimum.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere thankfulness is expressed to IDRC-SEARCA, for the scholarship and supportive funds; myadvisory committees for giving their precious time, encouragement, and all-out support; and the study
institutions for supporting valuable time and information.

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REFERENCES
Axinn, G.H. 1988. Guide on alternative extension approaches. Agricultural Education and Extension Services.
Human Resources Institutions and Agrarian Reform Division. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Blalock, T.C. 1963. Role of the subject-matter specialist. Journal of Extension, 1 (2), 93-100.
Christoplos, I. 2010. Mobilizing the potential of rural and agricultural extension. Office of Knowledge Exchange,
Research and Extension. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Global
Forum for Rural Advisory Services, Rome, Italy.
Davis, K.E. 2004. Technology dissemination among small-scale farmers in Meru Central district of Kenya:
Impact of group participation. Dissertation in PhD. University of Florida, USA.
DAES. 2011. Agricultural extension approaches being implemented in Ghana. Directorate of Agricultural
Extension Services (DAES). 2011, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA). http://mofa.gov.gh/site/wpcontent/uploads/2011/03/Extension-approaches-in-Ghan-pdf. Retrieved from www.worldwide-extension.
org/africa/ghana on Jun 23 2015.
Fetsch, R., Holtzer, T., Johnson, J., Kendall, P., Mcdonald, S. and Newman, S.E. 2010. Colorado State University
extension specialist roles and responsibilities. CSUE Specialists Association. SpecRole, Rev. Retrieved
from http://facultycouncil.colostate.edu/faculty-manual-section-e/ on Jun 25 2015.
Kahan, D. 2013. The role of the farm management specialist in extension. Farm management extension guide.
FAO, Rome, Italy.
Khan, G.A., Muhammad, S. and Chaudhary, K.M. 2014. Role of electronic media in disseminating information
for livestock/poultry production. The Journal of Animals and Plant Science, 24 (3), 961-964.
Lukuya, B., Place, F., Franzel, S. and Kiptot, E. 2012. Disseminating improved practices: Are volunteer farmer
trainers effective? The Journal of Agricultural and Extension Education, 18 (5), 525-540.
MAFF, 2015. The policy in agricultural extension in Cambodia (In Khmer). Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,
and Fisheries (MAFF), Cambodia.
Mak, S. 2012. Overview of agricultural extension system in Cambodia. Réseau Far, Atelier Yaoundé. 20-22 Nov,
2012. Retrieved from http://daecambodia.org/index.php/en/ on Mar 18 2015.
Millar, J. 2009. Adapting extension approaches to cultural environments in Southeast Asia: Experiences from
Laos and Indonesia. Extesnion Farming Systems Journal, 5 (1), 143-148, Industry Forum.
Patil, S.S. and Kokate, K.D. 2011. Training need assessment of subject matter specialists of Krishi Vigyan
Kendras. Indian Res. J. Ext. Edu, 11 (1), 18-22.
Quizon, J., Feder, G. and Murgai, R. 2000. A note on the sustainability of the farmer field school approach toagriculture extension. The World Bank, Development Economics Group. Washington, DC.
Race, D. and Millar, J. 2008. Social and community dimensions to ACIAR projects. ACIAR Training Manual 4.
ACIAR. Cambodia.
Rivera, W.M. and Quamar, M.K. 2003. Agricultural extension, rural development and the food security
challenges. Extension, Education and Communication Services. Research, Extension and Training Division.
Sustainable Development Department. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Rivera, W.M., Quamar, M.K. and Crowder, L.V. 2001. Agriculture and rural extension worldwide: Options for
institutional reform in the developing countries. Extension, Education and Communication Services. FAO,
Rome, Italy.
Sani, L.I., Boadi, B.Y., Oladokun, O. and Kalusopa, T. 2014. The generation and dissemination of agricultural
information to farmers in Nigeria (A review). IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science. 7 (2),Ver. I, 102-111.
Touch, V. 2000. Agriculture education in Cambodia. Visiting Research Fellow of the International Cooperation
Centre for Agriculture Science (ICCAE), Nagoya University, Japan.

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Research article
erd

SWOT Analysis of Systematic Land Registration’s Procedure
under Order 01 for Strengthening Land Tenure Security in
Cambodia
TAINGAUN SOURN*
Faculty of Land Management and Land Administration, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Email: sourntaingauns@yahoo.com

NARA MAO
Faculty of Land Management and Land Administration, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia

NARETH NUT
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Received 15 November 2015

Accepted 10 May 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract In 2011, the conflicts over economic land concession (ELC) were hardened andbecame more violent than before. Hence, Order 01 on “measures for strengthening andincreasing effective management of economic land concession” was decreed on 07 May, 2012.
The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the strength and the weakness of the land registration
procedure under Order 01, and 2) to assess the challenges and opportunities for improving land
registration. A qualitative approach, incorporating observations and semi-structural interviews
with 96 local families based on questionnaires survey and 23 key informants, were applied inthis study. Secondary data were collected from Cambodia’s ministry of land and land
administration sub-sector program (LASSP). The results of this study showed that land
conflicts were reduced and solved, measures for preventing land conflicts were taken, illegal
land occupations were regularized and 361,734 titles were provided to the people. The process
was fast. Local people were satisfied and confident on its implementation. Moreover, the local
people’s livelihoods were improved as well as the public awareness of systematic land
registration (SLR) was spread throughout the country. However, the weaknesses of its
implementation were: technical problem, lack of information and quality control, poor
governance, state land decreased and it impacted on educational institutions and on theenvironment, wildlife and indigenous culture. Its opportunities were found that the investment
on land will be more active from now on due to the investors’ confidences and trust on land
titles. Its challenge was identified that financial support of technical assistances was pulled out
from LASSP. In conclusion, its implementation was very useful for the landless people, and thepoor. Quality control should be included into the process and land occupants should beseriously identified. SLR should be sped up to register in hot-issue sites.
Keywords Order 01, Systematic Land Registration, effectiveness, challenges and opportunities

INTRODUCTION
In 2005, one fifteenth of the Cambodian households were involved in land disputes due to the lack oftenure security (LHWGC, 2009). In order to improve the land tenure security, a sub-decree on theprocedures to establish cadastral index map and SLR and sub-decree on sporadic land registration (LR)were formulated. In particular, to solve land conflicts, sub-decree on organization and functioning ofⒸ ISERD

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the cadastral commission were established as well (RGC, 2002). However, the land conflicts still
occurred throughout Cambodian territory. Furthermore, according to the NGO Forum (2011), ruralcommunities are heavily relied on land and forest resources, but landlessness has become a significant
cause of widespread poverty for rural Cambodians and landlessness has risen to 20%, beside 40% of
rural households have farms that are smaller than 0.5ha (Üllenberg, 2009). Moreover, statistics showedthat out of 282 land dispute cases, 14% or 39 cases have been rooted in development projects,
especially in the granting of Economic Land Concessions (ELCs). Most land disputes triggered by
ELCs can be found in Kratie, Rattanakiri and Kampong Cham (NGO Forum, 2011). Moreover, it wasestimated that in total about 1.5 million hectares of ELCs were granted to investors as of April 2010
(Ngo and Chan, 2012).
Hence, Order 01 on “measures for strengthening and increasing effective management of
economic land concession” was established on 07, May 2012. One part of this Order is a temporary
postponement of granting new ELCs in order to prevent land conflict occurring (RCG, 2012).
Moreover, RCG decided to provide land ownership to people who occupy and use the ELCs land,
forest cover and protected area within the framework of land distribution reform. The campaign of
SLR in 21 provinces of the country was established and it was called “New Action on Existing Policies
for Land Sector”. Volunteer youths were engaged to survey land for people under the ministry of land
management urban planning and construction (MLMUPC)’s instruction and guideline. They weretrained only 2 days about how to register and survey the land (Yeang, 2013).
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the strength and the weekness of the land registration’s
procedure under Order 01 and to assess the challenges and opportunities for improving LR.
METHODOLOGY
The qualitative and quantitative approach, incorporating observations semi-sturture interviews andfocus group discussion had also been done as well as recorder was used to record participants’ point ofview. Survey with questionnaires had been used to know the respondents opinions. The research study
focused on systematic land registration under Order 01 that has been carried out since June, 2012 in Pi
Tnou commune, Snoul disctrict, Kratie province located in forest cover, protected area (National Park)and economic land concession area. Furthermore, 96 local families and 23-key informants were chosen
to be interviwed. Secondary data were collected from Cambodia’s ministry of land and LASSP.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Strength of the Procedure of Systematic Land Registration under Order 01 (SLR BB01)
Land conflict resolution: The study showed that there were 39 people among 96 interviewees
involved in land conflicts. Most of land conflicts were happening to LECs companies and others
occurred with forest and environmental department. 33 cases out of 39 cases were solved by the
implementation of SLR under order 01 (BB01). These were because its implementation had cut theland from ELC company, measured and gave to people who were actual occupants even though thecompany claimed that the areas were belonging to it. Most of the land conflict had been solved, but 6
cases were not solved due to in the fact that they encroached environmental land. According to Müller
(2013) the implementation of SLR BB01 was to solve the land conflicts over forest land and ELCs forthe targeted 700,000 parcels in only one year. The campaign had to speed up the normal titleⒸ ISERD180

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production levels of 350,000 per year during SLR and went countrywide into 21 provinces where thesetypes of conflicts exist. MLMUPC opted for staffing up and bringing in extra workforce from outside.
Land conflict prevention: The research found that 15.88% of interviewees expressed their opinion
that the implementation of directive BB01 really prevents land conflict occurrences in the future. They
added that its implementation measured the land and provided the titles for them, and no one could
seize their land now.
Regularizing not-yet-legal land occupation and its main achievement: According to Im (2012), theimplementation of SLR BB01 had solved irregular issues: regularizing not-yet-legal land occupation inrural areas through donation of completed land ownership, providing a small-scale economic land
concessions and social land concession in order to improve and guarantee land tenure security, toimprove people’s livelihood and to enhance national economy. The achievement of its implementationfor 12 months (June 2012 - June 2013) was the 361,734 titles with approximately 595,534 hectares
have been granted to probably 200,535 families (MLMUPC, 2013).
Local people satisfaction and confidences: The study found that 94% of interviewees satisfied with
its procedure and were also confident on the land certificate (title) that government issued to them.
They reported that once they have a certificate, no one could seize their land anymore. However, 6% of
the respondents were not satisfied with the implementation of the procedure and they were lessconfident in it. This was mostly because they were occupying the land located in protected area so theirland have not been measured and registered. They further added that if they get the certificate they will
be satisfied with its implementation and they will be confident in the certificate.
Improving local people’s social economic: The implementation of Order 01 provided the fullownership to the people as well as securing on their land. As a result, some villagers could be able touse the land title provided/registered from government to borrow some loan from micro finance orbank which the interest rate is low (1.2% - 2% per month) comparing to the loan borrowing frommoney leder which it is high in interest rate. The bank will not provide loan for villagers if their land
titles would not be appropriately registered, so some villagers had to borrow money from other money
lenders with a high interest (7% - 10% per month). The interest rates varies in accordance with kinds ofland certificates and titles (commune, provincial or governmental level). For instance, if the land
certificate is certified at commune level (from commune chief), the interest rate would be around 4% 5% per month. Consequently, being implemented by this Order, the poople’s social economic would
be improved through borrowing loan with low interest rate for their small business or farming such as
buying crop seeds, seedlings, fertilzers and agricultural equipments etc.
Improving and speeding up the procedure of SLR under LASSP: The research found that it is an
opportunity for the MLMUPC to receive additional modern equipments and materials for land
administration during and after its implementation. Moreover, 600 out of the total youth volunteer wererecruited to be MLMUPC’s new staff. According to Sar (2013), to strengthen the quality, effectivenessof field work management and to continue the smooth and high effective procedure of SLR, the 25
provincial department directors in the department of land management, urban planning, construction,and cadaster have been proposed to readjust and reorganize the SLR team. The team number of SLR
was adjusted from 26 to 15 members per team in order to reduce the expense and to increase thenumber of SLR teams that can be implemented throughout 25 provinces.
Strengthening land concession economic management: Concerning the implementation of Order 01,
the Royal Government has decided to abolish economic land concessions which have not followed theagreements and has given the expropriated lands to the Provincial State Land Management Committee
to manage those lands for social land concession programs. Meanwhile, state land in the area where
RGC implemented SLR BB01, was to be cut off in the form of Leopard’s skin to existing land
occupants using and cultivating it and also to the provincial committee for state land management andbe used for social land concession programs. Therefore, this land can be used in the future for land
distribution program of the Royal Government in a larger scale than before.

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Spreading out the public awareness through country: The implementation of SLR BB01 wascarried out throughout 21 provinces at one time. So far though the rural areas are, the land registration
teams could manage to reach those places. Previously the LSR under LASSP always avoided toprovide registration in those areas, yet the donors (world bank, GIZ, Finmaland and CIDA) always
force LASSP to do so. As a result, its implementation is appreciated by all stakeholders including
donors.
Weakness of Its Procedure and their CausesTechnical problem: The weakness of the LR procedure was divided into three categories, losing ofparcel size, lacking of neighbors’ printed thumbs and losing parcel size and lacking of neighbor’printed thumbs. Fig. 1 illustrates that only 63% of respondents’ neighbor could participate in LR
process and have their thumbs printed while registering the parcels, whereas 37% out of 100% had
some troubles during the land demarcation registration in which 12% of respondents mentioned thatthe area of their parcels showing on the land title had lost some compared to the actual area on the
ground due to handheld global positioning system (GPS) and volunteers and land officers probably did
not accurately measure their land as the respondents said, 19% told that their neighbors were absent toprint their thumb and 6% were losing of parcel size as well as figureprint had not been done. The
volunteers had been trained about its procedure and technical work for only 2 days.

12%

Losing of parcel size

6%
Lacking of neighbos' printed thumbs
19%

Losing of parcel size and Lacking ofneighbors' printed thumbs

63%

Having neighbor' printed thumbs

Fig. 1 Technical problems associated with the land registration procedure
The other weakness of technical problem was that the monument poles have not been installed on
adjudicated boundaries. Installed-boundary poles had been done for parcels which were registered, but
the poles were just small sticks to recognize the boundary, such as a small wooden stick, digging small
holes on boundary, and using color spray as some villagers and some volunteers said.
Lack of information and poor governance: Due to lack of information that implementation under
directive Order 01 could not spread widely across the country, many villagers did not know how to
prepare documents for applying to register their land; as a result, some people haven’t had their landregiestered. According to the survey, it was because of poor governance as some villagers said thatthey could not find the person who was responsible for this registration; for instance, when they cameto meet land officers or students to certify some documents: residential certificate, widow's certificate
or land occupied certificate, they were told that it was not the land officers’ responsibility, but thecommune chief’s responsibility, and when they went to meet the commune chief, they were told that itwas not commune chief’s responsibility, but the land officers’ and students’ responsibilities. Moreover,LR was so fast to follow by people as all people could not have thier land registered because somepeople were absent due to thier personal tasks while LR team implemented the registration. This was
because when the LR teams completed registration of one area they would move to other area and theywould not come back to register the land title of those who were absent during registration process.
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Impact on educational institutions: The implementation of SLR BB01 had used approximately 2,000
volunteer youths who were mostly students which 305 students were from Royal University ofAgriculture (RUA). The registration exercise had caused two faculties of RUA to be closed for one
semester namedly, faculty of land management and land administration and faculty of forestry. Whilestudnets returned to study, their studies were incomplete because some subjects were taught for lesshours than regular curriculum did.
State land loss and negative impact on environment, wildlife and culture: According to Council of
Ministers, (2012), the ownership was donated for the requests of people who actually occupy the land
not exceeding 5 hectares. Furthermore, for people occupying more than 5 hectares, whether the land
contains a residence or not, the part of the land that has truly been cultivated shall be donated asownership. Parts of the land claimed that has not been developed shall be registered as State private
land and the claimant shall be given the right of “small economic concession”. In such a case, the land
shall be registered in the name of the Governor as the chairman of the provincial state land
management committee, and the Governor shall be granted the mandate to establish the contract of“small economic concession” with the concessionaire. However, the researcher found that the actual
implementation has not followed guideline above and the more than 5 hectares land where are not only
the clear land but also forest land have been registered via SLR BB01 as well as sporadic land
registration. Consequently, some area of forest cover were lost during its implementation and the land
cover has changed very fast. According to Rabe (2013), the Directive BB01 caused numerous issues
for indigenous people in Ratanakiri Province. Moreover, it would cause loss of indigenous land,
livelihoods, identity, and culture and it divides communities. For example, for those who received theprivate land during this implemenaiton, will stop doing the slah and burn cultivation because they do
not have the reservation land.
Lack of quality control of the parcel and land owner: The research showed that the quality controlof the implementation of SLR BB01 was not mentioned in the guideline. Particularly, most of thestudents were not skillful in technical and practical work such as, using of GPS, geographic
information system (GIS) and land law. As a result, some people had taken this chance to claim thestate land as their own land. According to the guideline of SLR under LASSP, it claimed that 5% ofparcels which have already been registered, have to be selected to cross check in the field suchresurveying parcels, database of parcels owners.
Opportunity of the Procedure of SLR BB01
Positive external influences can be taken advantage from this implementation in order to solve land
conflict in city because some development partners provide funding for urban land dispute conciliation.
Furthermore, communal land registration for indigenous people is implemented because ofdevelopment fund. For instance, GIZ not only supports the implementation of circular 03 “resolution of
temporary settlements on state land illegally occupied in the capital, municipal and urban areas” butalso supports communal land registration for indigenous people. Land policy will be successfully
established because all stakeholders understood about the importance of land. It is still supported by
the politic and development partner, GIZ. Investing on land will be more active from now on because
investors have confidence and trust on land title. Hence, land price will be increased mostly in ruralarea.
Threat of the Procedure of SLR BB01
According to Rabe (2013), in Rattanakiri province, the students and local government officials
threatened indigenous people who said that a regular statement was from the Commune Councils,
District Governors, and Provincial Governor, who told villagers, “If you do not choose the private titles
and if you have a conflict with the company in the future, we will not help you resolve the issue.” ThisⒸ ISERD

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made villagers believe that dispute resolution mechanisms would be unavailable to them, and that theBB01 titling was the only solution to protect their land against the companies.
Financial support from another development partner will be pulled out from Cambodia for
instance, Finnmap, Finland and CIDA, Canada. The government thought that Cambodia can implementby itself but MLMUPC still needs the development partner’s assistance of technical issues. The
database of parcels has been stored in Microsoft office Access, so all parcels throughout country
cannot be used as one database because the data of parcels in whole country is bigger than 2 GB while
Microsoft office Access enables to store only 2 GB.
CONCLUSION
It could be inferred that the implementation of SLR BB01 was very useful for landless people, and thepoor. It was also the crucial chance to devide land from the rich and the companies in order to grant tocitizens in the rural areas. The land conflicts were reduced and solved, measures for preventing land
conflicts were taken, illegal land occupations were regularized and 361,734 titles were provided to thepeople. The local people’s livelihoods were improved as well as the public awareness of SLR was
spread throughout the country. However, the weaknesses of its implementation were: technicalproblem, lack of information and quality control of the parcel and land owner, poor governance, stateland decreased and it impacted on educational institutions and on the environment, wildlife andindigenous culture. The opportunities of its implementation were: land policy which will be
successfully established and investing on land which will be more active from now on due to land title.
Enventually, the financial support of technical assistances was pulled out from LASSP.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank to Univ. Prof. EoE Dr.-Ing. Holger Magel and Dipl.-Ing. MSc Jorge
Espinoza for their best advice, support and encouragement. Last but not least, I am grateful to DAAD
for the financial support during my study.
REFERENCES
Council of Ministers. 2012. Request in principle for land registration in target areas to implement the Order BB01
dated 07 May 2012 on measures strengthening and increasing effectiveness of ELC management. Phnom
Penh, MLMUPC.
Im, C.L. 2012. BB01. Retrieved 12 15, 2013, from MLMUPC: http://www.cdc-crdb.gov.kh/cdc/gdcc/nineteenth/agenda5_gov_en.htm
Men, P. 2011. Land acquisition by non-local actors and consequences for local development: Impacts ofeconomic land concession on the livelihoods of indigenous communityies in northeast provinces of
Cambodia. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
MLMUPC. 2012. Manual on implementation of Order 01 dated 07 May, 2012 on measures strengthening andincreasing effectiveness of ELC management. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
MLMUPC. 2013. Report summary of situation and the result of the implementation of Directive BB01
theroughout country (stat from the first day of implementation until 20.06.2013). http://mlmupc.gov.kh/?
page=detail&menu1=118&ctype=article&id=118&lg=kh. Retrieved 01 12, 2014, from http://mlmupc.gov.
kh.
Müller, F.V. 2013. Old policies – New action: A surprising political initiative to recognize human rights in the
Cambodian land reform. The World Bank, Washington D.C.
Ngo, S. and Chan, S. 2012. Economic land concessions and local communities. The NGO Forum on Cambodia’s
Forestry Rights Project of Land and Livelihoods Programme. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

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Rabe, A. 2013. Directive BB01 in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, Issues and impacts of private land titling in
indigenous communities. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
RGC. 2012. Order 01 on Measure to strengthen and increase sufficiency of economic land concession
managment. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
RGC. 2002. Interim paper on strategy of land policy framework. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sar, S. 2013. Adjusting the structure of systematic land registration team under LASSP. Phnom Penh.
The NGO Forum. 2011. Statistical analysis on land disputes in Cambodia 2010. Research and Information Centre(RIC). Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Üllenberg, A. 2009. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in land in Cambodia. Eschborn: Deutsche Gesellschaft fürTechnische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH.
Yeang, D. 2013. Improving tenure security in urban informal settlements: The case of Battambang province inCambodia. Munich, Germany.

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Research article
erd

Farmers Perceptions on the Causes and Effects of Cassava
Witches’ Broom (CWB) on Cassava Production in Three
Provinces of Cambodia
PIN CHANDA*
Faculty of Agriculture, Chea Sim University of Kamchaymear, Cambodia
Email: chanda_pin@yahoo.com

PIN TARA
University of Heng Samrin Thbongkhmum, Cambodia

JOHN M. SCHILLER
Faculty of Science, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia
Received 21 December 2015

Accepted 12 May 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Cassava production in Cambodia has been increasing due to favorable market andagro-ecological conditions. However, damage to cassava crops by pests is posing significant
concerns, due to the impact on yield and starch quality. Among the most important diseases is
Cassava Witches’ Broom (CWB), that has only recently been identified in Cambodia which isincreasing in severity, and for which there are limited control. A survey on causes and effects of
CWB was undertaken in 2015 with 150 cassava growers in the three provinces of Kampong
Cham, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng. A further 30 cassava farmers participated in a focus group
discussion. The main objectives of this study were to get an understanding of the current levelof damage caused by CWB on cassava production, the causes of the disease, and the control
measures taken by the respondents in relation to the disease. CWB is perceived by cassava
growers as the most serious disease in their cassava crops, potentially causing more than 50%
decline in tuber yields (from an average of about 19.5 t/ha in a normal year, to 8.5 t/ha in a year
of CWB infection and damage). From the perceptions of respondents, four reasons were given
for the incidence and damage of CWB. These included, poor soil fertility (28.70%), drought(28%), the side effects of pesticide use (20%), and the quality of planting materials/varieties
planted (18%). Even though these are the reasons provided by cassava farmers, they do nothave the capacity to control the disease, despite the following initiatives: pesticide application(55%), change to CWB resistant varieties (15%). Farmers reported that pesticide application is
not an effective strategy to control CWB, and recommended that improved agriculturalextension services could help them get access to CWB resistant varieties, as well as to address
other production issues, in a timely manner.
Keywords Cassava Witches’ Broom, cause, effect, cassava production, poor soil fertility

INTRODUCTION
In Southeast Asia, cassava is the second most widely cultivated crop after rice. The crop supports anestimated of 40 million people, and underpins steadily growing local starch and biofuel industries(ACIAR and CIAT, 2013). Cassava is of growing importance, since it is regarded as a food security
crop. It is either consumed directly, processed, or cultivated as a source of income for the poor (Hoat,2014).

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The cross-border trade of cassava is also well known, since the Cambodian cassava provides
feedstock for the processing sectors in Vietnam and Thailand. The value of cassava products tradedfrom Cambodia is estimated to cover USD250 million per annum (El, 2008). However, the rapidly
emerging pests and diseases problems pose a significant threat to farmer’s yields and income, as wellas to the local industry. A key threat of Cassava Witches’ Broom disease (CWB), has been threatening
up to 40 million small holder farmers in Southeast Asia who have strong dependence on cassava tosupport their livelihoods. Witches’ Broom is a disease that spreads through contaminated cuttings, andcan also be transmitted by insects. The most common symptoms are the presence of dwarfism in theplants, small leaves along the stem, and lower quality cassava roots. The disease has been detected in
Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The impact of CWB is clear: it
increases the loss margin between 10 and 15% (but as high as 50%), with starch content being reduced
by 25 to 30% (CIAT, 2015a; 2015b).
Even though CWB was first reported in Cambodia as recently as 2009, it has been causing severe
damage in cassava plantings, especially during the early wet season. In Cambodia, CWB is currently
the most serious disaster for cassava farmers. Since the disease has a direct impact on farmer incomes,
it is very important that action needs to be taken to equip cassava growers with some capacity tocontrol the disease. In addition to the CWB constraint, cassava is usually cultivated by poor farmers
without having access or knowledge to fertile their land. These marginalized farmers can often sufferfrom crop losses due to their limited capacity to address pest and disease issues. These ultimately leadthem to become in-debt, resulting in asset sales and landlessness (Cambodia Daily, 2014).
This study has been conducted with 180 cassava farming households in three provinces of Prey
Veng, Svay Rieng and Kampong Cham to understand the current status of their cassava production,
particularly to identify the causes and effects of CWB on this crop production.
METHODOLOGY
Samples for the survey were selected from the three districts of the three provinces named above. The
survey randomly selected 150 respondents in the survey areas, with approximately 50 households
being randomly selected from each of the survey districts. To ensure representativeness and accuracyof the data, the survey employed both quantitative and qualitative methods which allowed informationfrom both approaches to be cross-checked. From the quantitative side, the questionnaire tool was
designed to accommodate individual interviews with cassava cultivating households in the target area,
while from the qualitative side, group discussion interviews were conducted with another 30
experienced cassava farmers so that the discussion could be directed to cover the topic of the study.
For the individual interviews, the survey samples were selected from cassava growing households
in the three provinces. A questionnaire involving, 32 questions was designed for this household survey.
The questionnaire contains both typical and critical questions ranging from the general bio-data to thestatus of cassava production, the causes and effects of CWB production, and other technicalities related
to the management of this disease.
Epidata Software was used to build a data entry template and the data was further exported into
SPSS Software for final cleaning and analysis. Basic statistical procedures include frequency, crosstabulation, multiple responses, numeric descriptive statistic, and pair sample T-Test which wereapplied in the quantitative data analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Causes of Cassava Witches’ Broom Occurrence in the CommunityⒸ ISERD

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Farmer perceptions on the of CWB disease in the target communities were recorded in terms of
respondents perceptions as to reasons for the CWB outbreaks in the last two years (2013-2014). The
reasons provided were within the context of the knowledge and observations of farmers. Roughly 28%
of households claimed that among the contributing factors were poor soil fertility, drought, and otherunknown reasons. Around 20% of respondents mentioned that the outbreaks of CWB might be related
to the use of chemical pesticide and fertilizer, while another 18.7% believed that the incidence of thedisease was based on the use of contaminated planting material. A small proportion (ranging from 6%
to 8%) of households reported that the cause of CWB could be due to sources of planting material, andinsect outbreaks (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Farmer perceptions of the causes of CWB in the survey target areas
Effects of Cassava Witches’ Broom Disease on Cassava Production
Witches’ broom disease attacks the starch in cassava roots, and looks set to aggressively spread unlessfarmers take action on time. In Cambodia, the disease results in 10-15% yield loss when comparedwith normal yields (CIAT, 2013). This spells disaster for farmers. The same source also adds that thedisease remains a major problem since Cambodian cassava growers often import cassava planting
material from Vietnam, especially during the planting time in April. The disease is more prevalent in
Vietnam and the use of the Vietnamese planting material is the main source of the disease in Prey
Veng and Svay Rieng provinces which have borders adjoining Vietnam.
Regarding the impact of CWB on cassava cultivation, each household covered by the survey was
asked to quantify the damage in relation to different aspects of cassava production, including land size,
yield per hectare, price per kg, bunches per hectare, and price per bunch. The level of impact of eachparameter was estimated by comparing the production in normal years with production in years when
CWB has affected the cassava crop on the same unit of land.
To understand the cassava crop production losses caused by the CWB disease, land size, price,and yield during a normal year were compared to those in a year of CWB infection. Regarding to the
proportion of land infected by CWB, those households that encountered the disease reported thatnearly all of their land (99%) was affected by cassava witches broom disease. In the years of infection,nearly all of the respondents (98.7%) received significantly lower cassava tuber yields when comparedto the production in a normal year. In reference to price, the CWB affected cassava was sold at a lowerⒸ ISERD

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price than for the produce from healthy cassava crops, with 84% of households reporting a 40% lower
price than for uninfected crops in a normal year (from 200 to 280 riel/kg) (Table 1).
Table 1 Growing area, yield and price of cassava in normal and CWB affected years
Items
Growing area (ha)In normal year
2.22

In affected year
1.37

Significant
0.00**

Yield (kg/ha)

19,5918,520

0.00**

Price (Riel/kg)

280

200

0.00**The symbols (**) indicate a highly difference significant

Farmers’ Actions after First Observe Cassava Withes’ Broom Disease in their Crops
Cassava farmers have applied many techniques to control the CWB disease after they first observed itin their crops. Those techniques (as reported by the survey farmers) have included: the use of pesticides,
the use of disease resistant varieties, the removal of infected plants, the changes in the planting time,and other measures (Fig. 2). The use of pesticides remains the most common strategy (47.30% of
respondents) since this technique did not require a lot of time and resources. Removing affected plants
was the second most common option of the respondents. Even though some farmers perceived that thisis a waste of their capital resources, more than 20% of the respondents applied this technique in the
belief that the disease can be managed over time, and that they can prevent the spread of the disease toother healthy plants. A small number of farmers also applied other techniques, including theapplication of more fertilizer to the crop (10.10%), the use of a disease resistant variety (8.80%), thechange of planting materials (4.70%), and the change to an earlier harvesting period (4.10%), eventhough the crops were not fully mature and the yield could be lower when compared to that of matureplants (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Farmers’ actions after first observed the Cassava Witches’ Broom diseaseon their cassava crop
Key Suggestions from Farmers
From the experience of farmers, CWB is regarded as the most serious yield constraint for their cassava
crops, and it ultimately brings harm to their livelihoods. While being in need of assistance to control
this disease, the support services for cassava growers in the study areas remain perceived asⒸ ISERD

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insufficient. Even though most farmers have made attempts to manage the disease, their knowledge,
capacity, and accessibility to the right products and services remains limited, and thus their control
initiatives have generally not been effective. To overcome the constraints, farmers have suggested thatstakeholders, especially the agricultural extension service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF), provide more practical training on CWB control (72.50%), training on CWB
symptoms identification (56.49%), training on effective pesticide application (54.40%), and effective
fertilizer application (10.10%). Cassava growers also indicated that they wish to see immediate
interventions from MAFF and from local authorities, in the event of any outbreak of disease, and in
relation to other issues that they feel the need of urgent assistance (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 Key suggestions from farmer survey respondents
CONCLUSION
While more cassava is cultivated by Cambodian farmers due to certain selected preferences, the growthof this crop can potentially be severely affected by Cassava Witches’ Broom disease, which can lead tosevere crop losses and the downgrading of the quality of cassava roots and starch content. From thesurvey on the causes and effects of CWB on cassava production in the survey area, the following
conclusions can be drawn:
Cambodian farmers still do not have a lot of experience in growing cassava, particularly in large
scale production. In general, farmers still do not have the accessibility to quality cassava planting
materials from within the country. At the same time, the improper application of pesticide does notenable farmers to effectively control the pest factors on their cassava. They often had limited capacity
to address significant issues, such as the problems particularly caused by CWB. A lack of access tolocal agricultural extension services has also resulted in cassava growers facing difficulties in relation
to getting advice on management and production issues.
The issue of reducing the future ongoing impact of CWB is critical, as most cassava growers arestill committed to growing this crop in the future. This requires an improved management practice aswell as a timely support to farmers in need. Thus, this also highlights the importance of agriculturalextension services in providing guidance to cassava growers for the management of their cassava crops.
To mitigate the consequences of using chemical pesticides, the introduction of the CWB resistantⒸ ISERD

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cassava varieties is the best option for the future and this could motivate farmers to continue growing
this crop in a more secured environment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors would like to thank OAE and DOA advisors and student volunteers attached to Chea Sim
University of Kamchaymear (CSUK) for their valuable field assistance. This study was financially
supported by World Bank through HEQCIP project of the Directorate General of Higher Education,
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia Government.
REFERENCESACIAR and CIAT. 2013. Understanding change in cassava value chains. http://ciatblogs.cgiar.org/support/ aciarand-ciat-understanding-change-in-cassava-value-chains/
Cambodia Daily. 2014. Cassava threatened by witches’ broom disease. https://www.cambodia daily.com/news/
cassava-threatened-by-witches-broom-disease-73683/
CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture). 2013. Colombia is key in the fight against cassava “witches’
broom” disease in Southeast Asia.. http://ciatblogs.cgiar.org/support/cassava-witches-broom
CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture). 2015a. Emergency clam-down on devastating threat tocassava industry and farmers. http://www.ciatnews.cgiar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CWB_ RELE
ASE.pdf
CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture). 2015b. Witches’ broom. http://ciatblogs.cgiar.org/ agbio/
witches-broom-a-curse-on-cassava.
El, S. 2008. Results of the cassava survey in Cambodia, A new future for cassava in Asia: Its use as food, feed
and fuel to benefit the poor. The Nippon Foundation, Japan.
Hoat, T.X. 2014. Witches’ Broom-A curse on cassava. New Agriculturalist. http://www.new-ag.info/en/ focus/
focusItem.php?a=3184Ⓒ ISERD

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Research article
erd

Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability in Rural Areas: Cases
of Apple Farming in 4 Municipals in Gyeonggi Province,
Korea
SEONG YOON CHOI*
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
Email: k147629@int.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp

EIJI YAMAJI
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
Received 21 December 2015

Accepted 12 May 2016(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Climate change poses a major threat to the environment, economic and social
components in agricultural sector in rural communities. If rural agricultural communities are to
respond adequately to future climate change, they will require to develop adaptation measure
and to do so, it is required to assess vulnerability in their communities. One of the most notableclimate change impact in Korean agricultural communities is that fruit cultivation sites are
moving northward. In the past, apple cultivation was not preferred in the Gyeonggi province.
However, with changing climate, farmers in Icheon and Gapyeong in Gyeonggi province
started to cultivate apple. In addition, governmental support through apple cultivation
promoting projects increased apple cultivation in the province in recent years. This paper aims
to assess climate change vulnerabilities of 4 apple cultivation communities in Gyeonggi
province by developing vulnerability indices as function of climate exposure, sensitivity andadaptive capacity. Using z-score normalization, the quantitative analysis was conducted in thisstudy. The main results of vulnerability assessments are founded as follow: Icheon and
Gapyeong showed higher vulnerability by higher level of exposure and sensitivity to changing
climate than Paju and Yeoncheon. However, adaptive capacity showed that Paju andYeoncheon as more vulnerable than the Icheon and Gapyeong. Therefore, the study concludes
that albeit the same crops cultivated in one province, for effective local-level adaptation
measures, identifying components comprising the vulnerability in the community is required.
Vulnerability assessment using indices should provide quantitative backgrounds to develop
appropriate and effective agricultural community adaptation measures.
Keywords climate change, local-level adaptation, vulnerability assessment, apple farming

INTRODUCTION
Responding to additional challenges from climate change impacts will require significant adaptation
measures within agricultural communities (IPCC, 2007). Agricultural communities in Korea havealready experienced impact of climate change, including crop and livestock loss from severe drought
and flooding, large-scale losses from weather-related disasters, shifts in planning and harvesting times
and cultivation lands. According to Ministry of Environment (2015), one of the most notable andcritical climate change impact in Korea on agriculture sector is that fruit cultivation sites have beenshifting northward and this impact has been appeared mostly in apple cultivation. Total area of apple
cultivation in formerly famous southern areas, Daegu and Gyeongsang province, has been decreased
about half from 34,770 ha in 1995 to 18,889 ha in 2014 (East-North Regional Statistics Korea, 2015).
On the other hand, apple cultivation is increasing in provinces in north, such as Gyeonggi andⒸ ISERD

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Gangwon. Farmers in Gyeonggi province, particularly in Icheon and Gapyeong municipals, adapted
apple crop in their cultivation site since early 2000s. Moreover, regional government started torecognize apple as one of important crops in the areas. In recent years, through ‘Demilitarized Zone
(DMZ) apple cultivation community’ project in Paju and Yeoncheon, government supports local
farmers who wish to grow apple by providing financial and technical supports. To respond adequately
to future changing climate in relatively new and increasing apple farming communities in Gyeonggi
province, it is required to assess the risks and vulnerability. The most mutual quantitative vulnerability
assessment method is the employment of a composite index comprising a set of indicators. These
indicators represent the vulnerability of a studied system and are mathematically combined into asingle composite index (Moss et al., 2001). Although there are studies on quantifying vulnerability
using indicators, most of the studies are done in macro-level to assess national and regional level ofvulnerabilities (Yoo and Kim, 2008; Moss et al., 2001). Effective planning for climate change
adaptation programming in agricultural communities requires an assessment of local vulnerabilities so
as to bridge the gap between community needs and priorities at the local level (Burton et al., 2002).
Not only it is important to assess local level vulnerabilities but it is vital to have crop specified
vulnerability assessment considering environment, economic and social conditions of the agriculturalcommunities. This paper will conduct in-depth analysis of the local level vulnerabilities, to compare
the differences among apple growing communities by developing vulnerability index and integrating
quantitative analysis based on the intensive review of previous studies and policy reports.
OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this paper is to conduct quantitative assessment of climate change vulnerabilityof four apple farming municipals (Icheon, Gapyeong, Paju and Yeoncheon) within Gyeonggi provincein Korea. By developing and using three indices, vulnerability assessments of the areas are done toanalyze the variables that determine vulnerability of the communities and compare the differences thatexist among the apple farming communities in Gyeonggi province.
METHODOLOGYAs shown in Fig. 1, Gyeonggi province is located in the central western part of Korea and it surrounds
the cities of Seoul and is bordered by North Korea. The province has a typical continental climate thatthe annual temperature is between 10 ℃-13 ℃.
Republic of Korea

Gyeonggi Province
YEONCHEONGYEONGGI PROVINCE

PAJU

GAPYEONGICHEON

Fig. 1 Study areasⒸ ISERD

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Table 1 Overview of Gyeonggi province and 4 apple farming municipals
Indicators
Gyeonggi
IcheonGapyeong
Paju
Population (persons)
12,793,556
210,908
62,774
426,733
Population Density (person/km2)
1,234
457
74
598
Agricultural Land (ha)176,854
17,3493,706
11,445
Apple Cultivation Area (ha)
500
80
88
47
Source: Annual Statistics Report of Gyeonggi Province (2014) and statistical year book of each province

Yeoncheon
46,18069
9,012
25Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) defines vulnerability to climate change as thedegree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change,
including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude andrate of climate variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity (IPCC,
2001; Moss et al., 2001; Yoo and Kim., 2008). In this framework, IPCC (2007) defines the terms inclimate exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity as follow: 1) exposure is the degree of climate
stimuli received from either long-term changes in climate conditions, or by changes in climate
variability, including the magnitude and frequency of extreme events, 2) sensitivity is the degree towhich a system will be affected by, or responsive to climate stimuli (Smit and Wandel., 2006) and it
can either be biophysical effect climate change and socio-economic changes, and 3) adaptive capacity
is the capability of a system to adapt to impacts of climate change, or, it is the potential or capability ofa system to adjust to climate change, including climate variability and extremes, so as to moderatepotential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with consequences (Smit andWandel., 2006). As in Eq. (1) this paper takes IPCC (2007) approach of defining climate change
vulnerability that a system’s total vulnerability is composed of climate change exposure and sensitivity
subtracted by adaptation capacity.
Vulnerability ＝ (Climate Exposure + Sensitivity) – Adaptation(1)
Proxy variables are selected as function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, as framedby IPCC and in scrutiny based on the intensive review of previous studies, particularly on Vulnerability
Resilience Index (VRI), composite index composed of 33 indicators to conduct climate change
vulnerability assessment of 16 provincial governments in Korea (Yoo et al., 2008). Moreover, in thispaper, since the indicators are selected particularly for the assessment of apple farming, review ofvarious government reports and guidance on apple cultivation are conducted. For exposure proxyvariables, apple cultivation guideline developed by Rural Development Administration (2015) isreferenced. Unlike previous macro-level studies, this study assesses local level communities that limit
authors to select the variables based on availability of the data. Finally, 12 proxy indicators are
selected include: number of years with annual average temperature above 8℃ and below 11℃; numberof days with maximum temperature over 26℃; maximum rate of precipitation per day; number of days
with maximum wind speed over 3m/s; damages from storm and flood per capita; area of apple
cultivation per total area; rate of elderly agricultural households; beneficiaries of national basic
livelihood; Gross Regional Domestic Production per capita, productivity rate of apple per area; rate ofhousehold with Speed Spray holder; and rate of cooperative membership, to assess climate change
vulnerability of four apple farming municipals namly, Icheon, Gapyeong, Paju and Yeoncheon, in
Gyeonggi province.
Selected proxy variables are analyzed by calculation of the z-score normalization of data. Amongother normalization methods, such as scale transformation, rescaling by min-max and distance to areference, z-score is generally applied in the previous vulnerable assessment studies and this method
allows to compare the data that are from different unit. This study uses z-score method that is done bysubtracting the mean from the observed value and dividing by the standard deviation for each indicator.
This ensures that each of the rescaled variables has a mean of zero and a standard deviation of 1,Ⓒ ISERD

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allowing them to be combined directly. The results of z-score normalization are able to determine
positive and negative relations of components.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Exposure is a level of acquaintance to climate risks including temperature, precipitation and windinfluencing production and quality of apple for this paper. A system is more vulnerable when it has
higher exposure to climate. In analyzing the result of climate exposure, a system is relatively
vulnerable if it has a greater z-score. Although production and the quality of apple are influenced bymany different elements during a year around, for the purpose of this paper, annual temperature,maximum temperature during April to August, precipitation rate and wind during apple harvest period,
April to October, are considered. Apple can be grown satisfactorily with annual average temperature
between 8 and 11. Moreover, temperature over 26℃ during April to August can produce undesirable
effect on the shape of apple. Sweetness of apple is affected by precipitation rate during April to
October. With higher precipitation, level of sweetness of apple will fall. In addition to quality of apple,
abscission of apple also influences the production of apple cultivation. Abscission occurs with windspeed over 3m/s during cultivation season. As shown in Table 2, with regard to climate exposure index,
z-scores for the total vulnerability show positive for Icheon (1.64) and Gapyeong (1.28). The positive
z-scores indicate that Icheon and Gapyeong are more exposed to climate risks than Paju andYeoncheon. More specifically, Icheon and Gapyeong are found to have relatively higher vulnerability
to be exposed to climate risks such as in adequate temperature and precipitation for shape andsweetness of apple. In other words, this results indicate Paju (-2.81) and Yeoncheon (-0.09) are lessvulnerable to be exposed to the climate risks related to temperature and precipitation for developing
adequate shape and sweetness of apple. However, Paju and Yeoncheon show relatively higher
vulnerability in climate exposure with strong wind. This indicates that apple farms in Paju andYeoncheon are more vulnerable to abscission from wind. By developing prevention of impact fromstrong wind, farmers in Paju and Yeoncheon can increase the production of apple.
Table 2 Result of Z-scores on climate exposure index of 4 apple farming municipals
Proxy Variables
IcheonGapyeong
0.79
1.14
Number of yrs. with annual avg. temperature, ＜8 ℃ or ＞11 ℃*
0.00
0.97
Number of days with maximum temperature over 26 ℃**
Maximum rate of precipitation per day***
1.36
0.35
Number of days with max. wind speed over 3m/s***
-0.51
-1.18
Total vulnerability in climate exposure
1.64
1.28
Source: National Climate Data System (http://sts.kma.go.kr/, accessed October 28, 2015)*data for 2004-2014, **data for April to August of 2014, ***data for April to October of 2014

Paju
-1.31
-1.62
-1.40
1.52
-2.81

Yeoncheon
-0.61
0.65
-0.30
0.72
-0.09

Sensitivity proxy variables are selected to reflect a degree to which the apple farming in study
areas will be affected by, or responsive to changing climate. If a system is sensitive, it can be affectedby small changes in climate. In this paper, proxy variables are selected by taking the system’sgeographical and socio-economical elements into account. For geographical elements, apple cultivation
area and total cost of damage from storm and flood variable are selected. For population elements suchas higher rate of single household with over 80 years old residents and socially vulnerable population
are selected to analyze how the community is sensitive to climate stimuli. Sensitivity indicators are
positively related to climate change vulnerability. This means that if the z-scores show positive andgreater numbers, then the variables are relatively more sensitive to changing climate and by thedefinition, sensitive system is more vulnerable to climate change. In Table 3, Icheon (0.75) and
Gapyeong (3.05) municipals show positive z-score in sensitivity whereas Paju (-3.07) and YeoncheonⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1(-1.17) show negative. More specifically, except for damages from storm and flood, Gapyeong is foundto be the most vulnerable relative to other areas in all other factors. Unlike climate exposure, it ispossible to lessen vulnerability related to sensitivity to climate change by developing policies that
focus on moderating risks of vulnerable population, elderly people and beneficiaries of national basic
livelihood, living in the area.
Table 3 Result of Z-scores on sensitivity index of 4 apple farming municipals
Proxy Variables
IcheonGapyeong
Paju
Damages from storm and flood per capita (won)
1.61
-0.10
-1.11
Area of apple cultivation per total area (%)
1.53
0.16
-0.52
Rate of elderly (+80) agricultural households (%)
-1.00
1.66
-0.45
Beneficiaries of national basic livelihood (%)
-0.94
1.33
-0.99
Total vulnerability in sensitivity
0.75
3.05
-3.07
Source: Annual Statistics Report of Gyeonggi Province (2014) and statistical year book of each province

Yeoncheon
-0.39
-1.17
-0.21
0.60
-1.17

Adaptive capacity refers to potential or capability of a system to adjust to climate change, so as tomoderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the concerns.
Economic capacity including Gross Regional Domestic Production (GRDP) and productivity rate ofapple can determine how the system can economically, moderate, recover or even prevent itself from
impact of climate change. Physical infrastructure, such as Speed Spray, can be used to prevent damages
from insects and this can eventually support production to increase. Being member of cooperative can
influence adaptive capacity of a system by acquiring information and support easier than nonmembers.
Unlike exposure and sensitivity to climate, higher adaptive capacity is negatively related tovulnerability that negative and smaller z-core means higher level of vulnerability. Less adaptive
capacity means that a system is less capable of adapting to changing climate that is associated withmore vulnerable circumstances. The results in Table 4 show that compared to Paju (-1.14) andYeoncheon (-2.75), Icheon (2.71) and Gapyeong (1.20) are higher in adaptive capacity. Among theareas, Icheon is the highest in adaptive capacity and this is due to higher development level of apple
community in Icheon than other areas. On the other hand, Paju and Yeoncheon show lower level ofadaptive capacity, however, in these areas, increasing government support for apple farming by
providing Speed Spray and education on apple cultivation have potential to increase adaptive capacity
in the future which will make the areas to have favorable condition of apple production.
Table 4 Result of Z-scores on adaptive capacity index of 4 apple farming municipals
Proxy Variables
IcheonGapyeong
Paju
Gross Regional Domestic Production per capita (won)
1.37
-0.79
0.53
Productivity rate of apple per area (kg/10a)
0.42
1.44
-0.79
Rate of household with Speed Spray holder (%)
0.57
-0.16
-1.54
Rate of cooperative membership (%)
0.34
0.71
0.66
Total vulnerability in adaptive capacity
2.71
1.20
-1.14
Source: Annual Statistics Report of Gyeonggi Province (2014) and statistical year book of each province

Yeoncheon
-1.11
-1.06
1.13
-1.71
-2.75

CONCLUSION
Agricultural communities are highly depending on natural resources that are affected by climatechange. Adequate adaptation measures are required for agricultural communities to moderate potential
damages and to take advantage of opportunities related to changing climate. Particularly in Korea,changing climate moves the fruit cultivation sites to north-ward to Gyeonggi province. Moreover,increasing damages from extreme events increased needs for adaptation measures for fruit cultivatingⒸ ISERD

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communities. To develop effective adaptation measures, it requires vulnerability assessments in thecommunities. In our study, to increase adaptive capacity of apple farming communities, climate change
vulnerability assessment for four apple farming communities in Gyeonggi province in Korea are
conducted. A climate change vulnerability assessment index was developed to include climate
exposure, sensitivity and adaptation to assess climate change vulnerability of Icheon, Gapyeong, Paju
and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province, in Korea. The main results of the vulnerability assessments canbe grouped into three different parts, climate exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Vulnerability
related to climate exposure assessed the community’s climate condition whether it is adequate for theapple cultivations or not. Among four apple farming communities, Icheon is shown to be the mostvulnerable followed by Gapyeong, Yeoncheon and Paju. The result shows that inadequate temperatureand precipitation in Icheon and Gapyeong could lead the communities more vulnerable. Although
Yeoncheon is less vulnerable in total climate exposure, Yeoncheon is highly exposed to wind that thecommunity should develop the adaptive measures, such as windshield, to prevent damages from strong
winds. Moreover, the vulnerability assessment found Gapyeong as the most sensitive to climate change
followed by Icheon, Yeoncheon and Paju. The reason that Gapyeong was more vulnerable was most
likely related to its demographical characteristics: increasing rate of elderly agricultural households andbeneficiaries of national basic livelihood. Thus, it is recommended that Gapyeong municipal to support
agricultural labor productivity in the region to maintain apple cultivation. Unlike climate exposure andsensitivity, adaptive capacity was found to be higher in Icheon and Gapyeong compared to Paju andYeoncheon. The higher adaptive capacity was associated with earlier adaptors of apple cultivation,
Icheon and Gapyeong, who have already created their own communities to share their know-how anddeveloped technologies to cope with climate damages.
The results of this study can provide vital information on allocation of critical resources in eachapple farming municipals to develop effective adaptation measure and policies. This can prevent andreduce the damages from climate change impact in apple communities in Gyeonggi province. By
understanding different elements that induce climate change vulnerability, apple farming communities
can increase its adaptive capacity and lessen the damage from the impacts. However, a broader
application of vulnerability assessment index should have clearer understanding of climate change
vulnerability in apple farming communities. Moreover, this study can be more developed to be applied
to other regions and other sectors to be referred in integrated climate change vulnerability assessmentof rural agricultural communities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Gyeonggi government officers, Choung Byoung-Gug National Assembly
office and the apple farmers in Gapyeonggi province for their supports.
REFERENCES
Burton, I., Huq, S., Lim, B., Pilifosova, O. and Schipper, E.L. 2002. From impacts assessment to adaptation
priorities: the shaping of adaptation policy. Climate Policy, 2, 145-159.
East-North Regional Statistics Korea. 2015. Agricultural report. http://kostat.go.kr/office/dbro/index.action.
Gyeonggi Statistical Information Services. 2015. Gyeonggi statistics. Retrieved from http://stat.gg.go.kr/
IPCC. 2001. Climate change 2001: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to
the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.
IPCC. 2007. Climate change 2007: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to
the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.

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Ministry of Environment. 2015. Korea climate change assessment report 2014: Climate change impact andadaptation. Korea.
Moss, R.H., Brenkert, A.L. and Malone, E.L. 2001. Vulnerability to climate change: A quantitative approach.
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy.
National Climate Data Service System. 2015. Climate information [Data file] http://sts.kma.go.kr.
Rural Development Administration. 2015. Manual of organic apple. National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal
Science, Korea.
Smit, B. and Wandel, J. 2006. Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 16,282-292.
Statistics of Gyeonggi Province. 2014. Annual statistics report of Gyeonggi Province. Gyeonggi Province, Suwon.
Yoo, K.Y. and Kim, I.E. 2008. Development and application of a climate change vulnerability index. Korea
Environment Institute, Seoul, Korea.

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development

erdInternational Society ofEnvironmental and Rural Development

Philosophy of ISERD:
Recently, in developing countries, subsistence agriculture is being converted to export-oriented mono-culture,and the amounts of agricultural chemicals applied to the farmland are increasing every year. The appliedchemicals in farmland cause serious environmental problems downstream such as eutrophication, unusual
growth of aquatic plants, decrease in dissolved oxygen and accumulation of bottom mud in water resources.
Also, there seem to be many cases in which people apply agricultural chemicals without understanding its
impact to health and food safety. Therefore, it is necessary to promote and enhance understanding ofsustainable rural development among local stakeholders including farmers.
Sustainable rural development aims to meet human needs while preserving the natural environment. As
it should cover not only social and economic development but also natural environment conservation, no
single organization can achieve sufficiently the aspirations of sustainable rural development. Collaboration
among international, governmental and non-governmental organizations, together with the academe andscientific sector, is indispensable.
The knowledge and intelligence accumulated in universities and research institutions are also expected
to make the programs facilitated by the international, governmental and non-governmental organizations
more adequately implemented and meaningful to societal development. However, these cases especiallythose implemented locally have been scattered without having been summarized well or recorded in annals
academic or scientific societies.
So, the International Society of Environmental and Rural Development founded in 2010, aims to discussand develop suitable and effective processes or strategies on sustainable rural development focusing on
agricultural and environmental aspects in developing countries. The ultimate goals of the society are tocontribute to sustainable rural development through social and economic development in harmony with thenatural environment, and to support the potential or capacity building of local institutions and stakeholders in
the rural area with academic background.
Purposes of ISERD:
The primary purposes of ISERD are to contribute to sustainable rural development through social andeconomic development in harmony with the natural environment and to support the potential or capacity
building of local institutions and stakeholders in the rural area with academic background.
In order to enhance the realization of the primary purposes of ISERD, the secondary purposes are;- to facilitate interaction among international, governmental, non-governmental organizations and local
communities,- to hold conferences or symposia on environmental and rural development,- to publish the International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, and- to encourage and develop local awareness concerning sustainable rural development.
Membership:
There shall be two categories of membership.
(a) Individual(b) Organizational
An application for membership of ISERD shall be submitted to the secretariat of ISERD, where is located in
the Research Center at Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation (Japan) by writing or byother appropriate means.
Also every presenter who attends the International Conference on Environmental and Rural
Development (ICERD) is registered as an Individual Member of ISERD.
Council of ISERD:
The affairs of ISERD shall be governed and managed by the ISERD Council. The councilors are as follows.
President
Prof. Dr. Mario T. Tabucanon, United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of
Sustainability, Japan

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development

Deputy Presidents
Prof. Dr. Bunthan Ngo, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
Prof. Dr. Anan Polthanee, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Eiji Yamaji, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Executive Secretary / Editor-in-Chief of IJERD
Prof. Dr. Machito Mihara, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan /Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Japan
Managing Editors
Dr. Jeeranuch Sakkhamduang, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation,
Southeast Asia Office / Association of Environmental and Rural Development, Thailand
Dr. Junaid Alam Memon, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Pakistan
Dr. Julian Torillo, Jr., Bohol Island State University, Philippines
Dr. Carlos Onan Tovar Mendoza, Honduras Embassy in Japan, Japan
Treasurer
Dr. Lalita Siriwattananon, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand
Regional Vice Presidents
Prof. Dr. Robert J. Martin, University of New England, Australia
Prof. Dr. Mom Seng, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
Prof. Dr. Dieter Trautz, University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Dr. Siaw Onwona-Agyeman, African Program on Field Oriented Leaders in Environ. Sectors, Ghana
Dr. Sri Wahyuni, Islamic University of Riau, Indonesia
Dr. Hiromu Okazawa, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
Dr. Junaid Alam Memon, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Pakistan
Dr. Elpidio T. Magante, Bohol Island State University, Philippines
Dr. Chuleemas Boonthai Iwai, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Murari Suvedi, Michigan State University, USA
Dr. Vo Quang Minh, Cantho University, Vietnam
ISERD Secretariat:
Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation (ERECON)
2987-1 Onoji Machida-Shi, Tokyo 195-0064, Japan
Tel/Fax: +81-42736-8972
E-mail: iserd.secretariat@gmail.com
Webpage: www.iserd.net
Collaborated with

Association of Environmental and Rural Development (AERD)
93/64 Moo.3, Sinsab Village 2, Bungyeetho Sub-district, Thanyaburi District,Pathum Thani 12130, Thailand
Tel/Fax: +66-2957-8064
E-mail: iserd.secretariat@gmail.com
Webpage: www.iserd.net

Institute for the Advanced Studyof Sustainability
All articles and reports published in this journal were accepted through a peer-review process. However,most articles and reports published in this journal were presented at the International Conference on
Environmental and Rural Development that was co-organized by United Nations University, Institute for
the Advanced Study of Sustainability.