Case Study 1: Local rice piloting different area

Poar Phnum Rai Indigenous people faced with the low products of rice planting every year which caused by number of reasons 1) Since they back from the refugee’s camp in Thailand to locate at current village in 1991. They lost their local seed rice varieties since the civil war and Khmer Rouge regime 1975, 2) Since 1993, they started to produce rice with new rice varieties from different areas and especially bought from the markets and 3) this area is the Highland on the mountain range at the Eastern part of the country situated Thailand. And 4) they can’t have rice to eat for year-round, lack of 3-6 months per year. Their agriculture is to sell others for buying rice to eat. In 2023, NECO had brought 1 gram of local rice varieties from Brao Indigenous people in Ratanakiri province to Paor Phnum Rai Indigenous people. NECO asked someone to pilot in somewhere, because it used to pilot in Preah Vihear province, it was well-growth and good products. This rice varieties are a highland planting, the same situation to Phnum Rai. Its condition is a medium-term rice variety, plant at the slash and burn area, upland rice and hand-harvesting.

Mr. Hun Porng, 53 years old, was volunteered to pilot this rice varieties successfully on at his farmland. When the CLT project under the IP Small Grant started February 2024, he shared the result of rice piloting during in the CBO monthly meeting.

He described how to plant by his local technique and knowledge based on his monitored. “I observed that this rice is growth naturally the same to the native plants in this area. No need to spend time take care it, no need much water and it grow integrated with others in the same plot”.

He added that, “I noticed that since it was growth up to it ripe, the insect and birdlife didn’t interrupt it, quite different from the current rice varieties we did every year. It always destroyed by insects, birds and some diseases”. He also shared of the piloting that it is adapted to this land condition and situation here, “It seemed adapted to land condition very fast and good yield”.

These conditions are attracted by other IP farmers. They asked to share for continue the piloting in 2024. Mr. Hun Porng is willing to share with them on what he got from his piloting in 2023. Because this varieties are from Indigenous peoples in Ratanankiri. NECO is going to support this activity even it is small amount, but it is good for piloting with different farmers and asked to keep for other years as much as it is increase.