Increasing population pressures in shifting cultivation areas of Laos have resulted in shorter fallow times between subsequent rice crops (down from 15+ year fallows to 4-6 year fallows).
With shorter fallow periods, soil fertility declines, crop yields decline, weeding requirements increase and the area that can possibly be cultivated by each family becomes smaller. The net
result is reduced food security (in some areas farmers can only produce enough rice to feed their families for 6 months of each year). Farmers in this situation are forced to rely more heavily on
other sources of income or food. Livestock, especially cattle and buffalo, often provide the major source of cash income in rural households in shifting cultivation areas. Livestock is also
increasingly valuable as the only source of fertilizer (manure) that can be used to maintain or increase soil fertility in small irrigated areas or home gardens.
With declining traditional feed resources, some farmers are beginning to manage existing forage resources as part of their swidden systems. In addition, some introduced forage species have
the potential to improve fallows (both as feed and as green manure), but until now they have not been used by farmers. Using several case studies, this paper describes both farmer-initiated and
potential forage strategies and addresses the question "how can the best features of both be brought together?".

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