Regional research “Agricultural innovations review in Sub-Mekong region countries” in the framework of the project “Network for Agriculture and Rural Development Think-tanks for Countries in Mekong sub-region” – November 2022 - April 2023.

Nambak district in Luangprabang province is famous locality with its high-quality tangerine. Over 9,000 tons of tangerines are produced annually from an estimated 700 hectares of tangerine tree in Nambak. Tangerines production has become the primary source of income for more than 1,300 local households from 26 communities. However, tangerine farmers are facing numerous difficulties, such as declining tangerine yield and the spread of uncontrolled diseases.

The Nonsoung Research Center and the Korean Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA) worked together on the project from 2019 to 2021 to address the issues in Nambak. Thirty agricultural households from the villages of Phonsay and Houayhoke took part in this project at this time. It was found that a high percentage of aged tangerines and inadequate crop management were the root causes of decrease in tangerine productivity and the spread of diseases. Project experts trained farmers on production techniques and advised them to use the practice of pruning off all branches excepting the main branches of trees in order to address this issue of aged tangerines.

The collaborative project between KOPIA and Nonsoung Research center significantly contributed to improving tangerine productivity in Nambak district. Farmers' problems have been resolved and the number of dead tangerine trees has decreased. Applying rejuvenation techniques helps improve tangerine tree productivity by about 10 to 20% compared to conventional techniques. However, convincing farmers to accept new production techniques takes time, effort, and resources.

Click this link for detail information: Applying "rejuvenation" techniques in production to improve productivity of tangerine tree in Nambak, Luang Prabang province