BFP Working Paper 5. Spatial and Temporary Pattern of Land and Water Productivity in Lower Mekong River Basin

Abstract

We have assembled agricultural production and economic data from 1993-2004 for some 20 crops and several types of livestock, for all the administrative provinces of the Lower Mekong Basin. We combined these data with areas, with simple crop water use modelling based on FAO crop factors and with population data to produce maps and trends of productivity per land area, per water use, production per head, gross value and standardised gross value of production. The results show that overall land and water productivity is higher in the Mekong Delta, moderate in Laos and lower in Cambodia and northeast Thailand. There is steady growth of productivity in Vietnam and Laos whereas growth in Cambodia and Northeast Thailand is very slow. The majority of agricultural income is from rice cultivation. However, income from livestock and other crops is not unimportant and is growing in both Laos and the Central Highlands of Vietnam. This paper includes 132 figures