Mechanised dry direct seeding (DDS) is a crop establishment technique that reduces labour requirements, and offers flexibility in terms of earlier planting times. This technique has been tested for many years in southern Lao PDR, including more recently by several research and development projects concurrently in Savannakhet province, and there has been a trend of increasing adoption among farmers. In this province in the wet season of 2015, over 800 ha was planted using the DDS technique, in comparison to around 80 ha in the previous year. This rapid increase requires an understanding of the motivations, experiences and outcomes for farmers, in order to understand the innovation process, and to identify methods to support the uptake and outscaling of this technique.

This study is designed as part of a bigger project that was initiated to investigate and trial systems approaches to integration and innovation in farming systems in southern Laos (CSE/2014/086). It focuses on the experiences and perspectives of households who have either trialled or adopted DDS. These experiences are examined using an innovation systems framework, focusing on the actors within the DDS system and their relationships, their attitudes and practices, and the wider operating environment that has contributed to the uptake of DDS technology in Savannakhet.

This study revealed a range of technical, social and mechanical issues that are important for further outscaling and support of this technique, and which have been raised by farmers themselves as they test and adapt the DDS technology within their lowland farming systems. These issues will be followed up as part of CSE/2014/086, using a multi-stakeholder group approach.