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.
