A forestry expert from Phongsaly province, Thongsavan Thammavong, told Vientiane Times yesterday that villagers quickly lost interest when they learnt what the sale price of rubber was.

“Many people here have wasted their time and lost opportunities by growing rubber as they can earn more by growing other crops,” Thongsavan said.

Thousands of farmers in the province switched to planting cardamom after earning a good income from this crop, which they sold to Chinese traders.

Paeng Phongsone, 56, from Mokyon village in Phongsaly province’s Samphan district said people there detest rubber.

“Rubber makes our lives very difficult,” he said.

“Many people in this district are starting to grow cardamom instead. Some families have earned as much as 40 million kip a year from growing cardamom, enabling them to send their children to school and to build new houses.”

Phongsaly provincial authorities announced a halt to rubber plantations in 2012 following the government’s decision to suspend investment in mining, rubber and eucalyptus plantations.

The slowdown has given the government time to review its policies and assess the effectiveness of existing projects and make sure that Laos can maximise its benefits from these sectors.

Despite the government’s decision to halt rubber plantations, many people continued to plant rubber until last year, hoping to profit from the crop.

Thongsavan said Phongsaly province planned to plant only 18,000 hectares of rubber but the real figure has risen to 23,000 hectares as many villagers thought they would earn a decent income.

“Now nobody wants to plant rubber because its sale price is too low,” he said.

Rubber currently sells for 3,000-4,000 kip (37 to 50 US cents) per kilogramme, down from 9,000 kip per kg in 2012 and 17,000 kip in 2008.

A researcher at the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Dr Palikone Thalongsengchanh, said rubber not only destroyed the environment and ecosystem but also saw villagers lose opportunities to earn more money in other ways.

At present, villagers in Phongsaly are enjoying the high price of cardamom but many are very concerned about fluctuations in the market price, particularly when more people start growing the crop, as the price might go down.

A painful lesson has been learnt by farmers in mnay provinces who grew rubber and then lost out when the price slumped. Some farmers even resorted to pulling up their trees so they could grow other crops instead.

Critics say it’s vital for the authorities to help farmers diversify, ensuring that they grow crops in line with market demand and reasonable prices.

US$1 = 8,080 kip