Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page

Development of rattan
for edible shoots in the
Lao People's Democratic
Republic

T. Evans

Tom Evans is a researcher on the
Darwin Initiative Lao Rattan Research
Project, Oxford Forestry Institute,
Oxford, United Kingdom.

Although globally rattan is seen principally as a cane-producing plant, in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (and also in northeastern Thailand) rattans also supply edible shoot tips. These are consumed locally or exported to Southeast Asian communities in France, the United States and elsewhere.

The trade in edible rattan shoots from wild plants is large, unquantified and essentially unregulated. Daemonorops jenkinsiana thrives in the north in areas of shifting cultivation and appears to be the main source of shoots for the markets there. Its profusely clustering clumps survive fire, deforestation and repeated shoot removal very well. The cane of this species is not highly sought after, so trade in its shoots has little effect on overall commercial cane production. However, in some places valuable cane-producing species are targeted, and this trade is of greater concern.

Rattan plantation development is beginning to get under way in the country, and plantations for edible shoot production are a dynamically growing subsector. Small-scale nursery trials have been made for six or seven species with commercial potential. Only one or two very small trials of plantations for cane production have begun, but one species (Calamus tenuis) has already become a major commercial success in plantations for edible shoot production (Sengdala and Evans, 1999; Belcher, 1999; Evans and Sengdala, 1999). Many fields begin producing saleable shoots only a year or so after planting and can then be harvested monthly for many years thereafter, offering a return that is competitive with rice production. Rattan prefers sites where regular flooding would damage most other crops.

In the Lao People's Democratic Republic the techniques for rattan cultivation for edible shoot production were first developed in 1994, inspired by large-scale commercial planting in Thailand of three species (mainly Calamus viminalis with some Calamus siamensis and C. tenuis) which began three years earlier (Jarenrattawong, 1997; Evans and Sengdala, 1999). It is estimated that more than 50 planters have planted areas of more than 100 ha planted in at least five provinces.

The outlook for expanding edible shoot production is much better than that for cane production. There is a large domestic market, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic competes only with Thailand in supplying the export market. Furthermore, planting is spreading rapidly without the need of special policy support because, unlike cane, shoots of C. tenuis offer a rapid and proven return on the open market.

The edible shoot sector seems to be the most promising area for support of rattan development. The Lao Forestry Research Centre, Oxford University and Kew Gardens (the latter two are in the United Kingdom) have drawn up a programme, and funds are currently being sought.

The shoot subsector could also offer some spin-off benefits for the cane sector. The plantations have little potential for conversion to cane production because the rattan is grown in open sun with no available climbing supports. However, the abundance of cheap seedlings and the widespread expertise in growing these species will make cane plantations easier to establish if economic conditions become attractive in the future. 

Bibliography

Previous PageTop Of PageNext Page