Rodent

Management,

Northern Laos

Here, I present a video on a large-scale rodent control campaign conducted in the uplands of Northern Laos from 2010 to 2011. The campaign took place in three provinces of the uplands: Huaphan, Luangprabang, and Phongsaly. Until today, this was the most challenging rodent management project that I was involved in, since it included dozens of villages and hundreds of poor farmers that struggle for their livelihoods trying to protect their fragile rice prodution against hordes of hungry rats. Through community action and applying various rodent control methods, including biological control, upland villagers finally managed to get the upper hand. We learned that it is possible to manage the rodent problem if people are working together in a pro-active way. My most gratifying moment was their joy after a successful harvest. This work has been published (Crop Prot 79 [2016] 34-42) and I can provide the paper on request. Here is the video!