Dr. Tiene Vannasouk presented on 'Policy for Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture/Rice Development in Context of Climate Change in Lao PDR' at Regional Review and Planning Workshop 2017, Hanoi, VIetnam

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By
Tiene Vannasouk
Deputy Director General
Dept. Of Agriculture Extension and Cooperative
Ministry of Agriculture ,Forestry

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Content of Presentation:
I. Overview of Agriculture sector in Lao PDR
II. Agriculture strategy 2020 and its vision
to 2030
Role of Agriculture (Cont.)

3. General Profile of the
Country
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 Population 6.5 Million
 Consists of 49 different
ethnic groups
 70% of its terrain is
mountainous
Land
 Total land area: 23,680,000 ha
 Total Agricultural land: 4.5 M.ha
- Arable land for Rice: 2 M.ha
(Current rice field=960,000 ha,
potential for expansion:
1,040,000 ha)
- Arable land for Crops: 1.78
M.ha
- Grassland for livestock:
670,000ha

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 Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry
and Rural Development plays the
main roles in management of 3
pillars : Agriculture,Forestry and
Rural development
 Vital role in Lao PDR’s economy:
in 2015 Agriculture contribute
23,3% of GDP (excluding forest)
with growing rate: 3.3% per year
Agriculture Sector development
 ~80% of population engaged in agricultural activities
Most are smallholder farmers
 Rice is the main crop especially in lowland areas along
the Mekong Corridor
 Upland rice and other crops as well as Natural/wild
foods, NTFPs are important source of food and income
for many farmers and poor people in upland areas.

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 4 core programs:
1. Food security and nutrition
2. Commodity production
3. Sustainable forest management
4. Rural development and poverty eradication
Role of Agriculture (Cont.)

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Some information on Agriculture
In 2015 Laos has produced:
 About 4.2 M.tons of paddy rice;
 other food crops: about 1M
tons/year including: sweet corn,
starchy-roots/taro, peanut, sweet
potato, fruits; banana, pumpkin,
watermelon, pineapple, vegetable
(including organic vegetable) etc…
 For the commodity crops are included:
- Maize: more than 1 M. tons;
- Coffee: about 100,000 tons;
- Sugarcane: almost 1.1 M.tons;
- Cassava: almost 1.1 M.tons;
- others crops (Coffee, tea, beans, tobacco, job's tear,
etc…)

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Domestic and Foreign Investment
Involved in production, marketing, and
processing
Aim to maximize smallholder and domestic
involvement
 Rubber
 Sugar cane
 Coffee
 Cassava
 Maize
 Banana
 Tree plantation (Eucalyptus, Acacia, agarwood…)
Competing uses of land
 Mining
 Hydroelectricity
 Other infrastructures (roads, etc…)
Recent changes in Lao agriculture

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 Small scale production not linked to market
 Backward of production force
 Farmer institution is weak
 Agriculture products are under standard
 Low level of using high technology
 High cost of production and
transportation/limited infrastructure
 Low productivity
 Lack of adequate support policy
 Limited access to credit with affordable interest
 Low level of PPP development
Constraints

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Vision 2025 and plan 2020
The vision of the agricultural sector is:
“to ensure national food security through
sustainable ,green agriculture and
environment friendly which contributing
to the nation economy and pawing the
path to industrialization and
modernization”.

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Overall Targets
1) Economic growth is strongly based on industrialization
and modernization. Agricultural production must be
significant in terms of quantity and highly competitive in
terms of quality
2) Agricultural production must comply with the elementary
sanitary and hygiene norms in order to ensure healthy
products production, safety and a consumer friendly
environment.
3) Agricultural production can contribute to various areas
such as: Employment creation, income generation for
communities and people, it can also decrease the
disparities between urban and rural areas.

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Goals and Targets to 2020
Goal 1: Food Production
In order to achieve food and nutrition security with
People get 2,600-2,700 kcal/person/day,
1) Rice production to be reached 4,7-5 M.t, (sticky
rice is 70% and general rice 30%) at an average
yearly growth rate of 5-5.5%; includes:
• Rice for domestic consumption: 2.3 M.t;
• Rice for seed production: 120,000 tons/year;
• Domestic processing: 700,000 tons/year;
• Reserves stock 330,000 tons;
• Rice for export: 1.45 M.t (including exports
through border trade).

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Goals and Targets to 2020 (Cont’d)
2) Production of vegetables, beans, sesame
and fruits for consumption such as sweet
corn to reach 228,000 tons, taro to reach
304,000 tons, fruit to reach 700,000 tons
and other plants-vegetable 1.5 M.t
3) Increase the production of meat and eggs
to 487,500 tons/year, fish 225.000
tons/year in order to meet an average
consumption rate of 65 kg/person/year,
i.e. 70 kg in urban and 50 kg in rural area.
People should get an average of 239 kcal
per day from meat and fish. The growing
rate in terms of livestock farming should
be 6% per year and 8 to 10% for fisheries
and other aquatic animals.

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Goals and Targets to 2020 (Cont’d)
Goal 2: Agricultural Commodity Production
The objective is to make agricultural sector growth
ensuring both quantity and quality of products with
focus on the domestic, regional and international
markets:
1) Expected export rice is about 1.5 M.t. Besides,
promote the potential local knowledge and
varieties of rice and cash crops such as: khao
Kham (dark rice), khao Khai noy (local variety)
and other local aromatic rice varieties. Increase
non-glutinous rice to 35% of total production..
2) Other cash crops: Maize must reach 1.3 M.t,
coffee 120,000 tons, sugar cane >2 M.t, cassava
1.5 M.t, soybean 50.000 tons and other potential
cash crops...

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Goals and Targets to 2020 (Cont’d)
Goal 2: Agri-Commodity Production (Cont’d)
3) For livestock: the objective is to reach 30% of the
production through modernized livestock farming.
Livestock production must answer in priority the
domestic market needs.
For export of cattle meat 15.000 tons per year by
2020.
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Sustainable Forest management
To increase the forest cover up to 70% by 2020 through :
afforestation and Reforestation by containing the expansion of slash and
burn cultivation,Illegal logging

17. Rice development within the context of
water management and CC adaptation
• Rice remains the main food stuff for the Lao
people
• Water is life. Water management and CC
adaption is required (technique are developing
for adaptation such as rice seed varieties,
technique of planting including adapted calendar
planting..)
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18. Continued
• Several techniques are used: conventional
technique, direct seeding, dry and wet
broadcasting, SRI, planting by machine
• Varieties of rice are used (sticky rice still
dominant)
• In flood and drought prone area specific
variety will be used…
• Enlarge the plot of paddy field for easy to use
machinery
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