LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

NATIONAL ROUND TABLE PROCESS

Agriculture & Rural Development

Photo: UN Lao PDR

Photo: UN Lao PDR

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry chairs the Agriculture & Rural Development Sector Working Group. France and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations are Co-Chairs.

Aims

The Sector Working Group supports the implementation of the National Socio- Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and the country’s efforts to meet MDG 1 on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and MDG 7 on ensuring environmental sustainability.

The Sector Working Group:

  • Provides a forum for dialogue and coordination between the Government, development partners and other stakeholders on agriculture and rural development;
  • Promotes the development of concerned sectors including, policy dialogue and joint priority setting, resource mobilization, results‐orientated management and the monitoring of progress and achievements;
  • Facilitates the implementation of sector‐related actions and targets in the Vientiane Declaration Country Action Plan;
  • Ensures coherence and links between the policy level round table process and sectoral level action.
  • Oversees and implements guidance from the policy coordination level;
  • Guides and monitors the Sub‐Sector Working Groups on Agribusiness, Agro-biodiversity, Forestry, and Rural Development.

NAFRI’s Policy Research Centre supports the Sector Working Group with policy level research.

See the official website of the Sector Working Group.

Contributions to the 8th Five-Year Plan

The Agriculture Development Strategy to 2025 and vision to 2030 aims to ensure national food security through clean, safe and sustainable agriculture and build an agricultural production potential that contributes significantly to the nations’ economy, according to its objectives of industrialisation and modernisation.

  • Goal 1 is to ensure national food security through food production;
  • Goal 2 focuses on agricultural commodity production.

These goals form the basis of the Five‐Year Agriculture and Forestry Sector Development Plan, which in turn focuses on three areas: food production, commercial agriculture, forestry, and nutrition.

International cooperation, particularly with OECD member-countries, Vietnam, China and other nations are important. Regional cooperation, including with ASEAN, continues to a key area for collaboration.

Sub-Sector Working Groups

The Agriculture & Rural Development Sector Working Group includes five Sub-Sector Working Groups:

  • Agro-Biodiversity
    Chair – National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Co-Chair – FAO
  • Agri-Business
    Chair – Department of Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Co-Chair – SDC
  • Forestry
    Chair – Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Co-Chair – JICA
  • Rural Development
    Chair – Department of Rural Development and Cooperative, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Co-Chair – Luxembourg
  • Policy Think Tank

SWG Secretariat Contacts

  • Dr. Phommy Inthichack, Director of International Cooperation Division, Tel: 020 2223 3782
  • Mr. Stephen Rudgard, Country Representative, FAO, Tel: 020 222 17086