Phutawen Farm: The new hub of sustainable agro-tourism in Lao PDR

Posing with sunflowers, picking organic vegetables, and cycling tour are some highlights at Phutawen Farm in Lao PDR.

Situated in Ban Hai Village in Pak-ngum District, a 90-minute drive from the Vientiane Capital, Phutawen or the Hill of Sunflower, aims to be a model to promote sustainable food production and agro-tourism across Lao PDR.

“We would like to create a model farm that benefits local community and Lao’s agricultural sector,” said Ms Dalounny Douangpaseuth, Vice President of DPS Group, founder of Phutawen.

“Due to our [construction] business, we have chances to travel to different parts of the country and seen a lot of empty land which the owners have no clue what to do to generate an income from the land.

“Also, while consumers in Lao increase more concern that food they eat should be safe and have good quality, but the country is flooded in with imported food from neighboring countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and China which might contains high chemical residue, we have seen opportunity.”

DPS Group started its farm business in 2012. The first two years were spent on research, feasibility study, and analysis, deriving the present Phutawen Farm, which combines sustainable agriculture, business, and tourism together.

In 2016, DPS Group’s Phutawen Farm Project entered into cooperation with the GIZ-ASEAN project Standards in the Southeast Asian Food Trade (SAFT). The integrated Public-Private Partnership (iPPP) contract was signed by DPS Group and GIZ on 30 September 2016.

Under the collaboration with GIZ, DPS will verifiably apply Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards for the fruits and vegetables production farm, and the Lao Organic standard for the rice and field crops farm. Regional market linkages as well as farmer and consumer awareness will also be strengthened in the process.

“We have seen many supports to agricultural sector in Lao PDR coming from international donors. However, the beneficiaries [farmers] were not able to continue after the project faded out,” said the Vice President of DPS Group.

“With Phutawen Farm Project, we aim to promote sustainable agriculture that is safe and has good quality and environmental friendly. We hope to share the knowledge we have to interested people and can contribute to improvement of farmers’ livelihood. Also, we provide opportunity to students as well as interested people to have an internship and real practices at our farm.”

Agriculture is a key sector for Lao PDR. Around 75 per cent of population is engaged in Agriculture. However, the sector in general is still considered underdeveloped and income generation is relatively low.

“Currently, agricultural and food products that comply with certain food standards are rarely available or limited. Through food standards, it can ensure that food we consume is safe. Therefore, we would like to start from our farm first to produce quality products that comply with national and regional food standards and to be the showcase that other farmers and companies can learn.

“In general, local consumers are not aware of the importance of food standards and that we need to educate them and raise their awareness,” Ms. Douangpaseuth said.

With the support from GIZ, different experts have been invited to the farm. One expert from Kasetsart University, Thailand, who specializes on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), conducted a training on GAP standard for farm staffs in November 2016. Recommendations on how to make improvements to comply with GAP were also provided by her.

The farm has also been supported by two other experts with experience working with the Royal Project Thailand on the two main topics; plant production and pre-and-post-harvest handling. Both on-the-job trainings and in class trainings were conducted at the farm to train farm staffs as well as university students. They learned about plant production, plant production planning in greenhouses, plant propagation, proper chemical usage, integrated pest management, pre-and post-harvest management, how to reduce postharvest losses, quality production and quality management.

Phutawen Farm opens to public on weekends. For a weekday field visit, it needs to be booked in advance. Activities include farm tours, cycling, and camping. Visitors could enjoy a combination of agriculture and nature as watching blooming of sunflowers and cosmos fields, as well as picking and buying fresh vegetables, for example, tomatoes, leafy salad vegetable, and cucumber.

We thank all the different organizations such as ADB, GIZ, Department of Tourism Promotion, District Agricultural Office, Agricultural Office of Vientiane Capital, Borikamxay Provincial Office, regional and international experts, among many others, for their continuous support and a shared vision for this farm.

Southeast Asian Food Trade is a partner project of ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems.

By Weerinpat Janewatanakul, Southeast Asian Food Trade (SAFT)

07/07/201618/07/2017

Lao’s pesticide decree uplifted and to be finalised soon

Department of Agriculture of Laos has recently completed a series of “Government Hearing Consultation Meetings on the Pesticide Decree for Synthetic Chemicals and Biological Control Agents” participated by 115 representatives from 16 provinces.

Lao PDR has 18 provinces including Vientiane as a capital province.

Pesticides are dangerous to human, animal and environment both in short and long terms. Pesticide residues also lead to rejections of export of agriculture produces. To manage the pesticides in Lao PDR, the Decree therefore has been developed in order to ensure the safety of the living beings and environment.

The Lao government has issued a mandate stating that the current Ministerial Regulation on pesticides must be uplifted to Prime Minister Decree in order for providing more powers and measures to assigned authorities in control of the synthetic chemical pesticides while promoting the biological agents that ASEAN Member States have already harmonising its regulatory framework through the ASEAN Guidelines on the Regulation, Use, and Trade of Biological Control Agents.

Further, the Pesticides Decree will create coordination mechanism for relevant government sectors to involve and participate in controlling not only the use of the pesticides but other related activities in relation to pesticides as production, sale, transportation, importation and disposal.

After the gathering of comments and recommendations gained from Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices, the Pesticide Decree will be considered by the committee.

Department of Agriculture with the support of the regional cooperation project “ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS)” organised two Government Hearing Consultation Meetings on the Pesticide Decree. The first meeting was conducted on 26^th April 2016 in Bokeo province attended by 35 participants from six provinces of the northern part of Lao PDR, and the second meeting was conducted on 24^th May 2016 in Bolikhamxay province with 80 participants from ten provinces in the central and southern parts of the country.

The participants requested the committee to look into comments and recommendations of the two consultation meetings to review technical words in the Pesticide Decree such as the words ‘Pesticide Decree’ and ‘Pests’ and check the whole contents in the Decree because there are overlapped in some Articles. Comments and inputs as technical support were also provided by experts from the ASEAN SAS.

The key recommendations from the two government hearing consultation meetings will be considered and incorporated into the final draft of the Pesticide Decree that will be finalised at the round table committee meeting to be organised in the near future.

After that, the final draft of the Pesticide Decree agreed by the Committee will be considered and approved by the Council for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry before a signature endorsement by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

By ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems Team, Lao PDR

23/05/201607/08/2017

Lao experts contribute to the ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Soil and Nutrient Management

Lao national expert group exchanged good practices on soil and nutrient management as a contribution to the development of the ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Soil and Nutrient Management (ASEAN Regional GLs on SNM) at the 3rd National Expert Group Meeting on Soil and Nutrient Management conducted on 24 March 2016 at the Agriculture Land and Nutrient Management Center in Vientiane.

Based on the differences among the ASEAN Member States (AMS), the Regional Guidelines on Soil and Nutrient Management is needed for regionally coordinated guidance to facilitate decision makers in formulation of policy recommendations on soil and nutrient management in promoting sustainable agrifood systems at national and regional levels. In achieving this, consultation meetings at regional and national levels supported by ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems have been conducting regularly since 2014 to discuss concerned problems and recommendations, and exchange information and lesson learnt on implementation of management practices on soil and nutrient.

The recent national meeting dedicated for discussion on improvement of the content of country inputs as a result from the 3^rd regional meeting of ASEAN Expert Group organised in Lao PDR. At the national meeting Lao experts focused the discussion on Chapter 2 of good soil management practice and Chapter 3 of good nutrient management practice. This one day meeting mainly emphasized on soil problems and their management practices. The experts were grouped based on the discussed topics: the first group of experts worked on good soil management practices; whereas the second group dealt with good nutrient management practices.

On the good soil management practices, the experts discussed how to find the best solutions for soil acidity, soil alkalinity, slopping land, sandy soil, rice irrigation and soil structure improvement. In particular, the expert group concentrated on rain water management, upland rice and land preparation.

Regarding the good nutrient management practices, the key points of discussion included types and resources of soil nutrient management, current priority crop and fertilizer recommendation, integrated plant nutrient management, practical soil testing technique, specific nutrient indicators for farming and innovative nutrient management technology.

These key outcomes from the Lao meeting would be contributed to the 4^th ASEAN Expert Meeting on Soil and Nutrient Management to be conducted between 11 and 12 May 2016 in Brunei Darussalam.

The development of ASEAN Guidelines on Soil and Nutrient Management are facilitated by ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems.

By ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems Team, Lao PDR

29/04/201607/08/2017

From 300 to 100,000 green farms: From Trilateral Cooperation to Lao PDR

Lao PDR expects an increase of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) farms to 100,000 in 2020 from a current figure of 300 in 2016. This shows a clear sign of priority given by the Lao government to reach food security within the nation and a will to secure a solid slot in the international market.

In supporting the country to reach the goal, a “Strengthening National Good Agricultural Practice in Lao PDR (Lao GAP) project” was jointly developed under the framework of Lao-Thai-German Trilateral Cooperation Programme and ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) to introduce and develop functioning national GAP system in line with ASEAN standard. It was expected that farmers would produce fruits and vegetables to meet the GAP standard according to the domestic and regional demand, and also increase its competitiveness in the regional market.

After almost five years of implementation, the project now came to an end.

“The Lao-Thai-German Trilateral Cooperation is considered important because its scope of work is in accordance with the Lao PDR’s strategic plan, particularly in relation to the establishment of a Lao GAP Certification Body in preparation for integration with the AEC [ASEAN Economic Community], said Mrs. Inthanongsith Kommamuang, the Deputy Director General of the Department of Agriculture (DOA) of Lao PDR at the final Project Steering Committee Meeting on 30 March 2016 in Vientiane.

“With the efforts of the Lao Department of Agriculture alone, success might not be achievable,” she said.

Thai-German Trilateral Cooperation is a joint partnership programme initiated by Thailand and Germany to support development cooperation with the neighboring countries of Thailand such as Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam. With pooled resources of technical know-how, expertise and finances from such a close cooperation of like-minded partners, it is expected that added value and optimal results as well as effectiveness in aid delivery can be created. The priority areas of cooperation include education/vocational education, rural development including agriculture, micro-finance and SME development and health.

The Lao GAP project was made possible by the Lao DOA, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and GIZ. Under GIZ, ASEAN SAS supported the project in phase II (October 2014 – March 2016).

The final meeting discussed a transition of gained knowledge and practices to ensure the sustainability. The discussion included identifying areas of change or improvement for the continuity activity, which further leaded to the development of strategies and proposed activities in the roadmap for a good agriculture practices in Lao PDR.

This roadmap involves the transformation of DOA’s strategy (2015-2025) to concrete action, which will help key players to determine guideline for GAP implementation to increase the number of farmers and areas receiving Lao GAP certification by three per cent, accounting for 100,000 farms by 2020. The draft roadmap, which is primarily set as a mid-term five-year plan (2016-2020), focuses on the following five main activities.

Determination of Lao GAP certification areas
Upgrading Lao GAP to national standards
Upgrading Lao GAP to meet international standards
Dissemination of Lao GAP knowledge
Measures or policy to promote Lao GAP

These five aspects will guide the development of concrete activities to further the goal of successful implementation of Lao GAP as aimed by the DOA, which will lead to the sustainable food security in the future, not only in Lao PDR or ASEAN, but also at a world level. With the tripartite cooperation, the aim of reaching 100,000 GAP farms or even beyond should not be a far-fetched concept.

By Pimpilas Nuntiphon Khoeiram, Thai–German Trilateral Cooperation, Patamasiri Hoonthong and Rojana Manowalailao, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

21/12/201507/08/2017

When will you stop? Or the world will end!

Experts in sustainable agriculture development urge for a change in agrifood system production. Or, a future lies blind.

Representative from a private biological control company in Thailand joins the field trip at the Clean Agriculture Development Center as part of the recent 6th Project Partner Meeting of the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS).

Policy is needed, private company must agree, consumer have to value and farmer can just start, these were voiced by the experts during private interviews at the recent 6^th Project Partner Meeting of the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Policy based on actual situations must be formulated and implemented.

“We face problems like the overuse of the agricultural lands. We plant every season without considering giving back what is taken from the soil. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers and chemicals is the natural calamities,” said Mr. Gerald Cammagay, a Science Research Specialist from the Philippines. “Government has to do his job to really know what the real situation is. And upon knowing the real situation they will base those real experience, real situations in formulation of good policies and that would be very good for the farmers [and everyone],” said Mr. Cammagay from Organic Agriculture Division.

Responsible agriculture has to be seen as the sole option for sustainable future and all parties in a value chain need to acknowledge and change their attitudes and practices, said the experts from ASEAN countries.

Staff waters vegetables at the Good Agriculture Practice Demo Plot in Lao PDR during the visit of the 6th Project Partner Meeting of the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS)’s experts.

“What is most important is not a big quantity production of agriculture food, but the food we produce must be safe to consume to everybody,” said Mr. Ismail Iberahim from Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. “Farmers [and people] in developed countries are going for safe food and environment conservation. If possible, they do not want to use chemicals. But in developing countries, farmers are just thinking to get the high volume of a produce with good looking products. They also want the fast results and not thinking about tomorrow. They only think for today. I wish one day our farmers [and people] can change their attitude towards sustainable agriculture,” said Mr. Iberahim, Principal Assistant Director of Plant Biosecurity Division.

Head of Crop Protection unit from Brunei Darussalam shared similar ideas. Agriculture these days focus on high production and making higher yields, but we cannot forget it is our natural resources we are using, Mr. Noor Azri Bin Haji Mohamad Noor said. “If we do not care about the ecosystems and we damage the soil and our environment, then where are we going to plant in the future?

“I do hope that farmers and also private sector can come to an agreement someday that sustainable agriculture is the way to go. So we can always get their supply without damaging the environment,” said Mr. Noor from Department of Agriculture.

Staff at the Clean Agriculture Development Center Demo plot in Lao PDR are preparing the land for the next cycle of cropping.

People should learn from mistakes and take a better care of the earth, said Vice Dean of Faculty of Agriculture from Indonesia. Dr. Syaiful Anwar said: “People must aware of negative impacts from exploiting the environment”. In the food system, because we have to produce enough food for people, and then we create technologies that will support us to produce more. We add fertilizers and pesticides and using of machinery that are using the fossil fuels and they cause global warming.

“These are some mistakes. As human beings we have to care about the earth we are living in. If not, the earth will become much worse and one day it will be the end of the world,” said Dr. Anwar.

Recently, over70 experts from ten ASEAN Member States met in Lao PDR to mark the ASEAN SAS project’s mid-term milestone and discuss emerging issues and challenges to food security, including environment and climate changes in order to develop strategies for project activities post 2015. ASEAN SAS, since the inception of the second phase in 2014, has implemented activities under three priority areas namely policy framework, production technologies and market linkages to encourage regional cooperation in promoting sustainable food production at the national level as well as enhancing synergies and boosting greater impact in respective countries.

“To achieve sustainable agrifood systems, it requires close collaboration among stakeholders along the value chain, including governments, farmers, civil society, consumers, and last but not least, the private sector,” said Dr. Matthias Bickel, Project Director of ASEAN SAS at the 6^th Project Partner Meeting and related meetings in Vientiane. The Meetings run on 17-20 November 2015 co-hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR. Readmore

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ข่าวภาษาไทย

เมื่อมนุษย์ไม่หยุด…โลกก็จะไม่อยู่

ผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านการพัฒนาเพื่อการเกษตรอย่างยั่งยืนได้เรียกร้องให้มีการเปลี่ยนแปลงระบบการผลิตอาหาร-เกษตรก่อนจะสายเกินไป โดยผู้เชี่ยวชาญต่างย้ำในทิศทางเดียวกันถึงการจัดทำนโยบาย ความเห็นพ้องจากภาคเอกชน ความตระหนักของผู้บริโภค และการเริ่มสร้างวิถีของเกษตรกร ระหว่างการเข้าร่วม ‘ประชุมภาคีความร่วมมือของโครงการระบบอาหาร-เกษตรแบบยั่งยืนแห่งอาเซียน ครั้งที่ 6 ณ. นครเวียงจันทน์ สาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยประชาชนลาว เมื่อเร็วๆนี้

โดยการจัดทำนโยบายนั้นต้องอิงกับสถานะการณ์ที่ดำเนินอยู่และเกิดขึ้นจริงและต้องนำไปปฏิบัติใช้อย่างจริงจัง คุณ เจอรัลด์ แคมมาเก นักวิจัยวิทยาศาสตร์ชำนาญการ แผนกเกษตรอินทรีย์ จากประเทศฟิลิปปินส์ ให้ความเห็นถึงปัญหาในปัจจุบันที่เกิดขึ้น คือการที่มนุษย์ไม่ตระหนักในการตอบแทนคุณค่าของดิน ใช้พื้นที่เพาะปลูกโดยไม่เว้นช่วงให้ดินพัก ไม่ฟื้นฟู หรือบำรุงดิน และมีการใช้ปุ๋ยเคมีและสารเคมีในปริมาณสูง ซึ่งเหล่านี้ก่อให้เกิดความหายนะแก่ธรรมชาติ คุณ เจอรัลด์ กล่าวว่าภาครัฐต้องศึกษาและเข้าใจสถานการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้นอย่างถ่องแท้ และเมื่อนั้นภาครัฐจะสามารถจัดทำนโยบายที่ดี ที่เป็นประโยชน์ต่อเกษตรกรและประชาชนทุกคนได้อย่างแท้จริง

บรรดาผู้เชี่ยวชาญยังได้แสดงความคิดเห็นว่าการทำเกษตรแบบรับผิดชอบนั้นเป็นเพียงหนทางเดียวที่จะนำไปสู่อนาคตที่ยั่งยืน คือ เกษตรกรทุกคนจะต้องมองถึงความยั่งยืนทางเกษตรในอนาคต และคนในทุกหน่วยงานที่เกี่ยวข้องต้องตระหนักและเปลี่ยนทัศนคติและวิธีปฏิบัติให้สอดคล้องเพื่อความยั่งยืนนั้น

คุณ อิสเมล ไอเบอราฮิม ผู้ช่วยผู้อำนวยการ แผนกความปลอดภัยทางชีวภาพด้านพืช จากกรมวิชาการเกษตร ประเทศมาเลเซีย กล่าวถึงสิ่งที่สำคัญที่สุดในการผลิตอาหาร-เกษตรว่าไม่ใช่ปริมาณที่สามารถผลิตได้ แต่คือความปลอดภัยของผู้บริโภคทุกคนที่บริโภคอาหารนั้นๆ จะเห็นได้ว่าเกษตรกรในประเทศที่พัฒนาแล้วจะมุ่งเน้นการผลิตอาหารแบบปลอดภัยและอนุรักษ์สิ่งแวดล้อม และลดการใช้สารเคมีแต่ในทางกลับกัน เกษตรกรในประเทศที่กำลังพัฒนากลับมุ่งเน้นที่ปริมาณผลผลิตเป็นหลัก เน้นถึงการให้ผลเร็ว และผลผลิตที่ดูสวยงามไม่มีตำหนิรอยหนอนเจาะ โดยไม่คำนึงถึงผลเสียที่จะเกิดขึ้นในอนาคต คุณ อิสเมลกล่าวถึงความหวังที่จะได้เห็นเกษตรกรในประเทศที่กำลังพัฒนาเปลี่ยนทัศนคติและวิธีปฏิบัติเพื่อทำการเกษตรแบบยั่งยืนสักวันหนึ่ง

ส่วนคุณ นอร์ อัศศริ บิล ฮาจิ โมฮัมเหม็ด นอร์ หัวหน้าหน่วยอารักขาพืช จากกรมวิชาการเกษตรและพืชอาหาร ประเทศบรูไน แสดงความคิดเห็นที่คล้ายคลึงกันว่าการทำเกษตรทุกวันนี้มุ่งเน้นที่ปริมาณผลผลิต ทำอย่างไรให้ได้ผลผลิตมาก โดยไม่คำนึงถึงทรัพยากรธรรมชาติที่มนุษย์ได้ใช้ไป และหากมนุษย์ไม่ใส่ใจระบบนิเวศน์ ยังทำลายดินและสิ่งแวดล้อมให้ทรุดโทรมอย่างต่อเนื่อง อนาคตมนุษย์จะเพาะปลูกพืชได้อย่างไร คุณ นอร์ กล่าวว่า สิ่งที่อยากจะให้เกิดขึ้น คือเกษตรกรและภาคเอกชนเห็นพ้องต้องกันว่าการทำเกษตรแบบยั่งยืนเป็นแนวทางที่ต้องก้าวเดินไปเพื่อให้ได้ผลผลิตแบบไม่ทำลายสิ่งแวดล้อม

ดร. ไซยอิฟูล อันวาห์ รองคณบดีภาควิชาเกษตร จากประเทศอินโดนีเซียกล่าวว่า มนุษย์ควรเรียนรู้จากข้อผิดพลาด และดูแลรักษาโลกให้ดีขึ้น มนุษย์ต้องตระหนักถึงผลกระทบจากการใช้ประโยชน์จากสิ่งแวดล้อมแบบไม่ถูกทาง ในการผลิตอาหาร เราจำเป็นต้องผลิตอาหารให้เพียงพอ จึงอาศัยเทคโนโลยีเพื่อมุ่งผลิตอาหารให้ได้มาก ใช้ปุ๋ยและสารเคมีกำจัดศัตรูพืช และนำเครื่องจักรที่ใช้เชื้อเพลิงจากฟอสซิลในการทำการเกษตร ซึ่งเหล่านี้ คือสาเหตุที่ทำให้เกิดภาวะโลกร้อน และในฐานะที่เราเป็นมนุษย์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในโลกใบนี้ เราต้องดูแลโลกใบนี้ ไม่เช่นนั้นก็จะไม่มีโลกให้เราได้อยู่

เมื่อเร็วๆนี้ ผู้บริหาร และผู้เชี่ยวชาญจากประเทศสมาชิกอาเซียน 10 ประเทศ จำนวนกว่า 70 คน ได้พบกันที่นครเวียงจันทน์ สาธารณรัฐ ประชาชนลาว ระหว่างวันที่ 17-20 พฤศจิกายน 2558 เพื่อเข้าร่วมใน ‘การประชุมภาคีความร่วมมือของโครงการระบบอาหาร-เกษตรแบบยั่งยืนแห่งอาเซียน ครั้งที่ 6’ ในการแลกเปลี่ยนสรุปผลการทำงานของโครงการในระยะเวลา 2 ปีที่ผ่านมา และวางแผนร่วมกันสำหรับอีก 2 ปีที่จะก้าวต่อไป ในการประชุมนี้ได้มีการพูดคุยในประเด็นท้าทายและปัญหาที่เกิดขึ้นในด้านความมั่นคงทางอาหาร ตลอดรวมไปถึงด้านสิ่งแวดล้อมและการเปลี่ยนแปลงสภาพภูมิอากาศ เพื่อปรับเตรียมกลยุทธ์ในการทำงานของโครงการต่อไปในอนาคต

โดย ดร. แมธเธียส บิกเคล ผู้อำนวยการโครงการฯ เน้นในที่ประชุมภาคีความร่วมมือครั้งนี้ว่าในการส่งเสริมระบบอาหาร-เกษตรแบบยั่งยืนแห่งอาเซียนให้เกิดความสำเร็จนั้น ต้องมีการทำงานร่วมกันอย่างใกล้ชิดของหน่วยงานทุกภาคส่วนที่อยู่ในห่วงโซ่การผลิต ทั้งส่วนของภาครัฐ เกษตรกร ชุมชน ผู้บริโภค และภาคเอกชน โดยการประชุมครั้งนี้กรมวิชาการเกษตร กระทรวงเกษตรและป่าไม้แห่งสาธารณะรัฐประชาธิปไตยประชาชนลาวร่วมเป็นเจ้าภาพ โครงการฯ ดำเนินการภายใต้กรอบหลัก 3 ด้านคือ ด้านนโยบาย เทคโนโลยีการผลิต และการเชื่อมโยงตลาด เพื่อกระตุ้นให้เกิดความร่วมมือระดับภูมิภาคในการส่งเสริมการผลิตอาหารอย่างยั่งยืนในระดับประเทศ โดยมุ่งหวังให้เกิดการทำงานร่วมกันเพื่อให้เกิดผลในวงกว้าง

เรื่องและภาพโดย รจนา มโนวลัยเลา โครงการระบบอาหาร-เกษตรแบบยั่งยืนแห่งอาเซียน

By Rojana Manowalailao, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

23/11/201508/08/2017

Meeting in Lao PDR discusses sustainable and inclusive agricultural development in ASEAN Member States

Mr.-Xaypladeth-Choulamany-Director-General-of-the-Department-of-Planning-and-Cooperation-2-6

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the German Regional Cooperation project’s ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, together with Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR organized the 6th Project Partner Meeting and related meetings on 17-20 November 2015 at Vientiane Plaza Hotel in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR.

ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) as part of the ASEAN-German Programme on Response to Climate Change in Agriculture and Forestry (GAP-CC) being implemented by GIZ is now in its second phase from 2014-2017. As Food Security in ASEAN requires national sustainable agrifood systems that sustain, the livelihoods and competitiveness of agriculture and supply sufficient staple food throughout the region, ASEAN SAS supports development of regionally-coordinated policies, strategies and dialogue concepts for a sustainable agrifood sector; promotion of the use of sustainable inputs and crop management practices through capacity development; and promotion of sustainable cross-border value chains in collaboration with the private sector.

This 6th Project Partner Meeting is another important milestone for ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems to review past achievements and discuss challenges to develop strategies for project implementation beyond 2015.

Dr. Matthias Bickel, Project Director of ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

Considering the progress and achievements of project activities over the past years, these meetings provides a platform for project partners from the ASEAN Member States and private sector to discuss challenges and lay out work plans and strategies for project implementation in the coming years.

Mr. Xaypladeth Choulamany, Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation and Leader of the Senior Official Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) for Lao PDR, officially opened the meetings. He highlighted the commitments and efforts of all ASEAN Member States and the support from Development Partners and international organisations contributed to the success of the realisation of the ASEAN Community by the end of December 2015. He reiterated the commitments of the ASEAN Member States made at the 37thAMAF Meeting in the Philippines to continue the cooperation and deepen regional integration beyond 2015 to improve ASEAN’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors and to achieve regional sustainable food security and nutrition. He recognized the efforts of the Member States with the support from the Federal Republic of Germany through ASEAN SAS to enable ASEAN Member States to implement the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework at national level and to strengthen the promotion of sustainable food production in the region.

In her Welcoming Remarks, Ms. Sri Dyah Kusumawardhani, Senior Officer of Agriculture Industries and Natural Resources Division of the ASEAN Secretariat underlined the importance of regional as well as global cooperation and partnerships for achieving food security and nutrition particularly through engaging civil society, private sector and research institutions. She emphasized the importance of sustainable food production through sustainable agrifood systems as addressed by ASEAN SAS and its contribution to food security. She also stressed that the meetings shall highlight emerging threats to food security such as environmental and climate-related changes and identify sustainable approaches for securing food production in the ASEAN region.

Dr. Matthias Bickel, Project Director of ASEAN SAS underscored in his Introductory remarks the German efforts to strengthen food and nutrition security through the promotion of sustainable agrifood systems to ensure food security at national and regional levels under the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework. He highlighted the progress made through the productive collaboration with the Member States to address sustainable food production in three intervention areas of policy frameworks, production technologies and market linkages. Considering ASEAN recognized World Economic Forum (WEF) and supported Grow Asia Partnership, which was officially launched in April 2015 to facilitate multi-stakeholder collaboration to enable sustainable and inclusive agricultural development in 10 ASEAN Member States, he emphasized that collaboration and partnership with private sector is the core factor for a success in achieving our goal. At his end note, Mr. Bickel concluded that this meeting is another important milestone for ASEAN SAS to review past achievements and discuss challenges to develop strategies for project implementation beyond 2015.

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22/11/201508/08/2017

Training on Food and Nutrition Security in Lao PDR

Food and nutrition security remains a priority agenda for the government of Lao PDR. The Lao government has shown its commitment in addressing food and nutrition security in the country by recently launching the National Zero Hunger Challenge aiming to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. At ASEAN level, Lao PDR engaged in the development process of the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework and the Strategic Plan of Action on Food and Nutrition Security in the ASEAN Region (SPA-FS) which provide scope and joint pragmatic approaches for cooperation among ASEAN Member States in addressing food security in the region.

At the national level, Lao PDR has developed and implemented a number of policies and strategies to strengthen food and nutrition security, namely the Agricultural Development Strategy to 2025 and Vision to 2030, the National Rice Production for National Food Security Strategy, Development Strategy of the Crop Sector 2025 and Vision 2030, and the National Nutrition Strategy and Plan of Action for 2010-2015.

One of the key recommendations from the Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security and the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework in Lao PDR which ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) organised in collaboration with the Lao Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) on 10 July 2015 in Vientiane is the need for capacity development of government officials and farmers at both national and local levels to ensure effective implementation of relevant food and nutrition security policies and strategies in Lao PDR.

In line with the project strategy to enable ASEAN Member States to implement the AIFS Framework at national level, ASEAN SAS works with Lao government to strengthen capacity of its personnel on food and nutrition security in order to develop and implement effective policies and strategies addressing food and nutrition security in Lao PDR.

The Training on Food and Nutrition Security in Lao PDR co-organised by Department of Agriculture and ASEAN SAS on 5-9 October 2015 aimed to create understanding and enhance knowledge on food and nutrition security and strengthen facilitation skills of participants. 17 young and motivated officials from line Ministries including the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Sport, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and National University of Laos have participated in the training. It is expected that these trainees shall take part in future activities of Lao government to strengthen provincial and district-level capacity in improving food and nutrition security situation of Lao PDR.

by Duangruetai Surasakjinda, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

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27/10/201508/08/2017

Challenges in Lao crop sector discussed in the country’s newly launched ‘Development Strategy’

In Lao PDR, the population is forecasted to reach 7,5 million and 8.3 million in 2020 and 2025 respectively and these figures do not include tourists who visit the country by 3 million times per year, according to the ‘Development Strategy of the Crop Sector 2015 and Vision 2030’ recently launched by Lao’s Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

To support the population growth, countries around the world are requested to increase 60 per cent of the current world food production.

However, according to the ‘Development Strategy of the Crop Sector’ challenges in Lao PDR comprise changes in land use and climate, and low quality of agricultural products and commodities.

In Lao PDR, more land under food and cash crops keeps changing to other crops such as industrial crops and the changes leads to land use conflicts. Changes in crop land will continue until relevant regulations and land tenure are strictly enforced.

Besides, an average amount of rainfall is estimated to increase by 4.2 per cent with more natural calamities such as floods and droughts that result in rice insufficiency and food insecurity, and further result in a delay in planting and lower production in some areas along the Mekong River and its tributaries. It is noted that an increase in temperature (greenhouse gas) will have detrimental effects on crop productivity especially crops that prefer low temperature. It is also noted that the rising temperature is a possible cause for a higher incidence of pests and weeds that leads to more investment and results in a higher food price.

Agricultural products of Lao PDR are seen with low quality. One reason is that the low quality agricultural products in Lao PDR result from a scattered farming, low farm infrastructures and technology, and less quality control and those products will not be traded and exported.

Integrating the Lao economy into the world and regional economies is an important factor that contributes to growth of the agriculture sector and that provides an opportunity for agricultural products of Lao PDR to enter international and regional markets.

At the same period, agricultural products and commodities from other countries will enter Lao PDR and they will share domestic markets. It is, therefore, necessary to improve quality of agricultural products and commodities of Lao PDR to meet regional and international market requirements such as food safety. It is noted that relevant regulations on sanitary and phytosanitary, quality control and certification need to be strictly enforced for meeting the requirements applied by WTO.

Agricultural products and commodities in Lao PDR need to be certified for quality and food safety, and thus quality certification and control for organic agriculture (OA), Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) and other forms of farming are key measures for exporting commodities. In this connection, the crop sector in Lao PDR needs to formulate and develop policies and regulations for improving farming practices that ensures food safety and acceptable quality.

The Lao’s ‘Development Strategy of the Crop Sector 2025’ is one of the strategic documents, which include an analysis of crop production and development of the crop sector which has been carried out recently. The strategy contains vision, objectives and goals for development of the crop sector in Lao PDR until 2025.

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The ‘Development Strategy’ is formulated with an aim of providing a policy reference for short, medium and long term development planning and for implementation of the Lao government’s policies, laws, regulations, national socio-economic development plans, and regional and international integration. A focus has been given to production of food and cash crops that is safe for producers, consumers and the environment, development for technical capacity, plant protection and plant quarantine, establishment of standards, regulations and information systems that can be integrated internationally and regionally. Focus has also been given to allocation of land areas for cultivation of food crops and cash crops by being based on the local conditions such as natural resources, cultures and local knowledge. A further focus has been given to sustainable management of farming systems, resources and water resources, and allocation of agriculture land in the whole country.

29/09/201508/08/2017

Policy Dialogues organized in Lao PDR and Myanmar discussing priority actions for improving national food and nutrition security

With a new set of Sustainable Development Goals on the table to be formally adopted by world leaders at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 – 27 September 2015, food and nutrition security remains one of the top priorities of the post-2015 global development agenda.

A high level Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security and the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework in Lao PDR was held on 10 July 2015 in Vientiane.

The governments of Lao PDR and Myanmar showed their commitments in the fight against hunger by launching the National Zero Hunger Challenge (ZHC) which aims to eradicate hunger and ensure food security for all.

In June this year, Lao PDR and Myanmar have received special FAO awards for their achievements in the fight against hunger. Both countries have reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG-1c) which aimed to reduce the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by half between 1990 and 2015. According to the State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 published by FAO, IFAD and WFP, the prevalence of undernourishment has decreased from 42.8% in 1990-92 to 18.5% in Lao PDR while in Myanmar the prevalence has decreased from 62.6% to 14.2%.

The governments of Lao PDR and Myanmar reiterated the importance of food and nutrition security for their countries by organizing the Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security and the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework in collaboration with a German regional cooperation project’s ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) on 10 July 2015 in Vientiane and in Nay Pyi Taw on 3 September 2015. Both events brought together stakeholders from concerned Ministries, Development Partners, Civil Society Organizations and the private sector. The Dialogues provided a platform to discuss and exchange information on key challenges, issues and roles of responsible agencies and the contribution of Sustainable Agrifood Systems towards food security and to agree on recommendations, priority actions and cooperation mechanism to foster collective efforts in implementing national policies and strategies which are in accordance with regional and global policy frameworks for food and nutrition security including the AIFS Framework.

Lao PDR and Myanmar have received special FAO awards for their achievements in the fight against hunger.

(From left) U Soe Win, Director of Land Use Division, U Aung Kyaw Oo, Director of Plant Protection Division and U Naing Kyi Win, Deputy Director-General of Department of Agriculture, Myanmar give an interview about the Policy Dialogue to a journalist from Farmer Channel.

Lao PDR has implemented a number of policies and strategies to strengthen food and nutrition security in the country including the Agricultural Development Strategy to 2025 and Vision to 2030, the Rice Production for National Food Security Action Plan, and the National Nutrition Strategy and Plan of Action for 2010 – 2015. The Policy Dialogue highlighted the importance of Sustainable Agrifood Systems, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), sustainable water management, research and development, promotion of farmers groups, and Public-Private Partnerships in ensuring food security in the country. To achieve national food and nutrition security in Lao PDR, the Policy Dialogue recommended that more efforts should be put into strengthening cooperation among agencies at national and local levels, measuring of progress and achievements of food and nutrition security interventions, and providing capacity development of both government personnel and farmers.

Myanmar is in the process of finalizing the Myanmar National Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Security (MNAPFNS) to be launched by the end of 2015. The Action Plan shall offer a 10-year vision and timeframe providing an overarching framework and priority interventions to guide sectoral operational plans. To strengthen food and nutrition security in the country, the Policy Dialogue identified priority actions which include policy, institutional and legislative improvements, development of enabling support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), product and product standard development, development of market and price information systems, nutrition improvement, and access to finance and investment. In view of continuation to develop sustainable agriculture and ensuring its contribution to national food and nutrition security, the Policy Dialogue put an emphasis on management of natural resources, effective use and optimization of agricultural inputs, climate smart agriculture, harvesting and post-harvest efficiency, capacity development and effective extension services, and investment in agribusiness and value chain development.

The Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security and the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework in Myanmar was held in Nay Pyi Taw on 3 September 2015.

To support the implementation of the new Action Plan and relevant policies and strategies, the Policy Dialogue recommended that Myanmar should provide capacity development of government officials, develop food and nutrition security monitoring and evaluation, and strengthen inter-agency collaboration and partnership with other stakeholders in agriculture such as private sector, civil society, academic and research institutes.

ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems Project took note the discussions and recommendations from these Policy Dialogues to provide further support to Lao PDR, Myanmar and other ASEAN Member States to strengthen their capacities in implementing food and nutrition security policies and strategies that are in line with regional and global policy frameworks. Tailor-made trainings on food and nutrition security at national level are being planned in collaboration with the local partners to address the needs and priority actions raised during the Policy Dialogues.

By Duangruetai Surasakjinda, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

14/07/201510/07/2017

Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security High level discussion on national policies and the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework

The Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has hosted a high level policy dialogue on food and nutrition security and the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework. The German Regional Cooperation project ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) supported the event. The project is part of the ASEAN-German Programme on Response to Climate Change in Agriculture and Forestry (GAP-CC) and is implemented by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH).

Mr. Xaypladeth Choulamany, Senior Official Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) leader for Lao PDR opens the Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security in Lao PDR.

The policy dialogue provided a platform to discuss and exchange information and agree on recommendations, concrete actions and coordination mechanism to implement national policies and strategies on food and nutrition security in Lao PDR in accordance with regional and global policy frameworks. The AIFS Framework, adopted by the ASEAN leaders in 2009, is thereby the key regional framework for Lao PDR. The event brought together stakeholders from the Lao Government, Development Partners, Civil Society Organisations and the private sector.

Mr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, GIZ’s ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems project’s regional advisor (second left) presents a token to Mr. Xaypladeth Choulamany (second right), Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation and Senior Official Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) leader for Lao PDR.

Mr. Xaypladeth Choulamany, Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation and leader of the Senior Official Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) for Lao PDR, officially opened the policy dialogue. He highlighted the importance of food and nutrition security in Lao PDR through its commitment to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2020. He emphasised the effort of the Lao Government to address food security at the regional level by engaging in the development process of the AIFS Framework. At the national level, he stated that Lao PDR had already implemented a row of policies and strategies relevant to food and nutrition security. Most prominently, the Agricultural Development Strategy to 2025 and Vision to 2030, the National Rice Production for National Food Security Strategy, Development Strategy of the Crop Sector 2025 and Vision 2030, and the National Nutrition Strategy and Plan of Action for 2010-2015.

In his welcoming remarks, GIZ Portfolio Manager Mr. Alexander Neubauer highlighted the German efforts to strengthen food and nutrition security through promotion of sustainable agrifood systems under the AIFS Framework. By this means, long-term food security and improved livelihoods of farmers could be reached. He highlighted that the policy dialogue was a crucial step that would lay a foundation for practical implementation of relevant policies and strategies in Lao PDR.

By definition of the World Food Summit in 1996, food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Agrifood systems are a long-term approach towards food security in the ASEAN region as it responds to the region’s special needs. Best practices to achieve sustainable agriculture, optimise production inputs and farming practices that integrate climate resilience are being identified and shared. Also environmental friendly approaches and the reduction of pesticide use come into play to produce safe and good quality agrifood products.

About the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) project

Overall objective of the SAS project is to support ASEAN Member States to implement the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework and its Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security (SPA-FS). It does so by mainly focusing on the promotion of sustainable food production at the national level. Moreover, the project provides solutions for long-term food security in the region by developing regionally-coordinated policies and strategies for sustainable agriculture. This includes the promotion of cross-border value chains in concert with public decision-makers, agricultural enterprises as well as farmers and private associations.