The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Nutrition Secretariate held a meeting the Ministry leaders, technical officers, and representatives of development partners to review annual progress and plan future cooperation implementing the Lao PDR food-based nutrition policies and plans.

Mr. Savanh Hanephome, the Chairperson of the MAF Nutrition Secretariat, and Deputy Director General of the Ministry’s Department of Planning and Finance, opened the meeting with congratulations to all the participants for substantial progress during 2018. He particularly noted success with a national system to monitor and report on nutrition sensitive agriculture, launched in 11 provinces and 82 districts. ‘With data from this new system, used across the country, we now have evidence to inform our policies and program initiatives. For instance, we can now see clearly the need to enhance our efforts by leveraging agriculture processing and markets for nutrition.’ The chairperson also expressed appreciation for the contributions of the many partners present and working together. He specifically thanked the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for partnership in ‘Lao-PASAN’ which helped jump-start Laos’ national food-based program for nutrition.

The newly appointed FAO Representative to the Lao PDR, Mr. Nasar Hayat, who has recently arrived after many years working with the FAO on similar challenges in Asia, joined the meeting and expressed his support for MAF’s directions: ‘Leveraging markets and private sector initiative with carefully designed programs and improvements to the enabling environment will help the Lao PDR develop the resilient, sustainable food system it needs to support all of its communities.’

In addition to launching the monitoring and reporting system, the Ministry completed two additional major initiatives in 2018: the mid-term review (MTR) of the agriculture role in the national nutrition plan—which consulted over 500 stakeholders—and a series of three technical exchange workshops around the country. The MTR showed that 11 ‘nutrition sensitive projects,’ with a budget totaling over USD 25 million for 2018 supported farmers to diversify vegetable production, increase fish and aquatic species production, and to improve the sustainability of natural resource management. These initiatives were also supported by the MAF-EU-FAO partnership and involved participation from additional key stakeholders including the World Bank, IFAD, and INGOs such as CARE, Helvetas, and World Vision.

Responding to demand from farmers and interest from private sector, the Ministry has adjusted its plan to include promotion of ‘nutrition sensitive value chains’ which will include production, processing, and marketing of the diverse, nutritious foods Lao communities need for good health and productivity. The other priorities for cooperation in 2019 include strengthening and expanding the NSA Monitoring and Reporting System and supporting mainstreaming of NSA within district development plans. These priorities will be supported by many development partners in the field, and the FAO has pledged continued partnership for national coordination of the sector for food-based solutions.

Mr. Savanh recognized the support from the European Union, helping elevate nutrition as a priority for the agriculture sector. He also positively recognized the commitment of the FAO for continued strategic cooperation with the Ministry on nutrition sensitive agriculture. Concluding the meeting he called on continued cooperation among all partners to ensure progress towards national development goals, including ensuring all communities access nutritious foods throughout the year.