The Project Review Meeting on Evidence-Based Risk Management along the Livestock Production and Market Chain
29 May 2019, Vientiane
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Lao PDR in collaboration with the Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is organising a three-day review meeting of the regional project on ‘Evidence-Based Risk Management along the Livestock Production and Market Chain’, which is being held from 29-31 May 2019 in Luangprabang province, Lao PDR. The project is being implemented with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The meeting will be attended by distinguished participants such as Ms Helen Cheney, Development Counsellor, Australian Mission to ASEAN (DFAT), and key staff from USAID, DLF, FAO, Provincial Office of Agriculture and Forestry (PAFO), poultry farmers and other relevant stakeholders.
Four countries - Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Viet Nam, have been identified as pilot countries for implementing this project. The project focuses on identifying Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) risk pathways, and formulating and piloting possible interventions for avian influenza risk mitigation. In addition, the project aims to strengthen evidence-based risk management along the livestock production and value chain, and emphasizes the importance of stakeholder-wide engagement in risk reduction.
The meeting will review the progress of the Lao PDR component of this regional project, which focusses on improving poultry health and management by promoting healthy village poultry production in three pilot villages of Luangprabang province. In addition, community based events for giving visibility to local poultry and poultry products from these villages will also be organised, in order to provide long-term incentives for economic benefits and sustainability. These include a competition for the cooking and processing of the poultry and a promotional fair at the night market in Luangprabang to create consumer awareness for the ‘Luangprabang native chicken’ brand.
Commenting on the importance of the meeting, Mr Nasar Hayat, FAO representative for Lao PDR said, “this is a great opportunity to reflect on our achievements so far, and to discuss among stakeholders on how to move forward collectively to ensure the timely delivery of project activities, maintain sustainability of project inventions, and provide safer livestock production in the community along with better economic benefits for farmers.”