Representatives of government and FAO at the virtual meeting

Laos is committed to ensuring food security, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, and agricultural adaptation to climate change to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the coming decade.
To this end, the drafting of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) programme framework is a joint effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the FAO.

This will improve cooperation mechanisms for better development, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Mr Thongphat Vongmany said.
The programme framework is integrated into the national development agenda and is line with the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the Agricultural Development Strategy. Food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty and environmental degradation are complex and pervasive in many areas of Laos, especially for smallholder families and other disadvantaged groups, who do not have access to healthy food.

The effects of climate change and the frequent occurrence of severe weather events such as droughts and floods, combined with the cultivation of rice, forests and unsustainable trade, are exacerbating the situation.
Farmers and food producers and others involved in agriculture must change direction to improve diversity and improve products and businesses.
This can be done through the adoption of technologies that are integrated and can reduce labour costs, increase productivity, and improve soil. Land can absorb water, while plants such as peanuts are more nutritious and should be more widely grown.

Farmers also play an important role in the management of natural resources such as land, water, irrigation and forests.

They must manage natural resources sustainably and efficiently to help ensure future readiness and protect the environment.

Biodiversity is a way to respect natural ecosystems by helping to maintain healthy soils, controlling pests and diseases, improving pollination and mitigating the effects of climate change by reducing forest and land degradation, and reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Participation by the private sector, both domestic and foreign, is needed. Private businesses need to encourage the transfer of knowledge to improve the production, processing, storage, protection, transportation, distribution technologies and infrastructure to reduce seasonal food insecurity and loss of nutrients and waste.

Private businesses can make a difference by making efficient use of their own resources, utilising local resources when possible, and promoting financial and nutritional excellence and food safety.

“Integrating into the supply chain and the market, we need to create opportunities for income generation and job creation, especially for women and young people, through agricultural and micro-enterprise development initiatives, especially in rural and urban areas,” Mr Thongphat said.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update November 30, 2021)