(KPL) The gross domestic product (GDP) of the agriculture and forestry sector reached 22 trillion kip, rising by 2.8 % year on year and representing 16.3% of the total GDP of the country, said on Monday Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Lien Thikeo.

The GDP of the sector has rised slowly over the past five years, by 46 %, from 15 trillion kip in 2012 to 22 trillion kip last year.

The minister attributed the slow growth in the agricultural and forestry sector to a number of reasons including climate change, floods, drought, and that many irrigation facilities were in poor conditions and bamboo locust infestation.

“Production composition in the agriculture and froestry sector has chagned and the change proves that the production of local farmers is more diverse as it increases from 27 items five years ago to 45 items last year,” Mr Lien Thikeo told the nationwide meeting of the agriculture and forestry sector.   

“Local farmers’ production is highly associated with income generation and risk reduction and orientated towards quality, diversity,  nutrition and green and sustaianable growth. Farmers have formed into groups and cooperatives to expand farmlands, and applied machinery to reduce production costs, increase productivity and reduce harvest-related losses,” said the minister.

KPL