Co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Thongphat Vongmany (L) and Representative of FAO to Laos Nasar Hayat

(KPL) The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry  in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations organized the National Investment Forum for Sustainable Agriculture in Vientiane on April 21.

Co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Thongphat Vongmany and Representative of FAO to Laos Nasar Hayat, the meeting was attended by representative of UN agencies, international organizations, businesses and private sectors attended the event.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Thongphat Vongmany mentioned that the first ever National Investment Forum on Agricultural Investments in Laos.

This collaboration will help Lao Laos to smoothly transition from a Least Developed Country (LDC) to Middle Income Country (MIC) in line with the government’s Smooth Transition Strategy (STS).

“Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of Lao economy. It employs a large number of rural populations and makes a significant contribution to the national GDP. Sustainable Agricultural Development is one of the key focus areas of growth in the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Thongphat Vongmany. “The SDGs is our collective vision for the future, lay responsibilities on all of us, public sector, private sector, development partners and the citizens, to work towards a sustainable future leaving no one behind."

 The governments and development partners cannot do it alone, private sector has to be a key player in this global effort and work together hand in hand, by investing in green and sustainable agriculture.

Lao PDR has GSP status with EU, special business access arrangements with China which opens the world’s largest markets to Lao producers and the agricultural products.

“The world population will reach 8 billion or more by 2025. These men, women and children need to be fed. There are measures like population control etc. but we have to brace for the need for feeding this growing and vulnerable population. The traditional methods and scale of agriculture has to be revisited, redone and adopted. Private sector can bring in its efficiency, innovation, expertise and investment to meet these emerging challenges,” said Representative of FAO to Laos Nasar Hayat.

FAO like other UN agencies and development partners, realize that governments alone cannot meet these challenges. The framework programmes like Hand in Hand Initiative have been designed and launched to engage with the private sector in partnership: Hand IN Hand.

The forum has been structured keeping in view these considerations. First we will listen to our partners in private sector about their experiences of doing business in the Lao PDR. We will also learn about the various incentives the Government of the Lao PDR and the Bank of the Lao PDR are providing to the private sector.

KPL