(KPL) The team implementing the project “Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (BAS-KMGBF)” of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), composed of Ms. Julie Belanger, Natural Resources Officer and Lead Technical Officer (LTO), Richard Niyomugabo, Project coordinator and Olayvanh Singvilay, National Coordinator, recently paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Alounxay Souvannalath, Governor of Champasak Province.

The visit was led by Mr. Kham Thilavong, Director General of the Provincial Agriculture and Environment Office (PAEO) in Champasak. During the meeting, Ms. Belanger introduced the objectives of her mission and provided an overview of the project activities being implemented at the global and provincial level.

She emphasized FAO’s role as a technical agency supporting the Government of Lao PDR in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in eliminating hunger, advancing climate change adaptation, strengthening agrifood systems, and improving rural livelihoods. Ms. Belanger also highlighted FAO’s Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors, which is designed to help member countries integrate biodiversity in their policies and programmes and meet their national targets aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Governor Alounxay Souvannalath acknowledged FAO as a long-standing and highly respected development partner of Lao PDR, particularly for its technical support to the agriculture sector. He underscored the importance of provincial economic ownership for sustainable development and expressed his full support for FAO’s activities working in collaboration with local government and partners in the province.

Looking ahead, the Governor recommended that future project interventions build on previous successes of the pilot phase and scale out the establishment model farmers who voluntarily adopt new technologies. Successful practices could be scaled up to reach at least six districts, thereby strengthening capacity and ownership at the community level.

He noted that Champasak is known as the “garden of the region,” producing a wide variety of vegetables for both domestic markets and export. To maintain high-quality, safe products, he stressed the need to ensure good agricultural inputs, including land, water, air quality, seed varieties, plant nutrition, and skilled human resources, while conserving biodiversity.

The Governor also encouraged the project team to support reviewing existing policies and documents, and to collect data for developing a provincial agrobiodiversity strategy, along with publications to share with development partners. He expressed hope that such technical collaboration will contribute to the province’s socio-economic development plans and enhance the livelihoods of local communities.

KPL