Laos - Country Office

1. Overview
2. Country Strategy
3. Priorities
4. Key Program Managers
5. Current Projects
6. Concluded Projects
7. Achievements
8. Relevant Publications
9. Country News and Stories
10. Project Locations
11. Country Office
12. Country Portfolio
13. AusAid and Other Briefs
14. Fellowship Statistics

Country Office

Key indicators and performance for 2006-07

Indicator: Through consultation with Lao PDR partners, a new strategy for animal health and livestock biosecurity developed and implemented

Performance: Project has been implemented in collaboration with regional disease control initiatives.

Indicator: Small grants scheme for Lao research institutions implemented and engages returned overseas-trained Lao scientists

Performance: This scheme has been implemented as a new ACIAR project following a successful pilot during the previous year.

Indicator: Improvements in productivity of rice-based farming systems in central Laos reduce seasonal food insecurity

Performance: World Vision distributed seed of higher-yielding rice varieties which alleviated food insecurity in several districts. Farmers also increased plantings of vegetables. 

Achievements from the 2006-07 Annual Report

ACIAR’s program in Laos has focused on areas of animal health, forestry, fisheries and crop improvement, together with management to encourage and sustain crop diversification and reduce impacts of shifting cultivation. Projects are grouped under the following themes:

• Alternatives to shifting cultivation in upland regions
• Agricultural diversification to improve productivity of lowland farming.

Many of the animal health and cropping initiatives studied in Laos are part of collaborative undertakings with other Mekong countries. ACIAR is investing in a range of studies to determine the best way forward for animal health research. One project is supporting the development of best practice cattle and buffalo health and husbandry systems for Cambodia and Laos. Prior to developing a full project ACIAR funded a small research undertaking to confirm that the key concepts and research issues, including economic drivers for enhancing large ruminant productivity, were captured. This has been helpful in defining the best avenues for ACIAR to develop its suite of current projects and tailor the work for each country. It has also helped to identify the key partners, personnel and preferred locations for undertaking the research. Several new research initiatives have arisen as a result.

Australia and Laos have cooperated since 2003 to strengthen disease control options for pigs in a village setting. Of particular concern are foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and classical swine fever (CSF). The project team has placed particular emphasis on understanding the social conditions that promote transmission of the diseases. Team members have succeeded in establishing good communication between scientists, veterinary village workers and national institutions. Information such as how piglets are traded at village markets is valuable because here is a perfect opportunity for a disease to spread. The wealth of information gathered should help to break the disease cycle. Since pig farmers in Laos are mostly women, the Lao Women’s Union is playing a critical role in circulating information through their extensive network.

In the northern mountainous regions rearing pigs is a widespread smallholder livelihood activity, but productivity is low due to poor nutrition. A project is seeking to introduce forage legumes into the farming system, to improve pig nutrition and also to reduce the time that women spend gathering and preparing feed. 

Lao (and Cambodian) agriculture rely heavily on rice production from rainfed lowlands where drought is a frequent occurrence and is the major production constraint. A project has sought to incorporate drought tolerance into the country's rice breeding program and thus develop varieties more resilient to drought. The project was successful in developing a method for reliable and routine screening of relatively large numbers of lines for drought tolerance. It has crossed the best drought-tolerant lines with lines for high quality and high potential yields, generating new lines that are resilient to drought and yet yield well in good years and have quality characters desired by the farmers.

Laos has a small teak plantation estate but the country is expanding its resource of teak smallholdings. Optimally designed and managed agroforestry systems can provide significant income streams to rural Lao families. These plantings have become very popular and good prices are now being paid to farmers. An ACIAR project has provided information on the economic, social and other factors influencing the production and marketing of non-timber forest products and plantation teak in Laos. The study has outlined the prospects for the agroforestry systems; estimated potential economic benefits and identified major constraints.