The 1st national multi-stakeholder workshop addressing Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region, and more especially in Laos, was held on the 2nd and 3rd of June 2016 in Vientiane. It was organized by CIRAD and GRET as part of the inception phase of ACTAE project, funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD).
It brought together nearly 60 specialists and practitioners from national and international NGOs, research and universities, farmers’ network, government agencies, development partners and private sector actively working on sustainable agriculture sector in Laos.
It aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experiences between agricultural development stakeholders, more especially through:
- Introduction to ACTAE program with its 2 components:
- Conservation Agriculture Network in South East Asia (CANSEA)
- Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA)
- Discussions of initial findings from the 1st study carried out in the framework of ALiSEA about Situation review of agro-ecology initiatives, stakeholders and networks in Lao PDR (report to be available soon on ALiSEA website)
- Demonstration of the online ALiSEA knowledge management and experience sharing platform on Agroecology
- Presentation of 12 case studies and one video from various stakeholders in line with 3 main topics
- Social & Technical dimensions of Agroecology
- AE products: Quality control, Certification, Organic Agriculture…
- Experience sharing from the field : Examples of AE practices and approaches implemented in Laos
- Working groups building upon lessons learnt from the case studies and ACTAE presentations resulting in
- A brainstorming about main agriculture challenges faced by farmers and formulation of recommendations for promoting agroecology
- A shared understanding and common vision of agroecology and a sound and accurate translations (in national language) of the concept of agroecology
- A preliminary brainstorming about governance and structure for a future national platform addressing agroecology transition
The 2 days’ workshop has been very intense and very fruitful paving the way to some common principles, common understanding and common expectations about agroecology. There are still some works to do in order to define in an encompassing way agroecology but it is on the right track.
As a way forward, a first working group for drafting the structure of the future Lao Agroecology Learning Alliance and reviewing results from ALiSEA workshops in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam has been formed with volunteers from the following organizations: Village Focus International, SAEDA, Helvetas and SODA. This working group is opened to new members.
This 1st national workshop was instrumental in laying down the foundations of a national Lao network that will partake in a regional Agroecology Learning Alliance, bringing together all stakeholders active in the field of agroecology.
It was the first of its kind and it is expected that others will follow to keep on networking, sharing experiences and best practices and ultimately promote agroecology transition in the Mekong region.
Case studies available for download:
Social & Technical dimensions of Agroecology
Social dimension of Agroecology in Laos, LURAS / Helvetas Bartlett – Social Dimensions of Agroecology v1
Soil Laboratory quality control, DALaM Lab of DALaM
Black Soldier Flies’ Recycling Solution: From waste to feed and fertilizers, Waste Eco Solutions BSF Recycling Solution ACTAE
AE products: Quality control, Certification, Organic Agriculture…
Food Safety by Detection of Contamination in Food of the Market at Luang Prabang, Faculty of Agriculture and Forest Resource, Luang Prabang Food safety Luang Prabang
Development of Non Timber Forest Product Value chain: Complementarities between Natural Resource Management and Business development through Participatory Guarantee Systeme certification, GRET NTFP & PGS
The Boloven plateau Coffee Producers Cooperative (CPC), An organization to improve living conditions of Lao coffee smallholders, CPC CPC Overview_AGRO ECOLOGY
Organic by default: Myth or reality? Evidence from smallholder rice production in the Lao PDR, CIRAD Organic by default
Experience sharing from the field: Examples of AE practices and approaches implemented in Laos
Forestry & Agroecology in Vieng Kham district, Agrisud Agrisud in Laos – Agroecology in Viengkham District_Version protegee
Green Earth Centre: An innovative solution for improving rural, Village Focus International GEC Presentation_Final
Engaging with village communities into transformative landscape approaches to agroecology, EFICAS project, CIRAD EFICAS_village transformation
Sustainable Intensification of Rice Production: Ecosystem-based Approaches, FAO RRI FAO
Hands and Minds connected to boost Eco-efficiency in Smallholder Systems, CIAT CIAT-BMZ Hands & Minds
Video from SAEDA : Sustainable Rice System development
One extra presentation was not presented but shared with the organizers. We consider that it was highly relevant to the workshop and it can be downloaded hereafter:
- Research for Development: Experiences from the Uplands Research and Capacity Development Programme (URDP), Forest Science Research Center, NAFRI Agroforestry Research Experience
