News

“Agrisud International and SNV, within the framework of the ENUFF project (Enhancing Nutrition for Upland Farming Families) financed by the SDC, have published a series of manuals intended for Master-Farmers, farmers selected and trained to disseminate agro-ecological techniques to their peers. After distributing the series of manuals dedicated to the production of fodder plants and the development of improved pastures, a new series on vegetable gardening techniques is proposed in this article. This series is made up of 4 manuals: Implementing a vegetable garden Making a solid compost Preparing biopesticides Vegetable crop association and bowl cultivation These manuals have been written and illustrated for Master-Farmers. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to be used by agricultural engineers or students of agricultural sciences. These manuals are the result of collections of farmers’ experiences concerning the techniques adopted or modified to adapt to their pedoclimatic and socio-economic context. They are written in a register of simple and non-formal language, so that they can be understood by all. For more information, please contact Ms. Claire Kieffer ([email protected]) or Mr. Khamphao Thongchanh ([email protected]).”

The official kick-off meeting of the regional project for the development of  Agroecology and Safe food System Transitions in Southeast Asia (ASSET) took place on November 10-12 in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. Around 130 people attended this event online and 20 in person both in Lao PDR and in Vietnam. The objectives of the kick-off workshop was to introduce the ASSET project, with online plenary presentations and Q&A in the afternoon (Asian time), and discussions in working groups in the morning (Asian time). Due to the Covid situation, the working groups in Cambodia and Myanmar had to be rescheduled and will be held by December.   In their welcoming remarks, Dr. Thatheva Saphanthong, Director of the Department of Agriculture Land Management (DALaM), stressed that ”ASSET regional project was built on the results of the ACTAE project that have been developed to embed agroecological research outputs into the regional context and that now need to be mainstreamed, broadened in scope by integrating food system concerns”. Mrs Julie Gabet-Ouahioune, from the  French Development Agency (AFD), emphasized that “An enabling environment needs to be created, including the right policies, public investments, institutions and research priorities.” Representatives of Vietnamese, Lao PDR, Cambodian, Myanmar, European […]

Last month the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) signed a Letter of Intent “to explore new partnerships between the UN Agency and the private sector”.  CropLife International (CLI), the pesticide industry association, interpreted the event slightly differently by claiming they had signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Whatever the details of the letter/agreement, it is clear that FAO and the pesticide industry have taken steps towards some kind of partnership… and a lot of people are concerned about this. Just last week, 350 organizations in 63 countries representing hundreds of thousands of farmers, fisherfolk, agricultural workers and other communities, as well as human rights, faith-based, environmental and economic justice institutions, delivered a letter to the FAO Director General urging him to halt the plans for a partnership with CropLife. Another letter has been signed by 250 international researchers and academics. FAO a regional programme that taught farmers how to manage crops according to agro-ecological principles, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for pesticides. Mark Davis, who was head of the the FAO Pesticide Management Programme from 2007 -2015 has also written to the Director General.  This is part of what he had to say:  “Having the FAO logo associated with […]

National Climate Smart Agriculture Center, (NCSA Center), Yezin Agricultural University and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launch a call for papers. Please submit the research paper to the third national workshop of NCSA Center at the theme of “Innovative Pathways to Climate Resilient Livelihoods”, which will be virtually organized in 22 January, 2021. The 3rd National Workshop on “Innovative Pathways to Climate Resilient Livelihoods” aims to bring researchers, scholars, scientists, policymakers, environmental science community, academicians and weather scientists on one platform to showcase their research efforts and contributions.  We invite you all participants to attend the virtual event on Innovative Pathways to Climate Resilient Livelihoods for a wonderful experience, knowledge sharing, networking opportunities, publishing and many more. Four sub-themes of the 3rd National Workshop on Innovative Pathways to Climate Resilient Livelihoods are Agriculture Forestry Livestock and Fishery Microenterprise Business Development When submission, only research papers which have a well-structured scientific article will be accepted. Format for paper submission are (Font: Time New Roman; Font size: 12; Line Spacing: 1.5; Page size: A4; Margin: Normal (Top 1 inches, Bottom 1 inches, Left 1 inches, Right 1 inches); No. of pages: 12-15 pages) Deadline for Submission: 20 December 2020 Following these guides, the soft /hard […]

World Food Day celebration in Lao PDR was organized by the Ministry of agriculture and forestry, on the 30th of October 2020 at NAFRI. The meeting was attended by a total of 210 participants from the Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, including researchers, professors, students from NUoL, and representatives from various international organizations such as representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN, ACA, CIA…The morning session is an official ceremony and the afternoon session is a Seminar for World Food Day 2020 – focusing on “Grow, Nourish, Sustain together. Our Actions are our Future”. The contents of the presentation and discussed at this meeting include: Session 1: Grow, Nourish, Sustain together Clean agriculture development for food security and nutrition in Lao PDR, Ms. Phonethip SOMMANY – DOA Gender Empowerment and Agricultural Production in Lao PDR, Dr. Keuangkham SISENGNAM – NUoL Mechanisms for rice seed production to ensure financial sustainability, quality, and quantity, Chanthakhone BOUALAPHANH – NAFRI Scaling-up Sustainable Land Management practices by smallholder farmers, Bounthanom BUAHOM – NAFRI Session 2: Policy and Actions for Nutrition and Recovery and Poverty Reduction International days for poverty reduction: Tacking the pandemic induced impoverishment in Lao rural areas, Mr. […]

The Enhancing Nutrition of Upland Farming Families” (ENUFF) project of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) is implemented by SNV Netherlands Development Organization in partnership with Agrisud International in Oudomxay and Huaphan Provinces. Agrisud has developed a series of Master-Farmer booklets to support the dissemination of techniques from farmer to farmer in the framework of the ENUFF Project. The Master-Farmers are selected among the farmers who have regularly participated in the agricultural activities initiated by the project and have shown commitment and mastery of techniques in specific agriculture production over multiple years of adoption. They receive technical and pedagogical training from the project, in order to be able to transfer these practices to other families in their villages. To support them in their tasks, the ENUFF project has published various series of technical booklets specifically made for the Master-Farmers by Agrisud International. These Master-Farmer booklets were designed as a guidebook to remind them of the different steps of implementation of the technical training in the field, with practices. It does not have a vocation to be only read out loud or use in theoretical training. The technical contents have been simplified and modified based on the farmer field experiences […]

Background As far as Laos is concerned, the GoL has prioritized “Clean Agriculture” in their national agenda for development, and set the vision for Agriculture Development Strategy 2016-2025 as “ensuring food security, producing comparative and competitive potential agricultural commodities, developing clean, safe and sustainable agriculture and shift gradually to the modernization of a resilient and productive agriculture economy, linking with rural development contributing to the national economic basis”. In line with Lao PDR’s commitment to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in 2018 of the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) adopted the Green Growth Policy and issued a directive to all Ministries to ensure that goals of the Green Growth Policy are incorporated in the implementation of the remainder of the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) 2016-2020 and in the preparation of the 9th NSEDP 2021 – 2025. In Laos, there is an increased interest from various stakeholders to support farmers in transitioning towards and adopting more sustainable and agroecological practices. However, they face similar challenges in monitoring and demonstrating the impacts of such practices which hinder their capacities to advocate for broader support and promote their dissemination. Such an issue has been at the core of […]

What is CFI? CFI is a French media cooperation agency mainly funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, and is responsible for coordinating and implementing public aid policy for promoting and enhancing the media in developing countries. CFI has currently involved in around thirty projects that fall within three major programmes: media and governance, media and enterprise, media, and development. CFI is implementing a project called “Mekong Sustainable News” to implemented activities related to media in order to support better understanding and coverage of environment-related issues, in the field of SDG’ achievement. The project is helping the coverage of scientific news in the following countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. What is Mekong News Project? Mekong News is a Project to support innovative digital journalism forms that will contribute to sustainable development in the Mekong region by focusing on: Training courses on the basics of online journalism, paving the way for impactful online journalism writing skills, especially news related to sustainable development. Tips and techniques to better engage the audience through online story writing. What has been done in Laos in 2019? Conducting 2 trainings for Working Journalist on Sustainable Development and Data Journalism 16 trainees […]

Today is International Youth Day 2020, August 12th, Theme: Youth Engagement for Global Action source Why work with youth? Do you know who/organization are working about Youth participation topics in Laos? The current population of Laos is 7,397,253 as of Sunday, August 09, 2020. 2,690,006 young people.  We would like to introduce to you some of the projects that working for empowerment youth and engage them with development in Laos. Youth in natural resource management topic Project on ‘Dissemination of tools and methods on how to preserve land and natural resources’ is supported by Voice, Laos, Oxfam, and implemented by LIFE project and Stella. Click to see their project here: https://www.facebook.com/laolandinfo/videos/532521974312538/?v=532521974312538 They share their story (Lao version) click here: The river of  Youth in agriculture “Panyanivej” –from the two Lao words “panya” (“wisdom”) and “nivej” (“ecology”) click: http://www.panyanivej.com/?v=6b40fe07a0e5 Lao Young Farmers Network Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/LYFN2019 Young Farmer in Agriculture video: https://www.facebook.com/LYFN2019/videos/442514396479741/?v=442514396479741 Young agripreneurs for Green Rural Enterprise and Employment, implemented by SURAFCO, LURAS project. 3 provinces: Luangprabang, Xiengkhuang and Champasak Click to read their story here watch the video of Young agripreneurs each project: More stories from Phakhaolao website: https://www.phakhaolao.la/ youth’s products: Coffee Soap business How to start an organic vegetable business A young Lao community visit here: https://thestella.org/ Empowering volunteer in […]

by LURAS project, June 2020. Action research was conducted in Kham District, Xieng Khuang province to test new drying and storage practices and technologies. The objective of the trial was to provide farmers and the LURAS project with information on the potential benefits of adopting new drying and storing practices. The expected potential benefits include farmers being able to sell their maize when the prices are higher and/or farmers using their maize for other purposes such as preparing feed for animals. Action Research and Farmer-to-Farmer learning (F2F) are essential elements of the Green Extension approach being promoted by LURAS. This approach recognizes that sustainable agricultural practices must be adapted to local conditions and that these conditions are both diverse and dynamic in the uplands of Lao PDR. Therefore, Green Extension supports groups of producers in analysing local problems and opportunities, testing alternative practices, and sharing the knowledge they acquire with other farmers. In close cooperation with farmers, the research team introduced new ways of threshing and drying maize, and introduced new or improved storage practices at selected farmers’ households, including metallic hermetic silos, and small and large hermetic bags. Local welders were closely involved in the construction of metallic hermetic […]

Why farmers in Laos are shifting from cabbage to cassava production     When the COVID-19 pandemic hit globally, farmers in Laos are among the most affected. Many farmers could not sell their cabbages due to lack of buyers. The prices for cabbages also dropped, thus, some farmers in the country decided to shift to cassava growing. The advantages of growing cassava include: The price for cassava is stable, despite being lower compared to the market price for cabbage Cabbages are prone to rotting if not harvested at the right time. Meanwhile, cassava harvesting can be delayed and it will not incur problems. Cabbages can be easily damaged when being transported. This is not the same as cassava since it is not soft. There are limited numbers of buyers of cabbage at the farm gate. There are more buyers for cassava in the nearby areas. How to lure snails out of the rice field Members of the Lao Farmer Network (LFN) share an easy and organic way of luring snails out of the rice field. By using food scraps and other plants, you can quickly lure out snails that destroy rice plants. How to lure snails out of the rice […]

original source: laofab.org June 3rd, 2020 SSWG on Agrobiodiversity update participants on the Lao PDR “Green and Sustainable Agriculture Policy Framework Discussions. The main activity of the SSWG will be to build on the Green and Sustainable Agriculture Framework by means of analyzing and documenting the success factors for the commercialization efforts by the private sector for three ABD-based products, specifically: Houaphanh shaded coffee, wild tea, and river weed. The intent is that this documentation will assist in leveraging the commercialization of additional unique, Lao ABD-based products, Lao clean agriculture products support green, and sustainable agriculture policy. Moreover there update on WOCAT sustainable land management technologies and practices was presented. The day will end with an update on the rapidly expanding PhaKhaLao Agrobiodiversity website database, activities and future directions. Chairs and Co-Chairs by FAO and NAFRI The photos of SSWG on ABD meeting as below: National Sustainable Land Management knowledge management database, visit the website click here For the presentations are available to download below: Strategic Framework for Green and Sustainable Agriculture in Lao PDR: Regional Workshop Results and Beyond Potential Climate-Smart Futures for agricultural production and commercialization Scaling-up Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices by smallholder farmers Lao: ການຂະຫຍາຍເຕັກນີກການຈັດການຄຸ້ມຄອງທີີ່ດິນແບບຍືນຍົງ ໂດຍຊາວກະສິກອນຂະໜາດນ້ອຍ Clean agriculture production […]

“African swine fever” (ASF) is an extremely resilient virus that has spread at an accelerated path in the region since 2019: originating from China, it hit Vietnam hard since the beginning of last year before spreading to Cambodia and Laos, Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Papua New-Guinea (see FAO cartography and OIE bulletins). The crisis is settling worryingly in the region, and probably for a long time in the absence of a vaccine, given the resistance and contagiousness of the virus (which remains active for 6 months in carcasses even buried, or processed food, and is transmitted by footwear, tires, etc. where the virus can remain for several weeks or even months if not disinfected appropriately), and knowing that it can also be transmitted by wild fauna (wild boars and wild pigs) and that borders in the region are porous and difficult to control. The impacts for family producers are worrying: –    Risk of food and nutritional crisis: pork is the second source of protein after fish in Lao PDR, already strongly affected by malnutrition in rural areas; –    Risk of economic and social crisis: pork is an important security capital for rural families, providing them with quick cash for the […]

Cr: LaoFAB Update on Chemical pesticide issue in Thailand, Asia and abroad as below: Thailand’s chemical pesticide ban troubles farmers, industries BANGKOK (Reuters), JUNE 1, 2020- Thailand enforced a ban on Monday on two agricultural chemicals widely regarded as toxic to humans, prompting claims from farmers they will face losses, while environmental campaigners welcomed a step towards sustainability. Read more here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-chemicals/thailands-chemical-pesticide-ban-troubles-farmers-industries-idUSKBN2382IC Chemical ban now in effect, farmers say they have few alternatives thethaiger, 03-06-2020 Farmers are given 90 days to return unused chemicals back to sellers. Farmers caught storing or using the chemicals after June 1 face charges of malfeasance. Those who sell, produce, import or export the chemicals can also face up to 10 years in jail and an up to 1 million baht fine. Full article here: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/environment/chemical-ban-now-in-effect-farmers-say-they-have-few-alternatives … Court overturns EPA approval of popular herbicide made by Monsanto theguardian, Jun 4, 2020. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in approving agricultural weedkilling products sold by Bayer and two other chemical giants, ignoring clear evidence that the new herbicides would cause widespread damage to crops, a federal court ruled on Wednesday. The decision by the US court of appeals for the ninth circuit invalidates the registrations for dicamba-based herbicides made by Monsanto, […]

Cr: LaoFAB moderator Around 30 percent of Vientiane clean agriculture production has been impacted adversely by the COVID-19 outbreak as well as hotter weather conditions, an official in the sector said. Head of Vientiane Organic Agriculture Production Group, Mr. Khamphou Phanthaboun told the media recently the group has 288 families producing for markets, and 30 percent of their production has been affected by the more difficult growing and selling conditions. The local organic markets usually sold an average of eight to nine tonnes of produce every Saturday, but the coronavirus pandemic meant that fewer customers were attending, he said. source: VT Times Food security concerns mount as COVID-19, as well as hotter weather and Thunderstorm conditions disruption leaves Laos farmers unable to plant. We have a chance to visited the organic market Last Saturday, they usually open on Wednesday and Saturday at the ITECC but there are also many places in Vientiane and in other provincial. Many fresh and processed products are waiting for you to buy, if you have an opportunity please support local farmers’ markets, support farmers for food security. Some photos from the organic market in Vientiane, at LaoITECC. LaoFAB Facebook. There are many local farmers markets around […]

STATEMENT Support Family Farmers as Frontliners in the Fight to Eradicate COVID-19 We are leaders and members of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development, with 20 member organizations and cooperatives in 16 countries in Asia, comprising around 13 million small scale women and men family farmers, fishers, forest dwellers, indigenous peoples, pastoralists, and herders. As a regional family farmers’ organization, we work with partner Farmers’ Organizations in 11 more countries in the Asia-Pacific through projects like MTCP2-AFOSP supported by the International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD), European Union (EU), and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) as well as through projects with Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), International Land Coalition (ILC), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), and World Rural Forum (WRF), reaching 30 million more family farmers. We likewise engage inter-governmental bodies such as the ASEAN in Southeast Asia and the SAARC Agriculture Center in South Asia. As of March 30, 2020, all our 27 covered countries have not been spared from the spread of COVID-19. All have confirmed positive cases with the majority reporting deaths caused by COVID-19. Some countries have experienced partial or total […]

This webinar is hosted by VCBN for anyone who is interested in learning more about what we can do to support agricultural value chains and how to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and listen to potentially policy considerations from four representatives, who shared their different Covid-19 perspectives. The 2nd Webinar on 5th of May 2020. If you were not in the position to watch the Livestream; -> here is the LINK to the recording of the webinar -> here is the LINK to the summary report of the webinar moderator and speakers for of VCB-N Webinar 1 Biographies of the speakers can be found HERE: The partners who provided the films: The funders of the Value chain Capacity Building – Network (www.vcbnetwork.org): The next VCBN webinar will take place on: the first week of May 2020 – stay tuned “VCB-N Webinar 2 – “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on agricultural value chains – What we can do to mitigate the impact!” from a finance and corporate perspective

By Dirk Babendreier Rice is big business in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in Southeast Asia—not only as a vital source of food but also as a crop that provides work and income for 80 percent of the population. However, despite positive developments in the last decade, millions of tons are still being lost to pests, diseases, and weeds. In a new paper titled “Biological Control of Lepidopteran Pests in Rice: A Multi-Nation Case Study From Asia,” published this week in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management, fellow researchers from China, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka join me in reporting on the impact of stem borers in rice producing countries, where they regularly cause yield losses of about 20 percent. Indeed, in some parts of the Philippines and Indonesia, white stem borer can cause tremendous losses to productivity and alternatives to insecticide use are urgently required. While farmers have been fighting back with pesticides, this is not sustainable in the long run and instead my colleagues and I advocate the use of more environmentally friendly solutions. Working with partners, including the MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-safety and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, we are making a case that integrated […]

Statement of the ASEAN ministers on agriculture and forestry in response to outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to ensure food security, food safety and nutrition in ASEAN We, the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) express our deep concern over the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has affected the lives of people and economies, including food, agriculture and forestry sectors in ASEAN and globally. We emphasize the importance of the food, agriculture and forestry sector, and urge to ensure that essential, safe and nutritious produce can continue to reach ASEAN markets during the outbreak of COVID-19. We note with concern the potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on ASEAN cooperation in food, agriculture and forestry as well as disruption to the food supply chain in the region. We note the FAO Policy Brief on COVID-19 and the risk to food supply chains: How to Respond and agree that as countries combat the COVID-19 pandemic, they must also make every effort to keep the gears of their food supply chains moving. We note the ASEAN Chairman’s Statement on ASEAN Collective Response to the Outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019, which expresses the solidarity and unity of ASEAN […]

In the context of the COSTEA (Comité Scientifique et Technique Eau Agricole) project, AFEID will launch a study aiming at elaborating a general framework to organize support to irrigating farmers so as to maximize the outcomes of such activities. This study is part of a broader reflection on “Irrigation Services” held by the COSTEA and will consist of case studies conducted in irrigated areas where organizational and technical innovation in terms of water sharing and commercialization of irrigated products are taking place. The case studies should be conducted in an irrigated-rice production area in Cambodia and in a Tunisian Oasis context. The call is available on AFD DG Market and Expression of Interest should be submitted by May 18 on https://afeid.e-marchespublics.com/ Term of Reference

  Workshop “Pesticides, Agriculture and Food: Multiple and Growing concerns in Cambodia” Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 28th of November 2019 Organization committee: Eve Bureau-Point (CNRS, CNE), Kimchhin Sok (Ecoland, RUA) Bunsamkaneka Chrin (Ecoland, RUA), Heng Chenghuy (Ecoland, RUA) Organization: CNRS, IRD, Royal University of Agriculture, ECOLAND Venue: Video Conference Room of Graduate School, RUA About the workshop After the chaos generated by turbulent historical events, international aid and market liberalization shaped the reconstruction of Cambodia in the 1990s. This pathway into productivism and globalization, however, also had some unexpected effects, such as the negative consequences of the intensive use of chemical inputs in the agricultural sector. The uncontrolled effects of the agricultural chemicals are better identified and/or recognized, and more widespread globally. Thus, farmers, politicians, input sellers, and consumers, are increasingly questioning how these chemical substances jeopardize the health and the environment. This workshop provided an opportunity to share some recent research results to key stakeholders in Cambodia (from biological, toxicological and social sciences research). Representatives of different ministries will also present some regulation initiatives by the State. Alternative projects to limit the side-effects of the agricultural model based on agrochemistry will also be introduced by […]

This questionnaire was built in a participatory manner with different food system experts.  The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Secretariat, as a partner organization of Let’s Food, support us in this initiative. We thank you in advance for your answers, do not hesitate to share this questionnaire, all the answers received will facilitate the dissemination of good practices and innovative solutions to other cities around the world. Click COVID-19 questionnaire

The current COVID 19 pandemic is affecting the political, economic, social, environmental and food sectors. This multidimensional threat requires an adequate response to protect the most vulnerable and marginalized group. Hereafter are useful links and articles addressing the relationship between the COVID-19 crisis and the need to transition towards sustainable food systems: COVID-19 and Agroecology reading list A blog that has been put together by FAO with a regularly updated list of articles, information, and reports highlighting how “agroecology” can make our food systems more resilient, rebuild healthy ecosystems and perhaps even prevent future outbreaks like COVID 19. http://www.fao.org/agroecology/slideshow/news-article/en/c/1268856/ FAO invites us to share with them ([email protected]) any articles, publications, and reports that showcase ways to overcome the current crisis through local agroecological experiences. The health of people and the planet are one and indivisible. https://www.organicwithoutboundaries.bio/2020/04/07/health-one-and-indivisible/ Applying the hard lessons of coronavirus to the biodiversity crisis https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2020/applying-the-hard-lessons-of-coronavirus-to-the-biodiversity-cri.html?fbclid=IwAR3AIMo7mZmEQUf9AyMiHvNkj6Qa5Na4vDv4peHf98-o57tMQajK8jKEji0#.Xn6ur2uPBpw.facebook Agroecology: Farming for a better future https://meta.eeb.org/2020/03/24/agroecology-farming-for-a-better-future/ COVID-19 and the crisis in food systems: Symptoms, causes, and potential solutions https://ali-sea.org/aliseaonlinelibrary/covid-19-and-the-crisis-in-food-systems-symptoms-causes-and-potential-solutions/ Agroecology in times of COVID-19 https://ali-sea.org/aliseaonlinelibrary-dashboard/get/file/Agroecology-in-times-of-COVID-19.pdf Share your experience to help other territories ensure their food resilience! https://letsfoodideas.com/en/questionnaire-covid-19/   United in solidarity, mutual respect and cooperation, we can overcome the huge challenges in front […]

Background With funding from FAO, Louvain Cooperation leads the implementation of the FAO’s tool evaluation on “Agroecology Performance Evaluation – TAPE”. This project aims to test the FAO tool in Cambodia. The service will contribute to the following organizational objective “stakeholders make evidence-based decisions in the planning and management of the agricultural sectors and natural resources to support the transition to sustainable agricultural sector production systems through monitoring, statistics, assessment, and analysis by using results from the FAO Tool for Agroecology performance Evaluation – TAPE Overview of the training and Field Testing Tentative agenda click Here Training The 2-day training was conducted at Tonle Bassac II restaurant, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The training was held from 5 to 6 February 2020. There are 28 participants from nine organizations that are working on agroecology in Cambodia participated in this training including Farmer and Nature Net Association (FNN), Life With Dignity (LWD), Conservation Agriculture Services Center (CASC), Eclosio, Chivet & Soil, Mlup Baitong (MB), Ockenden, GRET, and University of Battambang (UBB). The main trainers of this training were Abram J, Bicksler, Agricultural Officer FAO Rome, and Pierre Ferrand, Agriculture Officer (Agroecology) FAO Thailand Half-day field testing Half-day field testing was conducted on 7 […]

Original source: http://www.asiapacificfarmersforum.net/ Farmers and fishers are the hardest hit during this global crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries decided to close their borders for the time being to contain the spread of the virus, and consequently, this affected the livelihood of farmers and fishers. Lockdowns and quarantines resulted in a lack of buyers, lack of transportation for bringing the produce to the market, as well as total closure of marketplaces. Meanwhile, in places where they are allowed to work on their farms, farmers and fishers face the threat of being infected with the virus as they continue to work in open spaces. In these videos, farmers from countries in Asia and the Pacific narrate the challenges they face in this time of crisis. Bangladesh Fiji India Indonesia Laos Mongolia Nepal   CLICK HERE TO READ MORE STORIES  

Program description The CFLI is a program designed to support small-scale, high-impact projects in developing countries, which align with Global Affairs Canada’s thematic priority areas for engagement. The program is directed at projects conceived and designed predominantly by local partners. Projects are selected and approved by the relevant Canadian embassy or high commission.  The CFLI also serves to support positive bilateral relations between Canada and recipient countries and their civil societies, by deepening contacts and supporting local endeavours. The average CFLI contribution is C$15,000 to C$30,000 Canadian Dollars (C$100,000 is the maximum allocation amount for a project eligible under CFLI). Consult the currency converter for local currency equivalents. Please note that all contributions are made in Canadian dollars and then converted to the local currency. How to apply The deadline for submission is Friday April 10, 2020, at 23:59 (GMT+7). Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered. please complete the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) Project Application for Funding Form proposals must be submitted to: [email protected] all projects must be completed between the date of signature of the Contribution Agreement and February 28, 2021. contribution Agreements for selected projects will be signed in May or June 2020 only proposals using the designated […]

About EFICAS Landscape Management and Conservation Agriculture Development for Eco-Friendly Intensification and Climate Resilient Agricultural Systems in Lao PDR (EFICAS project) The EFICAS Project aims at developing innovative methods and intervention approaches to support farmers’ adoption of climate smart agricultural systems based on conservation agriculture. Over the past decades a large range of technical options have been tested successfully in the northern uplands of Lao PDR to support a sustainable intensification of upland agriculture. For example, diversified cropping systems based on agroecological principles have proved effective in restoring degraded soils and improving agricultural productivity while limiting the use of external chemical inputs. Today, soil conservation techniques are well known by most stakeholders, including village communities, but they are not spontaneously adopted. The reasons for low adoption are often not related to the cropping techniques themselves but to external causes, such as the roaming cattle and buffaloes that damage cover crops, the limited knowledge of existing market outlets, or simply because farmers find it less labor consuming to till their land or to use chemical products instead of organic practices Visit the EFICAS website: https://www.eficas-laos.net/ Videos by EFICAS published in 2020 > How to improve livestock systems? [2020] Farmers experience related to big […]

Funding Information The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) has commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to carry out international calls for small scale projects. This small grants scheme is part of the BMU’s International Climate Initiative (IKI). First call for project proposals: Objectives, procedures, and criteria 1. Background Since 2008 the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has been funding projects that address climate change, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, conserving natural carbon sinks / REDD+ / forest landscape restoration (FLR) and the conservation of biodiversity (https://www.international-climate-initiative.com). IKI projects and programmes are comparably large in scale, calling for integrated approaches of project consortia. Smaller organizations are part of these projects but rather as members of larger consortia. However, the implementation of measures under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) also require the dedicated strengthening of the stand-alone capacities of small and local organizations from partner countries. With the IKI Small Grants scheme, BMU, therefore, extends its IKI strategy and outreach to small organisations to encourage […]

(KPL) Green and sustainable development initiatives and policies enabling the positive transformation of agricultural production systems were shared at a regional workshop on green and sustainable agriculture held on Jan 21-22 in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. The workshop, supported by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and FAO, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Department of Policy and Legal Affairs, provided opportunities for representatives of government agencies, farmers, private sector, and development partners from Laos and neighboring countries to share insights. The workshop was chaired by Minister for Agriculture and Forestry Lien Thikeo, and co-chaired by FAO Representative to Lao PDR Muhammad Nasar Hayat.   Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Lien Thikeo, centre, addresses the workshop Attendees included more than 100 agriculture practitioners and decision-makers from governments, private sectors and NGOs in the Lao PDR and representatives from the Mekong Region (Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam). Participants were offered presentations on the national green growth strategy and drafted “Green and Sustainable Agriculture Strategic Framework (GSASF)” and panel discussions to share experiences and lessons learned from perspectives of national and regional practitioners. Participants explored green agriculture in the field by visiting and interacting with farmers to learn their production and marketing techniques at […]

Madhu Duniya is the largest gathering of Asian forest honey producers, scientists, supporters and private sector players in the world, coming together to discuss growing trends, challenges and opportunities in the forest honey and native bee sector. It is held once every four years in Asia, and the Philippines has hosted the 2019 edition of the event in October. The event takes its name from the Sanskrit word “Madhu” (Honey) and the Arabic word “Duniya” (World). As a regional platform, Madhu Duniya aims to promote forest honey as a crucial product for rural incomes, a key towards forest conservation, and as a vital component to human health around the world and especially in Asia. Previous iterations of Madhu Duniya held in India (2007), Indonesia (2011), and Cambodia (2015) have been quite successful. It has resulted in the successful formation of forest honey networks in at least five countries, the forging of government partnerships, inspired on-going research on honey for its health and medicinal benefits, and provided links for private sector partners and producers. The Philippine archipelago is home to various endemic and indigenous species of honey bees. In many parts of the country, indigenous and local communities hunt and gather […]

The regional workshop on the Application of the FAO Global Analytical Framework for the multidimensional assessment of Agroecology was co-organized by RAP, AGA, and AGPME in the framework of FAO Strategic Program on Sustainable Agriculture (SP2). This tool has been developed as part of the Global Knowledge Product on Agroecology through a multi-stakeholder collaborative process. The objective of the workshop is to introduce this analytical framework to FAO staff in decentralized offices in the region and to external partners engaged in agroecological approaches (CSOs, academia, research institutions, and NGOs) so that they can apply it in their various contexts. This event is seen as coming during a critical moment to fine-tune and contextualize the tool and provide evidence and case studies on the performance of Agroecology across many different dimensions of sustainability. For a Prezi link and presentations are available to download below: Prezi FAO’s global work on agroecology and the scaling-up the initiative TAPE: a Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation Selection of territories, farms, and communities for testing the framework Step 0: Description of systems and context CAET: Characterization of Agroecological Transition Regional workshop on the application of the FAO global analytical framework for the multidimensional assessment of Agroecology: […]

Green Shoots Foundation and Community-based Integrated Development Organisation (CIDO) have recently established an agriculture-training center in Odar Meanchey, North West Cambodia. Space is a community-learning center, which acts as a training area and demonstration site for a range of activities pertaining to rural development, farmer livelihood and enabling young people to remain acquainted with agriculture. Three main objectives we have identified for the site are: Provide access to vocational training in horticulture, integrated farming, and other sustainable farming practices and technology Improve the practical application of rural development skills in-line with environmental preservation Enhance the capacity of young farmers for enterprise development We carry out farm-management activities on a daily basis below and also offer seminars and workshops to local households on microfinance, nutrition-related to food growing. Activities Demonstration site for: Home garden (budget USD 100) Conservation agriculture Mini-commercial farm with drip irrigation Agroecology Producing natural compost Production and storage of natural pesticide, natural fertilizer and nutritious liquids for fruits and vegetables Permaculture garden showing mixed cropping and reviving “wild” foods Frog-raising Wormery Eco-building via earth construction and bamboo Our staff conducts regular outreach in the nearby village to inform residents about activities, encourage them to visit the center for […]

The Mekong Hub Knowledge Learning Fair 2019 (MKLF-2019) organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), operated by the Hanoi office from 10-12 July 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. There were different relevant stakeholders and high-level representatives come from different countries, the private sector and producers’ organizations and development organizations such as 1). Country: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippine, Thailand, Vietnam, 2). Private sector and 3). Producers’ organizations. Moreover, we observed that there was a representative of the government of Kenya and IFAD country representatives in Africa such as Senegal, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Organizations like GROW ASIA, SEARCA-IFPRI, and CIP-CIAT. The MKLF provided opportunities for participants in IFAD related projects in South East Asia, in particular, the Mekong Region to meet, share and learn. After the Learning Fair, then participants visited the milk cooperatives, beef cooperative, and some other cooperatives as well. There is some presentation about IFAD’s programs and other countries here: “IFAD’s Engagement with the Private Sector in pro-poor agricultural value chain development” “Brewing happiness of partnership Lao PDR” Presentations and photos related to the event here: [Dropbox link]

Vientiane Times, August 8, 2019 Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/sub-new/Current/Curr_Xieng179.php Beekeepers from four districts in Xieng Khuang province have been able to collect more than 12 tonnes of fresh, natural honey this year following below-average rainfall. This year’s production represents a significant increase from 2018 when Paek, Phoukoud, Phaxay and Khoun districts managed just under eight tonnes of honey between them due to the exceptionally wet conditions. The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI) of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, is supporting residents of the four districts to feed bees to produce honey and encourage commercial beekeeping. This year’s yield exceeds TABI’s expectations as bees have been able to collect increased amounts of pollen from flowers, vegetables, and trees. An official with the Xieng Khuang provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department, Mr. Somkhuan Mittasy, said bees found it more challenging to locate food during the rainy season. “Next year we plan to sell 500kg of honey to visitors coming here to celebrate the Plain of Jars being added to the list of World Heritage Sites and attend the 11th National Games in March. These sales will help boost the incomes of local people,” he said. Meanwhile, TABI has been able to […]

Regional Workshop on “Scaling-up Agroecology in ASEAN Higher Education to meet SDGs and Ensure Climate Resilience” Hosted by Maejo University (MJU), Chiang Mai, Thailand, 26-27 June 2019, International Education and Training Center (IETC) CONTEXTS With support from the Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC) Thailand, Chulalongkorn University (CU) is leading a small multi-disciplinary policy studies and dialogue project on “ASEAN Way Forward for SDGs and COP21 through Social and Sustainability Sciences” contributing to the ASEAN Work Plan on Education (AWPE), 20162020 while Thailand is Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2019 under the theme: “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.” REGIONAL WORKSHOP As part of CU’s policy studies and dialogue project Maejo University (MJU) during 26-27 June, 2019 hosted a regional workshop in Chiang Mai on Scaling-up Agroecology in ASEAN Higher Education to meet SDGs and Ensure Climate Resilience” in partnership with CU and ASEAN Agriculture Universities Network (AAUN). MJU generously provided campus accommodation, meals and airport pick-up for all delegates. Participants self-financed air travel were sponsored from their home institutions or received assistance from other donors. Plenary sessions reviewed theoretical and regional perspectives and selected national or institutional case studies. Various participants made interventions which discussed […]

Original source: http://www.mekonginstitute.org/news-activities/detail/2019/07/30/mekong-media-take-a/ Twenty-eight science journalists and media professionals from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV) are currently in Mekong Institute for the Regional Media Training on Communicating Food Safety from July 29 to August 2. Speaking at the opening remarks, Ms. Maria Theresa Medialdia, Director of the Agricultural Development and Commercialization Department, highlighted the important role of mass media in putting a spotlight on food safety and raising public consciousness in producing and consuming safe food. “There is a growing demand for safe food in our region, especially due to the increasing cases of foodborne illness and lives unnecessarily lost because of unsafe food and water,” Ms. Medialdia emphasized. “Your role, as science communicators and media practitioners, is to initiate the conversation on why is there a need to prioritize food safety and eventually push both the public and private sectors to adopt improved food safety policies and practices.” Organized under MI’s Promoting Safe Food for Everyone (PROSAFE) Project, the one-week workshop targets to strengthen CLMV journalists’ awareness and understanding of key food safety concepts as well as emerging global and local safe food issues. Among this week’s participants are correspondents from the Khmer Times, National Television of Kampuchea, […]

Original source: http://www.asiapacificfarmersforum.net/myanmar-coffee-farmer-boosts-income-by-adding-value-to-organic-coffee-products/ We support our farmers.We drink our farmers' coffee.We love AFFM coffee. Posted by Ctum Myanmar on Sunday, 2 June 2019 In Hpayargyikone village, Myanmar, there are 37 farmer members of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Federation of Myanmar (AFFM), and 32 of them are coffee farmers. U Zaw Myo Naing is one of these coffee farmers. He owns six acres of land he uses in cultivating organic Arabica coffee beans. For many years, coffee farmers in the village sold their coffee to middlemen who then sell the coffee to big companies. The farmers are paid a low price for their produce but this is their only option since they do not have skills on adding value to their coffee produce. Arabica coffee is grown in Hpayargyikone village, Myanmar In 2017, AFFM brought U Zaw Myo Naing to attend a coffee forum in the Philippines. From this forum, he learned techniques on coffee production and how other countries packaged their coffee products. When he went back to Myanmar, he immediately went to work and applied what he learned by adding value to his coffee produce. A traditional style of roasting coffee beans He roasted his coffee beans using the […]

BACKGROUND The consumer day is designed to engage consumers in the chain of vegetable production from the farm to table by taking into account the practices of Ecofarm Group. This event is based on few specific objectives: Raising consumers awareness on safe vegetable production and local food availability Introducing safety and quality assurance system-PGS which had been adapted by Ecofarm group to certify their products Reducing the gap between consumers and producers by creating communication platform that enhance short supply chain for safe vegetables The consumer day had been organized 2 times. The first one was on 26/01/2019, and the second event was on 05/05/2019. The event took place from 8:00am to 3:00pm at the village of Koukreussey Chheung and Chrey Chheung village, Sotrnikum district. 26/01/2019: There were 46 people attended in this event in which 27 of them are consumers, 2 of them are local authority, and 17 people are member of Ecofarm who passed the safe vegetable certification. 05/05/2019: There were 59 people attended in this event in which 32 of them are consumers, 3 are local authority, and 24 are farmers. To attend this event, consumers were encouraged to register their participation here Which was announced on […]

To feed the world, we need to bring technology and small farms closer together! (Wim Hoogedeure, EY Partner) EY, USDA, Winrock, GAIA Vita and Bureau Veritas has been organized the event on the Agri-Business Conference Laos 2019 at the rooftop of Kolao Building on 25 June 2019. How can we harness all the new technology available today to help build a better working world for an often overlooked, possibly even neglected, sector: Agriculture. Today, many farmers in Laos exist on or are near the poverty line. Farms are going out of business every day. Yet, with a booming population, they are mouths to feed (6.8 millions counted in 2017) than ever. We need farmers, and we need them to be more productive than ever, on a finite amount of land. We believe markets, compliance, technologies and biofertilizers could help solve these challenges. Let us give some examples of how this might work with the Agri-Business Conference Laos 2019. This event gathers the key foreign agriculture investors to meet international speakers representing the key leverages that can change the Agriculture Laos Industry. The below speakers will go through the best practices that will enhance the business of producing, transforming and exporting agri-products […]

GIZ organized “Stakeholder Consultation Meeting: Consumer Awareness on Food Standards in Myanmar” on 17 June 2019 at Pabedan Township, in Yangon. The objective of the meeting is to facilitate networking as well as the sharing of views, experiences and ideas on how to promote greater awareness on food safety and food standards in Myanmar. The meeting is co-hosted by the Consumer Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) of Myanmar and the Myanmar Consumers Union (MCU). There were 23 participants from Government Agency, Private Sector and NGO.

With an increased access to electricity and internet, rural populations in Cambodia currently have better chances to access media on a variety of electronic devices, ranging from TVs, radios,  smartphones and many other tools. However, the records of the level of agricultural media accessed  by farmers are scarce, while the majority of the populations are farmers. The communication media  study was initiated with an aim to contribute to bring this untold situation to light. The study was  introduced by Agroecology Learning Alliance in Southeast Asia (ALiSEA) under the support of GRET,  and it was jointly developed by 12 ALiSEA Cambodia’s members. The  study  was  developed  with  2  main  objectives  including  (1)  determining  media  channels disseminating agriculture knowledge and information that most farmers depend on and how farmers  access  to  those  sources,  and  (2)  identifying  types  of  agricultural  information  and  knowledge  disseminated to farmers by different stakeholders, and approaches that stakeholders apply to reach  target audience. The research covered a period of 5 months from June to October 2018. It started with the meeting with ALiSEA members to plan and develop the research methodologies, data collection and analysis.  In the study there were 354 individual farmer interviews in 10 province and […]

The Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain programme (CAVAC) showcased the research findings by Quantum Endorphine Digital on access to agricultural information on social media through their ‘Agribusiness on Facebook’ event, which took place May 30 at Sofitel. Gary Ellem, team leader of CAVAC, raised the issues faced when disseminating information to farmers, “There is a lot of migration happening in rural areas, so a lot of the traditional approaches to disseminating information are no longer as effective as they used to be. Particularly for CAVAC, as we’ve increased our work in cassava, we found that farmers that work in outlying areas face particular difficulties with accessing information.” Adrienne Ravez, Chief Operating Officer at Cambodia’s Quantum Endorphine Digital, presented the results from the research, an analysis on 39 Facebook pages and nine Facebook groups. She shared their differences and how to use these tools in conveying information effectively to farmers, providing insights such as how resources mainly cater to commercial purposes currently, with a high demand for professional technical information available for farmers. A panel discussion further looked into the usage of these platforms in aiding local businesses. Mike Gaertner, COO of Sabay, Lim Ngountheng, Digital Marketing Manager of Smart Axiata, Pakk […]

The National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute of Laos was established in 1999 in order to consolidate agriculture and forestry research activities within the country and develop a coordinated National Agriculture and Forestry Research System. NAFRI belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and is equal in status to other technical departments under MAF. NAFRI is mandated to undertake integrated agriculture, forestry and fisheries research in order to provide technical information, norms and results which help to formulate strategy in accordance with the government policies. NAFRI has four main functions including: carrying out adaptive research, developing methods, tools and information packages, providing policy feedback, and coordinating and managing research The most updated mandate consists mainly of the following responsibilities: Develop specific programmes and projects to implement priority programmes set by MAF and the GoL. Playing a central role in land related studies including, land use planning and zoning and land management. Conducting research for germplasm collection and screening, seed/variety improvement, multiplication and other services. Conducting research for the development of effective and demand driven technologies, methods, models and systems for agriculture and forestry production. Gathering, processing, managing and exchanging information and research results with all relevant partners related […]

Introduction Rural Connections project aims to improve the information available to these populations – and to young people in particular – in the areas of agriculture and sustainable development by improving the capacity of journalists and journalism students to cover such topics and by promoting the production and dissemination of content, especially via radio stations, online videos and social media. This project implemented in Cambodia is funded by CFI Media Development for a duration of 24 months (September 2018 to August 2020). Revamped and better-quality information will serve to provide young people living in rural areas with new prospects within their communities, in particular by encouraging the development of emerging initiatives in agroecology, a promising avenue in terms of income, health and autonomy. In the frame of the Rural Connections project, GRET and Mediaseeds will organize a series of several events and field-days which will be covered and relayed by local and national media around topics related to agriculture and rural development. The event was first held on 18th & 19th March 2019 at Phnom Penh and Kandal. The main theme was the impact of pesticides use on agriculture and environment. The objectives of the event are: (1) to raise […]

Farmers Forum on Agro-Ecological Practices and Food Sovereignty was conducted on March 22, 23 2019 at CARTC (Central Agriculture Research and Training Centre) Hle Gu Township, Yangon by Kalyana Mitta Development Foundation, co-funding with Swissaid Organization and Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia – ALiSEA. The objectives of the Farmer Forum are; to exchange and share knowledge, experience, encountered problems, and available technologies and methods in order to learn from each other’s experience and lessons on Agro biodiversity Practicing, to identify priority action, relevant policy options and recommendations for Seed Law and Land Law and to develop future cooperation of farmer alliance on Agro ecological practices and farmers movement in Myanmar. The participants came from different region in Myanmar which is Kachin State, Northern and Southern Shan State, Sagaing Division, Magway Division, Ayeyarwaddy Division, Bago Division and Yangon Division. The attendances are young farmers, CSOs, students from Yezin Agriculture University, Agriculture experts and technicians over (100).

Context The ACTAE project (Toward an Agroecological Transition in South East Asia) is organizing a one-day meeting to explore the role of research for development in the design of the second phase of the project. The ambition of the ACTAE project is to contribute to an ecological intensification of agriculture with positive impacts on food safety production, poverty reduction and farming community organization in Southeast Asia. Since 2015, the project promotes the agroecology transition by facilitating synergies among diverse agroecology initiatives in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. As the ACTAE project is entering into its final period, AFD officially announced its continuous support to agroecology, in particular by funding a second phase of the project. A feasibility study, entrusted to Marion Treboux (IRAM) and Jean Marie Brun (ARTE FACT Development and Agri-Food Consulting), started at the end of November 2018. The objectives of the feasibility study are to define the main structural components, partnership and priorities of an ACTAE 2 project. The conclusions of the study will be delivered in February or March 2019 for a start of the phase 2 of the project expected in September 2019. Overall objective of the meeting The objective of the meeting is […]

Vientiane, 13 March 2019 The report “State of Land in the Mekong Region” was launched today in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The first publication of its kind in the Mekong Region, it brings together key data and information on the current status of, and changes in, land resources, their social distribution, and the conditions of governance that shape them. The report stresses the need for urgent action towards transformational change. It was co-produced by the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) of the University of Bern and the Mekong Region Land Governance Project (MRLG). Funding was provided by Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg. The Mekong region – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – is in the midst of profound social and environmental change. Despite rapid urbanization, the region remains predominantly rural. More than 60 per cent of its population live in rural areas, and the vast majority of these people are engaged in agriculture. Due to rapid growth of its agricultural sector, the Mekong region has become a global centre of production and trade for commodities such as rubber, rice, cassava, wood, sugar cane, and palm oil. Between 1996 and 2015, overall agricultural land in the Mekong region grew by […]

This workshop was organized by Echo Asia and Lisu Theological Seminary of Myanmar. A total of (70) participants from (15) organizations and (11) groups of church base organization were attended the workshop. In this group, some of them are community leader, teacher, NGO and students and mostly are farmers. The workshop purposes are to know the seed banking techniques, how to do the seed saving with the best and appropriate technology and to know the important of local seeds. This two-day training workshop included the principal of seed saving techniques, hands-on training on seed saving best practices (including vacuum method), bio-char introduction Compose, how to conduct a seed exchange, and practical observation of different types of local seed banks constructed at Lisu Theological Seminary. Some participants brought along some local seeds shared to the other participants while Echo Asia also brought quite a number of seed varieties provided freely to the organizations who want to grow them in their communities and continue keeping the seeds in-Situ. The last day was visiting to farms near Pyin Oo Lwin Township. The first farm is Mr. Bruce Gardiner and his wife Mrs. Thida Win. They shared how to do and maintain earth worm […]

Agoecology Learning Alliance in Southeast Asia organized the sharing finding workshop in Tam Duong District, Lai Chau Province on 27 February. The participants of workshop are CISDOMA staffs, RCRD Research Center – An Giang University, ALiSEA, CIAT and farmers Mr Phong from RCRD – An Giang University sharing his experience on applying Agri App Ms Thuy from CISDOMA sharing his experience on applying Agri App Mr Phong and Ms Thuy have shared experience of implementing the app for data collection and some challenges of farmers while implementing the app. According to Phong, An Giang is one of the largest paddy productions in Mekong Delta where farmers grow floating rice, paddy-shrimps – fish model which can reduce the use chemical for farming practices.  A large part of paddy field in An  Giang Province still implementing pesticide and chemical fertilizer. There are about 200 pesticide and chemical fertilizer companies in An Giang Province, they produce not only to supply for farmers in An Giang Province but also bring to other provinces in Vietnam. Farmers tend to apply more chemical to soil to maintain paddy production. Farmers in An Giang mainly sell all their paddy and purchase paddy from other places for family […]

DATE: Friday 22 February 2019 VENUE: Dipak C. Jain Hall, Sasa International House, Chulalongkorn University (CU), Bangkok CO-ORGANIZED/CO-SPONSORED By: Chulalongkorn University (CU) and Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC), Thailand SEMINAR CHAIR: Professor Surichai Wungaeo, Director, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS), CU PANEL SPEAKERS: Dr. Wayne Nelles, Visiting Scholar, Chulalongkorn University School of Agricultural Resources (CUSAR) Dr. Priyanut Dharmapiya, Executive Director, Sustainable Development and Sufficiency Economy Studies Center (SuDSESC), National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA)Thailand Mr. Pierre Ferrand, Agroecology Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Dr. Susan Vize, Regional Advisor, Social and Human Sciences. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Bangkok DISCUSSANTS: Mr. Marut Jatiket, Director, Thai Education Foundation/Field Alliance Dr. Udomluck Thampanya, Faculty of Information and Communication, Maejo University, Chiang Mai OVERVIEW: This seminar is part of a small CU led multi-disciplinary educational, policy studies and dialogue project contributing to implementation of the ASEAN Work Plan on Education (AWPE), 2016-2020. AWPE Sub-goal 5: is to “Complement the efforts of other sectors in meeting the objectives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).” Project 47 of sub-goal 5 aims to: “Conduct multi-disciplinary research on social and sustainability sciences for understanding social, environmental […]

Young farmer field forum has been on 18-21 February 2019, in Keoset, Khoun district, Xiengkhuang province. This event was supported and organized by Helvetas Laos. There were more than 55 participants included government officer from PAFO Xieng Khuang, DAFO in Khoun district, young farmers who work on coffee farming especially young coffee farmers in Xiengkhuang province such as Keoset, from Khoun and Kham districts. Beside that, there are young coffee farmers from Champasak province, Lao farmer network. coffee shops like comma cafe and Meuangchieng coffee and CSO staff. The objective: To provide space and create opportunity for young coffee farmers to exchange knowledge for coffee development among Keoset community and other. To share and exchange experience among young coffee farmer on coffee production and their future plan to strengthen collaboration among themselves. There were many activities included: Home stay with coffee farmer family. Presentation action research and Exchange knowledge on coffee production and processing from Keoset group. Coffee farm study tour. Sharing experience from comma coffee shop and Lao farmer network. Coffee contest. Camping and exchange lesson learnt and life. Future plan to improve coffee production and strengthen collaboration among young coffee farmer.

Co-organizers: Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) Lao PDR Rural Development Agency (RDA) Lao PDR College of Natural Resources (CNR) Bhutan Towards Organic Asia (TOA), Thailand Young Organic Farmers and TOA Partners from Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam participated in the 6th anniversary of Sombath Somphone’s Disappearance and PADETC Fair to present and exchange the best practices and learning experiences of PADETC and development partners under the theme of “Promoting Ecological Sustainability: Towards a more livable Laos for All”, including a range of works, showcases and best practices associated with organic agriculture, healthy living, and ecological sustainability from local organization and local community from Lao society. Towards Organic Asia is working to promote organic agriculture and agro-ecology as the heart of global transformation (working on the 4 thematic areas- Action Research and Advocacy, Technical Support and Exchange, Capacity Building and Youth, and Consumer Education). We have shared vision and collaboration for sustainable development on social, ecology, economy and culture dimensions; therefore we work collectively with our partners; PADETC and RDA in Laos for Youth Training and Community Development, College of Natural Resources and Tsirang Community in Bhutan are thriving for sustainable education and organic seeds production, CEDAC in Cambodia is […]

TOA Partners Meeting was held on 15 December 2018 at Pan Hag Farm, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. There were 23 TOA partners from Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Expectation: To co-create a self-reliance by pulling our knowledge and resource together; To testify the issues in Laos and coming with actions, sharing our knowledge, and sharing our research to really apply for the solutions; To make a regional movement. TOA partners from Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam had shared country update about the background and current issue on farming including partner activities. After that there were 4-thematic working group discussion and feedback for the Further Collaboration on: What the issues What the activities / solutions How to collaborate Capacity Building and Youth We have youth issues working in farming are limited network and skills applicable, low interest, lack of confidence, no consistency, little policy support, lifestyle-modernism-consumerism, and lacking of the success stories. For the solutions, we would like to have capacity building, training on self-awareness and value on organic agriculture, eco-farming and particular topics, and communication on Medias and Networking. Our regional collaboration, the Health and Food Consumption Topic, examination of blood test and public […]

INTRODUCTION The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) Plenary Meeting and General Assembly serves as an annual gathering of SRP members and partners from governments, international organizations, research institutes, private sector, and civil society groups to discuss experiences and insights in upscaling adoption of climate-smart, sustainable best practices in rice production. This event provides a venue for SRP members and stakeholders to learn about latest developments, interact and explore potential collaborative opportunities to contribute towards rice sector transformation. SUMMARY This year’s theme: “The Future We Need – Upscaling climate-smart, sustainable best practice in the global rice sector” reflects the SRP’s goal of advancing wide-scale outreach by offering the global rice sector new tools, instruments and a collaborative platform to catalyze rice value chain transformation. The SRP 8th Plenary Meeting and General Assembly was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia from 22-24 January 2019, in cooperation with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the International Finance Corporation (Cambodia), with support from IRRI (Cambodia Office). Over 140 delegates from 24 countries around the world discussed emerging multi-stakeholder partnerships to mobilize the global rice sector towards sustainability. His Excellency Veng Sakhon, Cambodia’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries presided over the event, and a welcome address was […]

Pha Tad Ke is the first botanical garden in Laos, created to be a regional research center with the first living collection of the flora of Laos that provides opportunities for collaboration with international botanical institutions. Pha Tad Ke is developed and cared for with the help of dedicated scientists and more than 50 Lao staff and offers a beautifully landscaped setting for visitors. At the garden, we develop educational programs for all age groups while conducting research into plant reintroduction, horticulture, ethno-botany and medicinal plants to address critical problems ranging from the management of local natural resources to conserving biodiversity worldwide. Through our publications, cultural and social outreach activities, we aim to make a substantial contribution to the responsible development of the region, and to the creation of real expertise that enables Laos to develop specialist skills for a sustainable and bio diverse future. Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden is starting a new permaculture project. This project will involve the development and installation of a permaculture demonstration/research farm in Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden, Laos with a training program for local farmers, government staff and NGO’s. As part of this program we will teach and showcase sustainable practices and […]

The Lao Farmers Network is a network of farmer organizations of 31 farmer organizations from 11 provinces. The network has more than 4000 members. The Lao Farmers Network was setup in 2014 by 17 Farmer Organizations with a purpose to strengthening cooperation among small holder farmers. Key activities include information sharing, farmer to farmer learning and policy dialogues. The network also support each members in different ways including organizational development, organizational management, improving farming techniques, processing and marketing. Public-Producer-Private Sector Partnership Meeting of Lao Farmer Network & Lao Farmer Network Annual Meeting have been held in 30-31 January, 2019. The events were co-organized by Department of Technical Extension and Agro – Processing (DTEAP) & Lao Farmer Network, Preliminary meeting of farmer representative, more than 80 participants of representatives of 10 provinces from all remote part of Laos. The objectives of this meeting to: To learning and sharing experiences between Lao Farmer network; To meet and discussion target on marketing mechanism, Pro and Con, to address involvement solution between farmer and private sector; To presentation the yearly report of Lao Farmer Network in 2018 and planning in 2019 Public-Producer-Private Sector Partnership Meeting of Lao Farmer Network, meeting have discussion target on […]

As a first step of the long-run consultation process to shape a future learning platform, On 27th November 2018, ALiSEA organized a working a sort meeting on “Task force meeting of ALiSEA in Laos“. The objective of the working meeting is to present the key findings of the online consultation survey, share the results of the external evaluation of ALiSEA commissioned by AFD and conducted by IRAM and open the discussion on the future of ALiSEA. There were18 participants attended to the meeting include ALiSEA members. Regarding the meeting agenda: (1) Presentation of ALiSEA network survey the result of online consultation, By: Hongnapha (2) ALiSEA online platform presentation: Focusing on social media, By: Samphanh (3) Presentation ONLINE SURVEY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF ALiSEA Laos, By: Sythanonxai (4) General discussion on the future ALiSEA project objective and activities All the participants are active on sharing their idea and initiative activities for ALiSEA. They also suggest ALiSEA to continue working and support the network to be more strength in organization management, proposal writing and access to the other donors. They suggest that ALiSEA should have steering committee that could work or negotiate with government partner as policy maker when they have some research\case study. The most common comment are  ALiSEA […]

Co-Organizers: Facilitation Association of Economy for Cooperatives (FAEC) Farmer and Nature Net (FNN) Farmer and Water Net (FWN) Federation of Cambodian Farmer Organizations for Development (FCFD) Association Sustainable Agriculture Communities (ASAC) Cambodian Farmers Association Federation of Agricultural Producers (CFAP) Background 6 Federations and Associations of the Farmer Organizations (FO) at national level, including FAEC, FNN, FCFD, CFAP, FWN and ASAC, have affiliated together for organization of “National Consultation Forum for Farmers” which it was held on 18-19 December 2018 in Phnom Penh. All affiliated Federations and Associations are formally registered with the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and whom have most experienced in working with to support the FO members in Cambodia. The group of organizers has the common goal to create friendly environment and empowerment for factors in the social accountability context so that the supply sides including the state actors at national and sub-national levels and other relevant stakeholders should propagate to be reached the farmers about their dynamic efforts of provision and responsibility in themes of water resources, seeds, diversifying agricultural technique, capital & fund, agriculture cooperative law, market & price, gender & youth in agricultural sector, and democratic development platform of sub-national councils for the farmer. This is an […]

From 19 to 21 January 2019, H. E. Deputy minister of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) Dr Phouang Parisack PAVONGVIENGKHAM, H. E. Ambassador of France in Lao PDR, Mrs Florence Jeanblanc-Risler, Mr Mathieu Bommier, French Development Agency (AFD) representative in Lao PDR, representatives from MAF departments (Planning and Cooperation, Inspection, Agricultural Land Management, and Irrigation), and representatives from local authorities have visited different agricultural development projects (NUDP-SARI[1], NUDP-EFICAS[2], FORAE[3], RECOSEL[4]) implemented by the MAF in Luang Prabang province with financial supports from AFD. Visits included Pouthong village, in Viengkham district, where the EFICAS project supports since 2015 the village community in designing and implementing land use plans that incorporate innovative agroecology practices amongst which the improvement of crop-livestock interactions is central. In Phoutong, activities have started in 2015 with the participatory identification and fencing of four livestock areas, collectively agreed regulations on animal roaming, sowing of a limited area of improved forages, and the investment in animal health through the training of four village veterinary workers, and the establishment of an animal health revolving fund. In 2016 and 2017, farmers have enlarged and consolidated fences, increased the improved pasture area (up to 60 ha), re-discussed collective vs personal management […]

PGS Vietnam was established in 2008 and operates under the guidance and technical and financial support of ADDA Organic Agriculture Development Project – VNFU (2005-2012). In September 2012, after the ADDA-VNFU project ended, the PGS Coordination Committee met and proposed to ADDA to support the “Seed funding” source. Vietnam PGS system by the end of 2018 includes 5 intergroups: Thanh Xuan (Soc Son District – Hanoi), Luong Son (Hoa Binh Province), Trac Van (Ha Nam Province), Hien Ninh (Soc Son District – Hanoi) and Dong Xuan (Soc Son District – Hanoi). PGS is always looking for opportunities to cooperate with individual organizations such as ACCD, Seed to Table, ADDA, ADB, ALiSEA, Rikolto, etc. to exploit all the resources of society and local government, NGOs to continue training and improvement, capacity building for staff and farmers, expanding production. PGS is together with Rikolto to develop a technical manual to guide PGS construction and operation methods in the hope of helping farmers want to apply PGS. In 2017, The PGS intergroup actively participate in trade fairs to promote PGS organic and products at Hanoi Agricultural Expo; All participants at the meeting The participants of the congress are farmers from 5 different intergroups, […]

Department of Geography, University of Yangon conducted “Promoting the floating rice-based agroecological farming systems for a healthy society and adaptation to climate change in the Lower Mekong Region and Myanmar” on 18th January, 2019 at Conference Room, University of Yangon, Myanmar. This workshop purposed to share the knowledge between three countries (Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar) and to practice the sustainable floating rice-based systems in the Mekong region and Myanmar. There were around (50) participants from government agencies from the Mekong region, academic institutions, private actors, NGOs, farmers and FAO representatives in Greater Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia and Vietnam) who attended a one-day seminar workshop presenting more than 20 research papers. The event was funded by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Environment Fund 2016 and the seminar/workshop was mainly facilitated by Professor Jamie Pittock and Van Kien Nguyin, Fenner School of Environment & Society the Australian National University and Dr Nilar Aung.

GIZ, together with Consumers International (CI) and local partners, conducted a series of country surveys in 2017/2018 to assess the level of awareness towards food trade standards, with a special focus on Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. This is set against the backdrop of GIZ’s work on promoting consumer protection as well as the implementation of food standards (especially organic and good agricultural practices) for fresh commodities in the ASEAN region. On December 6th, 2018, GIZ organized a working meeting on Consumers Awaresness on Food Stanadrds in Cambodia. The objective of the working meeting is to share the findings of the country survey in Cambodia, compare and contrast them with similar efforts of other development partners, as well as deliberate options for the way forward on possible future activities, taking into account the results and recommendations of the survey. The working meeting was co-hosted and chaired by GIZ and the Cambodian Institute for Research and Rural Development (CIRD) Agenda is available here Presentations are available here: Results of Country Surveys conducted by GIZ and Consumers International (CI) in 2017/2018 Results of Country Surveys conducted by GIZ and Consumers International (CI) in 2017/2018 – Khmer Version Cambodian consumers’ knowledge and perception toward […]

Chemical Free Paddy Field and Sustainable Agriculture special talk was organized by Shwe Bo Buddhist Youth at Leik Chin Village, Shwe Bo Township, Sagaing region, on 16 December, 2018. Objectives are to make the farmers aware of the techniques of sustainable agriculture and reducing chemicals and to promote the use of natural waste products in farming. The attended participants are around (230) participants, including farmers from that village and teachers and students from state agriculture institute of Leik Chin village.

From December 10-11, 2018, Green Youth Assembly was organized by Kalyana Mitta Foundation –KMF, Our Lovely World Group and Hna Lone Hla Inn Maung Mal Group in Nyaung Shwe Tonwship, Innlay, Shan State. Objective are to collect youth’s voices on related NRM issues and environmental injustice issues for recommendation letter, to strength green youth network for environmental monitoring mechanism, to raise environmental injustice issues with CBO & Local government (watchdog). Total participants are over (300) including (70) groups of organization and CSOs attended in that event.

On 25th October 2018, CFI Media Development in partnership with Thmey Thmey association, GRET and Agroecology Learning Alliance Network in South East Asia organized a forum on “how can we develop rural information in the media?“ at Khmer Surin Restaurant in Phnom Penh. The main objectives of the forum are: To officially launch the “Rural Networks” project in Cambodia and present the key activities for the next months; To facilitate debate on how to enrich media content addressed to rural populations, in particular young people; To gather multi-stakeholders to foster discussion on how to produce content relating to the challenges involved in agriculture and other concerns for rural population, development of new techniques, environment, adaptation to climate change, food security, etc The forum brought together the experiences and lessons learnt acquired from local and international journalists like Thailand, professional’s media, donor, Cambodian farmers’ federation representatives, local and international agriculture practitioners and official representative of the Ministry to share findings and foster discussion regarding rural issues. The forum addressed the five following themes: Theme 1: The role of the media in rural development Theme 2: How the media speaks about agriculture in Cambodia? Theme 3: How to cover rural thematic (and […]

On the 1st of December 2018, Network for Environment and Economic Development -NEED Myanmar’s Young Farmer Program Batch (6) graduation ceremony was conducted at Nyaung Bin Thar Yar Village, Hmaw Bi Township, Yangon Region. A total 35 (19 male & 16 female) students who came from different parts of the country and finished a 6-month course in leadership for ecological farming were provided with graduating certificates. There were invited participants from 10 NGOs, farmers organizations, religion organizations and some senior staff from Education Ministries. It ended with lunch and several sessions of different ethnic cultural dance performed by the students.

On the 20th of November 2018, MIID hosted a conference at Novotel in Yangon about Agriculture Extension in the Uplands in Myanmar. The conference is a part of MIID’s ongoing project in partnership with Cornell University and with financial support by the Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT): “Securing Positive Nutritional Outcome through Agriculture Extension, Nutritional Education and Institution Building in Rural Chin State. The forum was one day event and was conducted with a focus on four themes: why uplands need a distinct approach; Uplands in Agriculture Education; Upland Agriculture Extension and Yezin Agricultural University; and Upland Agriculture Extension in Practice. Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development-MIID invited several government senior officers as speakers for the upland agriculture extension approach. The main speakers were from DG and directors at national level, state and regional directors of DoA, professors and research students of YAU, State Agriculture Institute (SAI) teachers and MIID aquaculture specialist. The last session, panel discussion, was intended to unify the four themes above, with specific reference to: – Challenges and opportunities associated with uplands agriculture extension in practice; If and how government can respond to upland needs and circumstances; and The long-term outlook for uplands livelihoods and […]

The workshop has been facilitated by OXFAM and Partners ( SAEDA) Background The Center for Development and Integration (CDI) is a Vietnamese non-government, non-profit organization working for the rights of the disadvantaged groups to build a society of equity, solidarity, and sustainable development. For over last ten years, CDI has been working hard with a vision that aims to socio-economic development and good governance to build a society in which the poor, women, men, and children are respected and treated fairly in the context of rapid economic integration in Viet Nam and Asia. CDI is an active Vietnamese NGO, contributing to narrow down the social gaps and find solutions to the emerging issues of the society through supporting activities, advocacy and capacity building. We focus on 3 working themes: labor rights, good governance and inclusive growth. CDI have small grants from Irish Aid in Vietnam to organize the training and learning exchange between Vietnamese NGOs and Lao NPOs. The training and learning exchange for Lao and Vietnamese delegation as mentioned above would help actors to (i) more understand on environments and institutions of politics, economic, social (ii) learning on Sustainable Agriculture Development in Vietnam and Lao PDR (iii) Formulate network/market […]

Co-Organizers: University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France Università degli Studi dell’Aquila (UNIVAQ – Italy) Ghent University (UGent – Belgium) University of Battambang (UBB – Cambodia) Svay Rieng University (SRU – Cambodia) Mean Chey University, (MCU – Cambodia) Chea Sim University of Kamchaymear (CSUK – Cambodia) University of Girona (UdG – Catalonia, Spain) Overview of the Conference UNICAM is an Erasmus+ project focused on the development of master programs in sustainable agriculture (MSA) made up of eight universities from Cambodia, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain. The main objective of this event is to share the knowledge and agree on the steps needed to encourage more and more sustainable agriculture production. As we know there is undeniable evidence that agriculture plays and important role on global change. To that is added the large carbon footprint that food production and distribution leaves behind. Likewise, global change and more specifically the uncertainty deriving from climate change poses a threat to agriculture as it is understood today. This is truly a pressing matter which demands more and more a move to sustainable agriculture worldwide. It is worth mentioning that if we move to agricultural practices that minimize the use of pesticides the benefits will not […]

On the 6 – 8 November, over 260 participants from 21 nationalities gathered in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to discuss the futures of Agroecology during an unprecedented Regional Forum. The event was co-organised by the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) of Cambodia, CIRAD and GRET in a joint effort to promote agroecology. This “Agroecology Futures” Forum was the biggest event on agroecology in the Mekong Region since the Regional Symposium organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in November 2015, in Bangkok, Thailand. The objective of the forum was to support a regional dynamic toward an agroecology transition in the Mekong Region, by networking organizations involved in agroecology, disseminating knowledge and strengthening the effort for R4D. Over 3 days, the participants could learn, share and network through 74 presentations in plenary and parallel sessions, an innovation and knowledge fair (with over 20 booths), a poster session (25 were presented) and a seed swap where more than 60 different plant species were exchanged. Agroecology being diverse and multidimensional, a broad range of issues were addressed such as the fundamental role of crop biodiversity, the highly preoccupying status of agrochemical use in the region, the need for appropriate-scale machinery, the importance […]

ALiSEA has proudly launched its new publication, Agroecology Futures, Inspiring and innovating stories from the Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia, in the framework of the Agroecology Futures Regional Forum which took place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on 6-8 November 2018. This publication results from the compilation of over 20 case studies and collective researches from the ALiSEA Small Grant Facility and other research work carried out since 2015. ALiSEA funded 26 initiatives to support agroecology activities in the Mekong region, which were translated into several knowledge products. These later were reviewed and harmonized to produce this capitalization book. The small grant initiatives were implemented by a broad diversity of stakeholders and participated to change the agriculture sector at different levels, from production unit to policy level. ALiSEA considers these stories as first hand and precious illustrations from the field, which could inspire others to act for a transition toward agroecology in the Mekong region. The following member organizations of the network were particularly involved: ADC, ADG, CGFED, Chalmers University, Chulalongkorn University, CIRAD, CISDOMA, Echo Asia, GRET, MIID, MIPAD, NAV, NUoL, NOMAFSI, Ockenden, RIKOLTO, SPERI, Svay Rieng University & Royal University of Agriculture, TdH Italy, TOA, RCRD, Vivre de sa […]

In the framework of its work aiming at changing the negative narrative towards agriculture through innovative approach to attract the youth, ALiSEA launched a pilot research initiative to document some innovative farms, Assessing farm sustainability in the Mekong Region: from the concept to case studies. This study took place between March and August 2018 and was led by Ms Eve Anna Sanner, ALiSEA Jr Researcher, in close collaboration with ALiSEA team across the Mekong Region and the Youth Farm Network (Y-Farm) in Vietnam and Kalyana Mitta Development Foundation (KMF) in Myanmar. Youth is generally seen as having lost interest in farming in the Mekong region. Young people would not aspire anymore to be farmers, as such work would be associated with limited opportunities, little prestige, lack of independence and low returns (Sofie Mortensen, 2018). However, this common view on young people needs to be put in perspective. Agriculture is still a major working sector for the young population of the Mekong region: as an illustration, more than two thirds of young people in Cambodia are relying on agriculture for their livelihoods (OECD, 2018). Furthermore, the decline of the share of young people working in agriculture should not only be explained […]

On the 1 – 3 of October 2018, over 65 participants from 12 nationalities coming from 6 countries (Cambodia, Laos, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) and from different background (Government agencies, Research Institutes, Universities, Development practitioners and private sector) gathered at the Vansana Riverside Hotel in Vientiane, Laos, for a Regional experience sharing workshop about Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) to promote Agroecology in the Mekong Region. This workshop was organized by GRET in the framework of the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) with the financial support from the French Agency for Development (AFD) and the Conseil Général des Hauts de Seine (CG92). Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) emerged over 40 years ago, as “locally focused quality assurance systems […] based on the active participation of stakeholders and built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange.” (IFOAM-Organics International, 2008). In several European countries (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Japan) organic farmers were initially inspected by committees that involved farmers as well as retailers, processors and/or consumers (Sylvander, 1997). Later on, PGS were revived in Brazil (where alternatives to certification have been sought since the 1990s), India and Mexico (Fonseca et al., 2004; Khosla, 2006; Nelson et al. 2016). […]

MELA is an alliance formed to provide a forum for exchanges of agriculture extension and other important information on rural development in the Mekong region. The mission of MELA is to be a network for all stakeholders in agriculture and rural development in the Mekong Region to continuously learn and share knowledge and best practices with each other and from outside sources in advisory services for sustainable agriculture, marketing and rural development. MELA was initiated by representatives of the Mekong countries at the Workshop on ‘Reaching the Millions’, funded by SDC and organized by Helvetas in cooperation with GFRAS, which was taken place in Hanoi in March 2015. These participants acknowledged the value of regional networking and agreed to meet again to share experience and explore opportunities for further cooperation. In this regard, MELA was inaugurated in Lao PDR during first meeting held in August 2015. The second MELA meeting was organized in June 2016 in Yangon, Myanmar, while the third MELA meeting was organized in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in 2017.The Fourth MELA meeting has been held from 20-24 August 2018 in Nonthaburi, Thailand Objectives of the Meeting: Updating and redefining common interests of members; Revising a draft charter for […]

The vegetable sector is becoming more of a focus for research, development and the private sector in Southeast Asia due to the high nutritional and economical value that can be generated. However, the sector faces key challenges including (1) low average yields of vegetable production in many places; (2) poor competitiveness within the region as well as outside the region; (3) postharvest losses as high 40%; (4) produce that does not conform to quality and safety demands of consumers; (5) and problems meeting market demand during the wet season. Vegetable production is concentrated mostly in the dry season, when producers take advantage of more suitable climatic conditions, and often conventional and relatively simple techniques can be used to grow vegetables. Improving off-season (wet season) production potentially helps farmers take benefits of higher prices and fill production gaps, but it does require different technical applications to manage production, postharvest handling and market access. Many research, development and private sector partners have been working on techniques to develop innovative production and supply chain systems that enable the vegetable industry to meet consumer demand year-round. The regional vegetable forum 2018, as a part of this series of events, has been again initiated by […]

By Patrick Trail (Agricultural Staff Member at ECHO Asia) As an organization that seeks to equip people with agricultural resources and skills, we often find ourselves coming back to the seed. Again and again we witness the value of saving open-pollinated seeds, shedding light on locally adapted and underutilized plants of merit, and researching innovative low-cost seed storage technologies. These activities form the foundation of ECHO’s ability to empower others in their endeavors to improve food and agricultural systems around the world. Building on a longstanding history of seed bank operations, first in Florida, and now Asia and Africa, ECHO continues to expand its capacity for placing seeds into the hands of those in need. In 2009, with the establishment of Asia’s Regional Impact Center and Seed Bank, the first step was taken in an ongoing process to house seeds of regional merit and local importance on location. To date, ECHO’s first regional seedbank strives to meet a growing demand for locally-adapted, open-pollinated seed from within our network, and its success attests to the wisdom of its establishment. Distributing over 4,600 trial seed packets in 2017, from a selection of 175 different varieties, the Asia Seed Bank serviced network partners […]

On the 16th of August 2018, over 40 participants from Government agencies, Research Institutes, National University of Laos and Development practitioners attended the Sub-Sector Working Group on Agro-biodiversity (SSWG-ABD). The meeting took place at the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) and was chaired by Dr Bounthong Bouahom, Director General of NAFRI, and co-chaired by Michael Jones, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Policy Officer. The objective of this SSWG-ABD was to share experiences, knowledge and policy advises on innovative approaches for combining agriculture development and agrobiodiversity in Laos. The different presentations gave a complete overlook on the opportunities for supporting agrobiodiversity in Laos and beyond, with interventions from government bodies, research centers and private sector to present initiatives at both grass root and institutional levels. The topics covered included policy advises through the presentation of the Policy analysis on scaling up Green Agriculture, presented by Mr Kamphou Phyoyyavong from NAFRI. The Mountain Futures initiative was introduced by Dr Xu Jianchu, from the Kunming Institute of Botany, with a fruitful discussion on the potential entry points and replicability of some concepts of the initiative in Laos. In the second part of the SSWG-ABD, Mr Manoluck Bounsihalath from NAFRI presented the Pha Khao Lao portal, […]

Do you feel that organic agriculture is a key for a sustainable and fair development in the Mekong region? Do you believe that agroecology is a promising approach to protect people’s health and the environment? Do you also admire farmers who are developing innovative agroecology initiatives? Then, help us to showcase the beauty and the diversity of agroecology initiatives in the Mekong region. Pick one of the many agroecology initiatives implemented by innovative farmers in the region and share with us your best photo from the field. The deadline for submission is the 15th of October 2018.  Your photos must be sent to the email address: [email protected] The 15 best photos will be selected and displayed during the Regional Forum “Agroecology futures” (https://ali-sea.org/), taking place in Siem Reap, in Cambodia, during the week of the 5th of November 2018. Photographers will benefit from a high visibility during the event. Out of the 15 photos of the exhibition, 3 will be elected by the participants during the Regional Forum and will receive Cash Prizes. The first photo will win 350$, the second one 250$ and the third one 150$. The Mekong Region at a crossroads: from agricultural intensification to ecological matters With a fast-growing population, […]

Workshop Objectives: The objective of workshop is to share the results of  Rice – Potato – Rice rotational model; discuss about the results of study and also to get the comment to improve the study and also to disseminate the research model to practice. Time: From 8 AM to 11:30 AM of 22 June Location:  Meeting room of Tan Duc Commune, Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province Number of Participants:  about 50 people Participants: The representatives of local authorities of Phu Binh District, Provincial Extension Center, District Extension Center, Phu Tho High Tech Agricultural materials Seeding Company, farmers, ICC staffs. The results of Workshop: After the presentation of ICC about the study on SRI- Potatoes rotation model and reports from the farmers implementing the study. There are comments for the project report as follows: The study has showed some issues of rice production in Tan Duc Commune. The data results of study has also showed economic efficiency, society and environment of rice production of Tan Duc Commune between traditional rice cultivation model and SRI model, rotational Rice – Rice and Rice – Potatoes – Rice model. The study has also showed some advantages and difficulties of farmers when they join […]

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Socialist Public of Vietnam and Republic of France (1973-2018) and the 100th anniversary of establishment of the Phu Tho Agro-Forestry Research Institute (6/1918-2/2018), Vietnam Academy of Agriculture Science (VAAS) together with French Agriculture Research Center for International Development (CIRAD) and Northern Mountainous of Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI) have organized the workshop on “Vietnam –France cooperation towards the development of sustainable agriculture for the northern mountainous region of Vietnam” on  the 20th of June with the objectives of reviewing the updated results and achievements of some collaborative Vietnam – France projects in term if sustainable agriculture development in northern mountainous region of Vietnam; explore  and propose new vision and strategies for research collaboration between two countries in the next period regarding to ecology agriculture development in northern mountainous region The participation of the workshop are the leaders of MARD, VAAS and its member institutions, the representative of French research centers/institutions/agencies in Vietnam; universities. International research organization, local government and mass media agencies The knowledge products were shared in the workshop Some research results on sustainable farming ecology on sloping land (NOMAFSI) Study on fodder crops in sustainable upland […]

Co-organizers Finn Church Aid (FCA) Dan Church Aid (DCA) Life with Dignity (LWD) Overview of the symposium ‘Resilience’ has been an international buzz-word for a while and has lately become an emerging global topic. Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in Southeast Asia and highly affected by the climatic variability. In this framework, European Union Aid Volunteers from Finn Church Aid (FCA), Life with Dignity and Dan Church Aid (DCA) have organized this event to share knowledge and experiences bringing innovative solutions to enhance climate change resilience in Cambodia. The topics of the speakers cover sustainable and resilient agriculture, resilience-based programming, agroecology approach and migration as a coping strategy for climate change. In addition, new green office standards and ‘Plastic use awareness’ will be showcased. As resilience has become increasingly trendy as a term, it has been applied to various contexts. Because of this over-use we have ended up in a situation where everything contributes to resilience and thus the term has become vague. As the term is used increasingly to justify programs, there is a need to discuss and define what fits under this broad term – what additional value does it bring to […]

On the 4th – 8th June 2018, the second Mountain Futures Conference took place in China’s Yunnan province, against the backdrop of the famous Hani rice terraces in Honghe and the rapidly growing city of Kunming. Building on the success of the first Mountain Futures Conference in 2016, the event gave participants the opportunity to shape the future of the Mountain Futures Initiative and to share knowledge and ideas with a range of researchers and representatives from mountain regions around the world. The Initiative seeks to foster local innovations for resilient livelihoods in mountain regions worldwide; it aims to identify, develop, and scale up mountain-based solutions to global problems. Prior the conference, a 2 days field trip was organized to Honghe county to visit the Hani Rice Terraces and some demonstration sites of relevant technologies, and to participate to the Cornerstone Ceremony for the Honghe Innovation Centre for Mountain Futures. The Open Science Conference was then organized in Kunming around 3 main themes: ECOSYSTEM RHYTHMS: UNDERSTANDING CHANGE Due to elevation gradients, mountain ecosystems are governed by unique ecological rhythms; we need to update our scientific understanding of how these ecological cycles are affected by climate change and other global processes. […]

Seeds festival was conducted on the last day of 10th Annual Alunmi Assembly of Kalayana Mitta Foundation’s alumni at Thar Yar Chaung Village, Pyin Distinct, Nga Pu Taw Township, Ayeyarwaddy Division on April 3, 2018. Saya Bo Bo Lwin gave an opening speech, and then Saya Lisu Peter (Pyin Oo Lwin) gave a special talk about the struggle life of farmers. Some villagers from Thar Yar Chaung village shared their knowledge and experiences in organic farming. After Lunch, Saya Naing Lin Tun from Metta Development Foundation presented about the law of seeds. The objectives are to realize the long-term effect of using GMO, to be aware with what GMO is and what our Seed Law and Action plan for seed law.

Gaia Green Network organized the 5th annual meeting in Nyaung Shwe Township, Innlay, Shan State on 10-12 May, 2018. Their objectives are to share information and technique about organic agriculture, to solve the problem of agriculture and to strengthen the network in Organic agriculture and PGS. There were (40) participants coming from Myitkyina, Pwint Phyu, Pyin Oo Lwin, Phe Khon, Inle, Dawei, Kan Kyi Tauk, Tike Kyi and Yangon townships, presenting their activities, discussed the difficulties and challenges in organic agriculture production and action plan.

Article written by CISDOMA “Through the games, I now know to invest more wisely”, Ms. Luong Thi Doi, a farmer in Binh Lu commune, Tam Duong district (Lai Chau province) shared after attending the sessions of simulation games. These simulation sessions was supported by the project “Promoting agro-ecology transition via enhancing farmers’ analytical and decision making capacity through application of simulation games” funded by The Agro-ecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA). Vietnam is undertaking a strategic transformation of agricultural sector, with strong direction from government towards improving quality of agricultural products and protecting environment. From technical aspect, application of agro-ecology friendly practices in to farming systems is the only way to ensure safe quality of the products and sustainable environment. The adoption of the environment friendly technologies and practices however has encountered numbers of obstacles. Among the hindering factors, the low level of acceptance and adoption of farmers towards agro-ecological friendly techniques is a bottleneck. A critical reason to this fact is that there is lacking of effective approaches in communicating and facilitating farmers, and consequently limited application and expansion of the good practices. Simulation games have been proved as an effective tools to facilitate farmers’ engagement into […]

The potato is considered as a major diet in many countries and stands globally fourth just after rice, corn and wheat. As an important staple food, it contains vitamin B6, potassium, copper, vitamin C, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, dietary fiber and pantothenic acid. The potato is commonly found in Cambodian’s dish as food garniture, soups and in many fast food restaurants. Every day about 5-10 tons of potatoes are imported from neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, China or even Japan, Australia or the USA to Cambodia and its keeps increasing every year while a local production is not existing with exemption of a handful of pioneering projects. Since 2016, GIZ has been collaborating with the Potatoes Research Center, in Royal University of Agriculture to initiate potato trial fields in the potential areas where the weather conditions are favorable for potato cultivation by taking 10 varieties from Vietnam, Thailand, Scotland and Germany. As the result, it appeared that several potato varieties introduced from Europe are better performing in both quality and yield at the time of harvest. The yields variated between 17 and 20 tons. However, one season is not enough to determine the best performed and economical cultivars and/or recommend […]

Since 2011 GIZ ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN-SAS) have been cooperating closely with delegates of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) from the Department of Agricultural Legislation (DAL) and General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) as well with agricultural experts of all ASEAN Member States to develop the ASEAN Guideline on the Regulation, Use and Trade of Biocontrol Agents (BCA). The purpose of the guideline aims to create a regional blueprint for national regulation and implementation strategies, harmonization of registration requirements and ASEAN recommendation for national regulations and policies. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the GIZ, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, through the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems project has organized a workshop on dissemination of the registration form of the biocontrol agents, the Prakas No. 526 on Imposing Usage of Sample Documents for Commercial Biological Control Agents (BCA). The main objectives of this event are to: Raise awareness on registration form as key element to make BCA official available in Cambodia Share and discuss the experiences, activities, and lessons learned by BCA application All presentations are available for download hereafter: Presentation the key content of registration form and registration application procedure and activities of […]

The Agriculture Technology and Social Action (ATSA) and The Thai Education Foundation/The Field Alliance have organized one day workshop on “Pesticide Residues and Test Kits for Food Safety” on 19th December 2017 at the Tonle Bassac II Restaurant in Phnom Penh. The workshop aims to share the knowledge and efforts in studying the impacts of pesticides to health and environment and residues testing carried out in Thailand and build capacity of interested agencies in the uses of test kits to detect pesticides residues in vegetables and fruits and other toxic chemicals used to treat products. The flows of chemical pesticides and agricultural products are now appeared in all countries with very little effort to regularly and effectively checking the chemicals residues in foods within local markets and cross border check points. Improper and excessive pesticide use poses severe risks to human being as the toxic residues get into the food chain with negative consequences for health. There are 32 people from different NGOs/IOs, relevant government institutions, farmers, teachers and ATSA staffs attended the event.   Blood test was conducted in the workshop while 18 participants agreed to do the blood test to find out whether chemical pesticide, Organophosphat (OP) and Carbamate […]

The 3rd Annual Meeting of Mekong Extension Learning Alliance (MELA), help on 30th October 2017- 1rst November 2017 at Angkor Paradise Hotel-Siem Reap, Cambodia, was organized by HEKS EPER, MELA and MAFF with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Gfras. The objective of the meeting is to: exchange ideas and knowledge share best practices among professionals from the country participants learn from each other for new inspiration of work The meeting begun with an introduction of program and MELA followed by welcome remarks from honor guesses. The initiative ideas of MELA foundation and its functions and the objective of the 3rd MELA meeting were introduced to participants. The program schedule started from welcome remarks from honor guesses; presentation of new policy, innovation and challenges in agricultural extension and rural advisory service in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar; Presentation from agriculture education, research institutions, NGOs, private sector on agricultural extension and rural advisory service; a panel discussion on Pesticides Impacts to Health and Environment; presentations of private sector and NGOs on Access to Market; a discussion panel on Youth in Agriculture/Future Farmers; field visit organization. The farmer’s market development experiences were shared from SNV Netherlands […]

The 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) in Myanmar was organized in Yangon on the 22 and 23 February 2018. The support to the emergence of ALiSEA is part of a regional program, Towards an Agroecological Transition (ACTAE), funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and implemented by GRET. The AGM was attended by 46 participants from a broad diversity of organizations (Local & International NGO, Farmer Federations, Research Centers, Academia, Private Sector and Government Agency). This event was organized around a two-days meeting alternating presentations, insightful talks and field visits. The field visits, on the 22 February 2018, brought the participants to 2 organic farms: Myanmar Organic Farm Co. Ltd located in Pan Tapwint Taung village, near Hmawbi Township and part of the Myanmar Organic Farm Movement (AMFM) and Kokkoya Organics, an urban farm located in North Dagon Township and operating through a Community Supported Agriculture model. It enabled participants to witness first hand organic initiatives and exchange with experienced farmers. The AGM provided a space for: Reinforcing and envisioning a broad coalition of stakeholders involved in the promotion of agroecology in Myanmar Presenting and sharing ALiSEA progress activities and updates on granted organizations […]

On the 9th of February, 44 participants from Government agencies, Research Institutes, National University of Laos, Development practitioners and private sector gathered at the Vansana Riverside Hotel in Vientiane, Laos for a thematic workshop on Bringing Agroecology to the Market: Innovative Market Approaches and Institutional Settings to accompany the agroecological transition. This workshop was organized by ALiSEA with the support from GRET and CIRAD. It took place in the framework of the Lao Uplands Initiative. A very popular term throughout the world, agroecology designates at the same time a scientific discipline, a set of agricultural practices, and a political/social movement (Wezel et al, 2009). The rallying point of these approaches is the need to improve the sustainability of agriculture, by focusing on various dimensions (e.g., agronomic, environmental, social, economic, and ethical) and at various scales (e.g., the plot/field, the farm, the landscape and the whole food system). Agroecology is thus not only about transforming agricultural practices, it is also about transforming the relationship between agriculture and the society. As a result, it also focuses on social values, such as trustworthiness, health, food sovereignty, youth development and improved livelihoods for farmers and their communities (Loconto et al., 2016). The agroecological transition […]

On 9th & 10th of December 2017, ALiSEA has organized a side event in the framework of the Luang Prabang Film Festival addressing Sustainable Farming and Agroecology! Addressing Sustainable Farming, the Environment, and Agroecology, this event was meant to emphasize the important role of the youth as part of the solution to lead an agricultural revolution that is much needed in the Mekong Region. It was organized in different sessions throughout the week end as follow: 9 & 10 December, whole day: Agroecology Market & Knowledge Fair & Photo Exhibition 9 December, 4 PM: A public conference about “We are what we eat” (main issues at stake in the Mekong Region and more especially in Laos in regards to agriculture development) 9 December, 5.30 PM: Award ceremony for the winners of the short film contest followed by the screening of the top selection of short films about Youth & Agroecology 9 December, 7 PM: Cocktail offered by AFD Whole day 9 & 10 December: Agroecology Market & Knowledge Fair Organized in the garden of the Institut Francais of Luang Prabang, this market fair gave the opportunity to meet with young (and older) organic farmers, learn from their experiences and buy […]

Based on on-going activities in the field of training and higher education implemented by a range of partners within ACTAE project and beyond (see program of the event) a regional workshop was organized in Phnom Penh on October 11 2017 bringing together different partners involved in training, awareness raising and higher education. This workshop was organized on the continuity of a 1st event organized by ALISEA in Vientiane in June 2017. A diversity of participants attend the event with representatives from several universities in the region (Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar), research institutions, representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, departments of Agricultural Land Resources Management, and NGOs. The first focus of the event was on e-learning as an integrated tool between different actors and beneficiaries. Discussions were conducted prior the event one between ITC, SupAgro, RUA, Queensland University, GDA/DALRM, GRET and CIRAD to identify common expectations for this event and outputs. The event was organized on two main sessions with in the morning presentations from different partners in the region and in the afternoon working groups on beneficiaries identified. Dr. Bunthan NGO (RUA), Dr. OM Rommy (ITC), Dr. Chan Phaloeun (GDA) and Dr. Philippe Girad (CIRAD) did introductory speeches. During his […]

On the 5th of December 2017, over 50 participants from Government agencies, Research Institutes, National University of Laos and Development practitioners attended the Sub-Sector Working Group on Agro-biodiversity (SSWG-ABD). The meeting took place at the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) and was chaired by Dr Bounthong Bouahom, Director General of NAFRI, and co-chaired by Dr Stephen Rudgard, FAO Representative in Lao PDR. The objective of the SSWG-ABD is to support the work of the Sector Working Group on Agriculture and Rural Development (SWG-ARD) in matters regarding to the Lao agrobiodiversity. It focuses more especially on policy aspects regarding the conservation and sustainable use of agro-biodiversity and access and benefit sharing. The meeting of the 5th of December addressed in priority Agroecology with presentations clarifying the concept and highlighting why it was relevant for Laos & the Mekong Region but also different case studies illustrating ongoing initiatives at both grass root and institutional levels. Hereafter are the main presentations of the meetings that led to some fruitful discussions: Agroecology in Lao PDR and in the Mekong Region, Why it matters today? How to promote it? By Pierre Ferrand, GRET / ALiSEA Identifying barriers in the adoption of Agroecological practices in […]

The 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) in Vietnam was organized in Hanoi on the 13th and 14th of November 2017. The support to the emergence of ALiSEA is part of a regional program, Towards an Agroecological Transition (ACTAE), funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and implemented by GRET. The AGM was attended by over 55 participants from a broad diversity of organizations (Local & International NGO, Farmer Federations, Research Centers, Academia, Private Sector, Government Agency and International Donors). This event was organized around a two-days meeting alternating presentations, insightful talks and field visits. The field visits, on the 13th of November, brought the participants to 2 organic vegetable groups engaged in PGS approach in Thanh Xuan Commune (Soc Son District) and to Bao Chau Organic Pig farm in Minh Phu Commune (Soc Son District). It enabled participants to witness first hand agroecological initiatives and exchange with experienced farmers. The AGM provided a space for: Reinforcing and envisioning a broad coalition of stakeholders involved in the promotion of agroecology in Vietnam Presenting and sharing ALiSEA progress activities and updates on granted organizations of the 1st and 2nd calls for proposals from ALiSEA and CANSEA Grant […]

The Mekong Sub-region is rapidly becoming a new frontier of economic growth in Southeast Asia due to its rich human and natural capital (ADB 2017). Its suitability for a wide range of crops has made agriculture one of the sub-region’s important economic sectors. It has also led to increased trade and investment linked to regional integration. More than two-thirds of the population of the countries comprising the Mekong Sub-region rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods (WWF Greater Mekong). These countries are Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The People’s Republic of China (Yunnan Province) is a part of this sub-region but for purposes of this forum is not included. The forum aimed to share research findings from SEARCA SFRT grantees across the Mekong Sub-Region, as well as develop research to address gaps, towards the promotion of ecological farming, adaptation to climate change, and improving rural livelihoods and food security. This forum covered Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT) research from 2013 to 2016 where 11 out of 15 studies of Vietnamese and Myanmar grantees are relevant to the above subject (none from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand for the period). The expected […]

Fostering a safe and sustainable vegetable sector In the Lao PDR, vegetable production provides around 80% of domestic demand, mostly produced by smallholder farmers. Throughout the country, there are large differences in consumption between provinces. Challenges to vegetable production include suboptimal yields, poor competitiveness, high postharvest losses, product that does not conform to quality and safety demands of consumers, limited technical capacity and difficulties in meeting market demand during some periods of the year. Additionally, the recent establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community has implications for cross-border trade regulations. Thus there are many opportunities for both producers and the private sector to benefit from improved connections and sustainability. The vegetable sector offers smallholder farmers an option to diversify their production systems and market opportunities, improve household nutrition and increase incomes for farmers and traders. Importantly, it also offers women a source of income, and can help improve household food security. As the sector develops, opportunities for market engagement, input supply and agro-processing will increase. These challenges and opportunities can be addressed in many different ways, and with a range of stakeholders. In Laos, there are public, private and development partners working to improve the productivity and profitability of the vegetable […]

With a fast growing population, increased pressure on its natural resources and climate change impacts everyday more present, South East Asia is at a crossroads regarding its agriculture development, calling for an important shift towards an agroecological transition. In this framework, ACTAE project has a regional focus (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) and aims at enhancing and building durable and effective networking mechanisms to facilitate synergies among agroecology initiatives. It intends, through its CANSEA component under Cirad, at providing institutional and operational backstopping on Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Agroecology (AE) research linked to the Conservation Agriculture Network in South East Asia (CANSEA). In this way, some grants will be provided to CANSEA members and partners in order to enhance and strengthen agroecological research activities. Here is enclosed a concept note explaining the procedure and topics short listed: ACTAE-Cansea 3rd call for proposal VF10102017 Only proposals with a focus on agroforestry approach among agroecology will be eligible. The proposal should be based on a production of high economic interest for the country (ies) concerned and should aim at: – Showing results for capitalization / demonstration even within 9 – 10 months of operational implementation of the project; – Improving the scientific […]