Project: LEAP project

• Awareness
• Contract Farming

• Poster the contract farming: rights of farmer, the content of contract, & condition, case of problem (at village, up to the higher level)
• Guide book
• Website

Awareness of investment:
- Produced the fact sheet of think before sign
- Produced: video. Poster, radio (Lao (Lao Loum, Theung & Eng subtitle)
-Produced poster and video on Contract farming: think before you planning in the rubber investment (see source)
LEAF worked mainly at 5 northern provinces : LB, ODX, XK, HP, Pongsaly

Manual guide book

Local authorities pay less attention of the farmers rights on the contract signing: Contract always flows through the village authorities (means that the farmers only listen to the village chief about the content of contract but they never seen the content of the contract by themselves (village chief act as the coordinator of contract signing and contracting between the traders or investors and farmers)
-  Contract is just a papers signing between trader and producer: E.g: Price negotiation is seem very difficult, means the negotiation could not be done even mentioned on the contract (according to the contract) in both side as well as traders also can not buy the products as in the contract and sometime farmers could not provide the sufficient quantity
- Investors in Laos are the small scale and are not professional (eg: in Brazil the investor have to have their own farm then they can go to the farmer to make the contract with farmer (bonus to the farmers for example the lowest of mortality rate will get bonus. (The project takes time to have the success)
- Both traders/investors and farmers do not have insurance on their business
- Each province not set certain goods

-  Increasing the transpiracy of contracting, in order to reduce the risk for farmers from the contract farming system. Means, farmer has to know and understand clearly of the content in the contract and make agreement before sign, while the trader/investors must be registered their business accordingly to the gov law/regulation and, then both side must be sign in front of the provincial judiciary (ຂະແໜງຍຸຕິທໍາຕາມ ຂັ້ນ) or at the country level, so it needs a medium facilitator (from Gov sector) who had well trained on professional of the contracting procedure and fairly attitude for both sides)
- Producer Group Setting: DAEC ease farmers to set their group and strengthen the group organization management through the training, implementing and putting into systematic as Lao gov policy. Then, farmers will be stronger on any negotiation with traders/ investors/company;
- The case in Bounnua, (HP province) they make the main contract with the Provincial office level and subcontract in the village level, the company must registered (accordingly to the regulation of the investment/trading of Lao gov) and deposit their money at 30 % of the total expected payment of buying products from the producer in order to warrantee the price for all farmers when the company is corrupt ;
-    The case in Bounnua, (HP province) they make the main contract with the Provincial office level and subcontract in the village level, the company must registered (accordingly to the regulation of the investment/trading of Lao gov) and deposit their money at 30 % of the total expected payment of buying products from the producer in order to warrantee the price for all farmers when the company is corrupt ;
Recommendation: group setting is the key point to help Lao farmers, while the contract is just a tool to help on the production and supply chain.

• Mr Souvanthong NAMVONG
• Mr Khampheuy CHANTHAVONG
• Mr Insone SAYSOMBATH
• Mr RAKHESH MUNANKA
• Dr Anonth KHAMHUNG