Project: SAEDA (Sustainable Agriculture & Environment Development) Project 2

• Extension management
• Farmer Organization
• Farmer to Farmer
• Organic agriculture
• Vegetables

• Documents
• Website

Technical skills.
Along with a promotion in strenghen of group organizsation in organic vegetable in Paek district, Xiengkhuang province farmers were trrained on the farming technics for organic production in all steps witt asvicing from the technicien staff from DAFO and SAEDA staff. Action on technical training were organic vegetable production technics
and rice (SRS) [46:Part 1] .The sucess of SAEDA was from the invollment and participation of both local authories/technicien and farmers that work, test and modify the technics which aim to reach the sustainable production but easy to do.

Farmers Organization
At the beginning SAEDA promote the technical skill and awareness of the agriculture chemical to farmers in Kham district, then found that only technical skill can not support the farmers for better production if they don't have a good Fos and work together to get benifit for all.
SAEDA started to carry out the problem analalysis of producer group found that they had two main problems: tecnical and marketing, cause of never discuss and sharing their knowledge and information (individual practice don't care each others). Then the SAEDA staff raise the question on how can we solve the problem together? and give them some information on what is benefit from FOs: sharing information, marketing, lesson learnt, then follow by asking the member that do they want to have a group organization? Then farmers take sometimes to make decision. Then SAEDA organized trainong [46] on the FOs with initial of the first regulation of the FOs, objectivess, participartory, cooperative approach to all members, follow by the second trining on group management and technical management, and last training on marketing.
The FOs was set in a small group of 5-6 farmers per group of each village (called non official group), then they were traines on improving tecnical, FOs management, with a follow up by SAEDA team. The performance were coninuing from the village level to district levels and then the marketing support system is need. When the producers grroup are strong in producing the SAEDA together with group request to open the market for their products at in a part of common market but have supporting for special zone (organic vegetable ).
Result of the SAEDA had been share to LNT and Oudomxay province on FOs.
Recently, SAEDA is working togehter with Lao Farmer Network to set the Provincial Farmer Network in Xiengkhuang province, which put together the representative from each producer group in Xiengkhuang for meeting on the Provincial network committee. Then set the regulation, strategy planF and action. Now is ope for all producer group except private sector, to register as member of network then they can apply for election as the committee member.
Objectives of the provincial farmer network are:
1/ Sharing technical knowlege to strenghen the capacity of group members
2/ Access to the financial support: bank/donor/Gov/Private
3/ Marketing- Because we want to set the pilot project called: sector products (e.g. rice, tea, coffee)
4/ Act as the representative of farmers from each province in the importance meeting at national levels and other policy meeting
5/ Data based of technical/producers group members/markting/ etc.
This network will funding themselves by sharing the fee among members at 50,000 Kip per year and the committee also seeking for the funding.
The provincial network will be under the supervision of PAFO, Provinical commerce office, and Provinical Governor office, but the host is PAFO. It is initial activities, and in the first 5 year of action plan of this project the network will focus on the objectives number 1, 3 and 4.

Farmers familiiar with cultivation vegetable they want for home consumtion and for sale not cultivation vegetables from the customers need, and they all cultivate at the same time and in large area which cause over supply and low price.
Chemical use in neighbor farms that make difficulties to develop organic production
Capacity of extension staff (DAFO), project staff and volunteers had limitation for the organic production, therefor it took time to develop all these human resources.

The most difficulty of the group organization development are: 1/ confident of the new organization to carry out the activitivities in initial if they don't see the success from others first. That must take time to work with group (4 years), 2/ Most of FOs members are aging people over 40 years old, which are not easy for them to gain the knowlegde from training and they also have limiting in IT

Setting producer groups interm of to have a good management of production for market supply.
To avoid agriculture chemical residue from neghbor farms we need to set regulation and mechanism to protect organic farm and concerving ecosystem wurounding organic farm as posible.

Promote the Fos to make more income from the activities and then hire the young staff to work on the documentation and accounting. E.g, the PASAP (the Small chicken sticky rice business in Xiengkuang) employes staff to do two activities: coordination and accounting for their business.

• Mrs SOMMAI
• Mr Namvong SOUVANTHONG