ADB supports Lao PDR response to food security challenges

Source: Internet

ADB supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in raising $10 million in grant financing from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. The financing will be used to help bring down the cost of essential farm inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, and machinery and also make them more widely available. The grant will also support efforts to diversify the country’s dietary preferences by encouraging fish as a regular food staple and source of protein, helping establish home gardens, and clearing lands from unexploded ordnance (UXO) to increase cultivation areas.

“Rising food prices have affected households’ welfare and purchasing power, with many families coping by eating less,” said ADB Country Director for the Lao PDR Sonomi Tanaka. “This grant financing provides vital support to address food security and nutrition challenges. It will help local communities respond to inflationary pressures through the provision of grants to farmers and the extension of services that promote climate resilient farming practices.”

High inflation has continued to temper household spending in the Lao PDR in 2023. Consumer price inflation has averaged 32% over the first 11 months of the year. Food price inflation averaged 40% for the same period due to increasing imported food prices linked to currency depreciation and higher production costs from imported agricultural inputs. 

The $10 million grant will serve as additional financing for the ongoing Sustainable Rural Infrastructure and Watershed Management Sector Project, which aims to boost rural incomes by diversifying farm outputs to include dry season high value crops and improving rice yields during the rainy season by investing in irrigation infrastructure in the four northern provinces of Houaphan, Louangphabang, Xaignabouli, and Xiangkhouang. The project also protects watershed through ecological services and promotes community nutrition through awareness-raising interventions./.