Lao-IRRI Rice Research and Training Project

• Research unit: SDC
• Project number: 7F-03364.05

Key words (German)

Laos
IRRI
Reis
Gesellschaftliche Strukturen
Beziehungen
Ausland
Entwicklungshilfe

Key words (English)

Development cooperation

Key words (French)

Coopération au développement

Short description (English)

Laos PDR is one of the poorest countries in Asia with a GDP of US $ 290 per person, a United Nations Human Development Index of 136 (out of 174 countries), a life expectancy of 51 years, and a literacy rate of less than 60%.

85% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Agriculture contributes 57% of the GDP and rice, the dominant crop, is planted on some 88% of arable land. Rice production in Laos PDR is concentrated in the rainfed lowlands, which account for 70% of rice production. The remaining 30% of production comes from irrigated rice (18%), permanent upland rice (5%), and slash-and-burn cultivation (7%). Rice is the staple food of the population of 5.3 million people and contributes up to 70% of the calorie intake of the poorest section of society. Rice consumption averages 172 kg per capita per year (mostly sticky - glutinous rice), the second highest rice consumption in the world after Myanmar. The widely recognised Participatory Poverty Assessment published in 2001 reports that 'the primary indicator of poverty in the eyes of the poor is the degree of rice sufficiency'.

The development of a sustainable and effective national rice research program benefits farmers by producing relevant and more profitable farming technologies. By more efficient production, consumers benefit from access to better, more reliable and cheaper food supply. Ultimately, the country benefits by reducing the need for costly rice imports. By targeting rice production, the core element of poverty and livelihoods in Laos is being addressed.

Project aims (English)

"Farmers in Lao PDR improve their livelihoods by equitably benefiting from NRRP's capacity to carry out relevant rice research".
The three objectives of the project are:
1.The NRRP has adequate capacities and strategic tools to plan, implement and monitor the rice research program, and to disseminate the results effectively
2.Farmer livelihoods in lowland areas are improved through the rice research and development activities conducted by NRRP / NAFRI.
3.Strategies for improved livelihoods through rice-based farming systems research and development in the uplands are designed and tested, with initial positive results available

The target groups and project beneficiaries are:
"NRRP/NAFRI and MAF government officers who are developing and implementing a rice research program,
"the small scale subsistence farmer who can reduce drudgery and increase incomes through improved farming practices generated by NRRP,
"the consumers (including the urban and rural poor), who have access to an increasingly cheaper and reliable staple food supply, and
"the country as a whole which can retain scarce foreign currency reserves by decreasing or eliminating rice imports.

The project is consistent with the SDC's Mekong Region Programme 2 objective for Natural Resource Management (NRM), namely, to promote the capacity building and institutional development necessary for the formulation and implementation of sustainable development policies and the environmentally sound use and management of natural resources in the region. The present proposal contributes to the Lao Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and to the Millenium Development Goal 1, which is to 'eradicate poverty and hunger', and Goal 7, which is to 'ensure environmental sustainability'.