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.
The Lao-IRRI Rice Research and Training Project (LIRRTP), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), was established in 1990 to help the government of Lao PDR to achieve rice self-sufficiency on a sustainable basis. The LIRRTP, also known as the “Lao-IRRI Project,” has a broad-based mandate to help develop improved rice technologies by undertaking research, setting up a functional rice research system, and enhancing the scientific and managerial skills of national staff. In collaboration with the National Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), the Lao-IRRI Project has developed technology packages consisting of improved varieties and complementary crop management practices. The project has also played a key role in the institutional development of the research systems and research capacity building.
The collaboration between NAFRI, IRRI and SDC has helped Lao PDR take big steps towards the twin objectives of national self-sufficiency in rice and the establishment of a fully functional rice research system. The recent impact study of the Lao-IRRI Project at the farm and national levels clearly showed that the project has generated substantial impact during its operation, leading to increased food security. The major achievement is certainly that from 1990 to 2004, the national annual rice production increased from 1.5 million to over 2.5 million tons, a net increase of almost 70%.
The project is considered as SDC’s flagship in Laos. SDC has gained wide recognition from the Lao authorities for the long standing and committed support. This has facilitated the access to and contacts with the authorities at all levels, in particular within the Ministry of Agriculture, and contributed to the success of other SDC funded projects as the LEAP (Lao Agricultural Extension project).
The current Phase 5 was planned as last phase of the support to the Lao IRRI project, aiming at (1) ensuring institutional sustainability of the National Rice Research Programme (NRRP), (2) more widely capturing the benefits of the work in the rain fed lowlands and (3) focusing on the research, training and development needs of the uplands. However, late 2005, it became clear that these aims would not be achieved and SDC agreed to fund a last consolidation phase three years of the Lao-IRRI project, with clear national leadership and a decreasing role of IRRI. However, the project document which was subsequently submitted in June 2006 revealed that there was no common understanding yet on the strategic priorities for SDC’s support.
Based on above, the best option to avoid a botched phasing out of the SDC support to its flagship project in Laos is to plan a smoother transition, with commonly agreed and clear management objectives as well as binding deadlines and benchmarks. During the transition, the project management structure shifts gradually from IRRI to NAFRI, and national procedures (accounting, reporting, human resource management, inventory, equipment, etc) will be applied, rather then continue using IRRI’s. On 31 December 2006, this shift will be completed. Once the project management shift is concluded, research management and research planning will as well gradually be transferred from the project to the National Rice Research Programme (NRRP) under NAFRI. At the end of the transition phase, NRRP will budget, plan, manage and administer the research activities. In order to avoid a complete disruption to the rice research system, on-going research efforts will continue to be supported throughout the transition phase (as in all earlier phases), however with a clearer focus on the poor uplands.
Besides transferring the project from IRRI management to national management and ownership, the transition phase will allow SDC to clarify questions related to its last phase of support to the Lao rice research (Oct.2007 – Sept. 2010). Thanks to SDC recent opening of the Branch Office Laos, SDC will be closer to the national reality and the involved partners, this should facilitate the process.
SDC’s total contribution to this one year transition phase (1. October 2006 – 30. September 2007) amounts to CHF 595’000. IRRI’s support costs are gradually reduced to 50% until April 2007.
