Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR, Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and GIZ organized a Project Management Committee meeting and carry on workshop in Vientiane on March 30-31 to present the  results of and exchange experiences gained during the second phase (October 2014-March 2016) of Lao-Thai-German Trilateral Cooperation project. This will further lead to the development of concepts and proposed activities in the roadmap for a good agriculture practices (GAP) in Lao PDR.

“The Lao-Thai-German Trilateral Cooperation is considered important because its scope of work is in accordance with the Lao PDR’s strategic plan, particularly in relation to the establishment of a Lao GAP Certification Body in preparation for integration with the AEC. With the efforts of the Lao Department of Agriculture alone, success might not be achievable,” said Mrs. Inthanongsith Kommamuang, Deputy Director General, Department of Agriculture (DOA)

 Roadmap for a Good Agriculture Practices in Lao PDR

• Roadmap involves the transformation of DOA’s strategy (2015-2025) to concrete action. This will help the key players to determine guideline for GAP implementation in order to increase the number of farmers and areas receiving Lao GAP certification by 3 percent, accounting for 100,000 farms by 2020. The draft roadmap, which is primarily set as a mid-term 5-year plan (2016-2020), focuses on the following 5 main activities.
• Determination of Lao GAP certification areas
• Upgrade of Lao GAP to national standards
• Upgrade of national Lao GAP certification to meet international standards
• Dissemination of Lao GAP knowledge
• Measures to promote Lao GAP nationwide

After receiving comments on the main activities under the draft roadmap, the Lao Department of Agriculture will present it to all players  concerned for review and consideration. It will then be put into practice.