Improved road, large farmland luring investors to poor district
Improved road, large farmland luring investors to poor district
Domestic investors are eyeing Sangthong, one of the country's poorest districts, as an area with big potential for establishing livestock farming businesses with improvements in transport links between Vientiane and the district.
The nearly complete Road No. 11 construction project is seen as a key to addressing chronic difficulties in communications and transportation that has affected the area over past decades, but is now drawing the interest of business people seeking new investment opportunities.
People from Vientiane have begun to invest in the agricultural sector such as industrial and fruit tree plantations, crops and livestock rearing.
An agriculture official Mr An Sivone said recently “Good roads and large tracts of farming land are very significant to woo business people to the district.”
The total area of Sangthong district is 75,982 hectares of which agriculture and forest lands occupy the largest proportions with over 29,915 hectares and 38,769 hectares respectively.
Since being established in November 1993, the district had not yet seen any intensive livestock farms up until recently. Most local farmers raise their cattle and buffaloes to roam around to feed in rice fields after harvest or in the forest. When production season arrives the animal owners will go and round up their livestock again.
Officials in the district livestock and fishery sector are very concerned about the traditional animal rearing practices of local farmers because it makes the control of seasonal diseases difficult when there is an outbreak. These long-established techniques also do not coincide with the animal sector's guidelines to promote commercial agriculture.
Mr An said this year is the first time that domestic business people had started to set up four large livestock farms in the district. These projects are focused on rearing fish, goats and cattle with each farm having an area of 18 to 32 hectares.
Each investor has spent hundreds of millions of kip on their farms in development, building facilities, improving pasture grass and importing animals.
Some entrepreneurs have already imported some animals from Thailand to their farms while some properties are still under development.
District authorities welcome any business people who are interested in investing in livestock ventures, hoping to increase the quantities of products the district sends to market in the future.
The official hoped that the farms will become models to help set examples to local people about modern techniques for raising animals and most importantly help control the spread of disease outbreaks more easily.
The district official also expected these farms will reverse the declining number of livestock, especially cattle, within the district over the past decade.
According to statistics of the district Agriculture and Forestry Office, there are currently more than 13,000 cattle, which is down from 16,000 in 2000. Cattle have traditionally been preferred as the most popular kind of livestock by most farmers. The number of pigs is more than 2,671 head and goats at 3,217.
District authorities are strongly promoting investment in farm businesses because the district's improving infrastructure is making the area a convenient 55 km from Vientiane and a potential market of about 800,000 people.
Road No. 11 is the main route to link the district to the capital and to other districts in Vientiane and Xayaboury provinces.
Sangthong is one of nine districts of Vientiane capital, has a population of more than 29,200 people. Most of the population are employed as farmers engaged in rearing crops and animals. But production is still considered weak compared to the other eight districts.
vientiane times
