Investors require clear agricultural investment policy
Investors require clear agricultural investment policy
Economic crop development policy in Laos needs clearer regulations to encourage foreign investor confidence.
The government should define more clearly the kinds of main commercial crops for promotion, which areas are suitable for investment and how long the investment period can last, the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary General, Mr Khanthavong Dalavong told Vientiane Times yesterday.
Investors would like to make sure their business can progress in a sustainable fashion, he said.
“Different foreign business operators are delaying investment decisions and there has been little progress on the policy issues,” said Mr Khanthavong.
In the past, the government invested a lot of money in the construction, mining and electricity sectors but there has been a lack of funding to promote agricultural production.
He commented that while the construction, mining and electricity sectors help to contribute to socio-economic development overall these sectors do not provide basic development for improvement of people's living conditions.
Laos comprises rich natural resources and high potential in agriculture production but technical assistance and promotion in this sector is still insufficient.
This is despite the government, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, selecting the five main priority crops of rice, coffee, cassava, maize and soybean for promotion, but this is still limited.
The government has agreed to offer large concessions of land in different provinces of the country to big projects without a detailed plan for development.
Farmers in remote areas still have limited land for their cultivation, while thousands of hectares of farming areas have been filled up by construction and infrastructure development.
“Recently Korean and Japanese companies showed interest to invest in planting organic tea and coffee in Champassak province after they studied the area, but local authorities could not supply concession land for them,” Mr Khanthavong said.
Most farming land within the province has already been taken up by other concessions.
The issue of poor land management from concerned sectors is the cause of the lack of development in the Lao agriculture sector.
The government is currently focusing on tourism and light industry promotion to attract foreign investors.
Numerous companies are coming to invest in mining and hydropower investment with its perceived higher profits.
vientiane times
