Laos steps up agriculture, forestry investment
Laos steps up agriculture, forestry investment
To expand the product capacity of agriculture and forestry, the government is boosting economic cooperation with domestic and foreign entrepreneurs.
In total, 620 domestic and foreign companies have invested about US$2.3 billion in the agriculture and forestry sector in Laos.
Some 289 Lao companies have invested about US$188 million or 8 percent of the total investment value, while 331 foreign companies have invested US$2.12 million or 92 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
A total of 261 companies haveinvested in agriculture, 98 in livestock, 227 in forestry, and 34 companies have invested in agricultural services.
These investments help to improve local people's living conditions and contribute to agriculture and forestry development, with this sector contributing 24.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Commercial crops, especially coffee, cassava, maize, bananas and watermelons, are grown extensively i n the northern provinces.
The export value of crops passing through international and provincial borders climbed to about US$394 million last year.
The ministry expects the export value to increase this year due to larger crop yields.
The ministry also aims to increase the number of livestock by about 10 percent to ensure an adequate supply of meat and to produce a surplus that can be sold.
Laos currently has 195 cattle farms, 668 pig farms and more than 400 poultry farms.
The government is also encouraging Lao and foreign operators to breed tilapia in the Mekong and Nam Ngum rivers.
To encourage more domestic and foreign investors in agriculture and forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry requires close cooperation from relevant sectors such as the ministries of Industry and Commerce, Finance, and Public Works and Transport, as w ell as banks.
Some Lao entrepreneurs have difficulty obtaining financi ng for their operations and this needs to be addressed so they can expand and operate on a commercial basis.
The government also plans to improve its policies and regulations to facilitate product supply and improve access to technology to strengthen commercial production.
The ministry will continue to cooperate with the relevant sectors to formulate policies for the agriculture and forestry sector such as policies on agricultural land management, the processing industry, investment, marketing, pricing, employment, and copyright.
