Agricultural production still lacking support
Agricultural production still lacking support
Crop growing and livestock breeding in Laos still requires more promotion and close cooperation from the government to ensure the sector's sustainability.
Many growers and livestock farms have been left owing money to banks after their businesses collapsed, according to the Lao Agricul tural Product and Processing Association.
The association attributed some of the blame for the business failure to the management systems within various sectors of government.
Many farmers are still struggling with high interest payments taken out to finance their business operations, the association's President, Mr Phouvong Korasack, told Vientiane Times yesterday.
Some farmers have sold their land or houses to repay the banks involved and taken up other lines of work.
To solve the problem, the association has suggested that the government enhance its efforts to establish cooperative groups for agricultural products and livestock breeding, he said.
The secretariat in charge of food security projects at the central level should also offer more agricultural promotion opportunities for farmers and closer co operation to ensure better access to credit at reasonable rates.
This would help to drive down the capital costs which burden farmers and agricultural businesses seeking to expand their operations.
The association also wanted the government to turn land that had been granted as concessions to agricultural investors over to local farmers if it remained unused, said Mr Phouvong.
In the past, the government has approved land for many projects but there has been no development or implementation following the granting of land use rights.
Mr Phouvong pointed in particular to land near villages or district centres, which he said should be made available to local authorities to allocate for development.
Many people in remote areas are still poor as they have limited land on which to grow crops while the poorest people have no access to land at all.
The government should also seek funds to subsidise otherwise viable business operations in the event of natural disasters.
Policy implementation should receive cooperation from different sectors with the participation of farmers in the process.
Laos has potential in terms of crop production and processing, with about 70 percent of the population working as farmers, but most are still growing crops mainly for family consumption.
Large numbers of Lao farmers lack the professional skills and equipment to produce high grade crops, with major impediments being the high capital costs required to upgrade and low yields.
Mr Phouvong strongly believed that for agricultural production to be sustainable on a commercial basis, it requires good management systems under the government's guidance.
Without close cooperation and promotion from the government, the country's farmers and especially agri-business will be at a disadvantage in competition with foreign investors.
