ADB supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in raising $10 million in grant financing from the global agriculture and food security program The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a…

ADB supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in raising $10 million in grant financing from the global agriculture and food security program

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $10 million grant with the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) to strengthen responses to food security challenges facing the country. 

ADB supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in raising $10 million in grant financing from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. The financing will be used to help bring down the cost of essential farm inputs such as pesticides, fertilisers, and machinery and also make them more widely available. The grant will also support efforts to diversify the country’s dietary preferences by encouraging fish as a regular food staple and source of protein, helping establish home gardens, and clearing lands from unexploded ordnance (UXO) to increase cultivation areas.

The $10 million grant will serve as additional financing for the ongoing Sustainable Rural Infrastructure and Watershed Management Sector Project, which aims to boost rural incomes by diversifying farm outputs to include dry-season high-value crops and improving rice yields during the rainy season by investing in irrigation infrastructure in the four northern provinces of Houaphan, Louangphabang, Xaignabouli, and Xiangkhouang. The project also protects watersheds through ecological services and promotes community nutrition through awareness-raising interventions.