Laos eyes export-quality agri produce
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The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Agriculture Department is devising measures to ensure the safety of agricultural produce grown in Laos for domestic consumption and export.
The department has formulated standards for agricultural goods but has not yet set clear policies for producers, according to agricultural officials.
To encourage farmers to grow crops in line with international standards, the department, under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, is focusing on four specific areas, department director-general Monthathip Chanphengxay said at a press conference in Vientiane.
‘Clean’ cultivation methods
Those areas are organic agriculture, good agricultural practices, pesticide-free production, and conservation agriculture.
Monthathip said each of these aspects involves different practices but they all have the same goal – to ensure safety, environmental protection and sustainability.
The practices recommended under these systems will help cut farmers’ costs by reducing their outlay on chemicals, while the market price of “clean” agricultural products is higher.
The government has already paved the way for farmers to grow crops through clean agriculture, but the sector lacks the funding and experts needed to put these methods into practice.
However, clean agriculture is gradually expanding in Laos as more farmers’ groups and companies in Vientiane and the provinces respond to consumer demand, department official Thavisith Bounayasouk said.
