Politburo outlines directions, demands serious action to ease poverty

The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party’s Politburo has told Party leaders of central and provincial Party committees to oversee work to improve policy on the provision of credit or loans for rural development and poverty reduction, to raise wealth levels.
Policy improvement in this regard is one of the measures outlined by the Politburo, the country’s top political decision-making body, in its seven-page order that highlighted the directions to be followed, especially in combatting poverty.
Party committees’ secretaries at central and provincial organisations were told to step up their leadership role in overseeing work to improve credit or loan rate policy as appropriate.
The relevant bodies were told to do more to promote commercial agricultural production associated with processing, as well as seek more markets for products.
The Politburo called for stronger promotion of agricultural enterprises, farms, fresh farm products and organic crops. 
Party committees at all levels and the government were told to take action to fulfil these directions.
The Politburo also suggested more effective use of land allocated for agricultural production, while ensuring the land use rights of local people. The relevant sectors were told to continue providing knowhow on agricultural production services to local farmers as well as encourage modern collective farming in rural communities, while ensuring that markets were available. 
“The state must have policies in place to support funding, services, training, and management,” the Politburo stated in its order.
The Politburo asked government and Party committees at all levels to work harder to encourage local and foreign businesses to invest in the application of modern technologies to agricultural production, while creating conditions to enable farmers to engage in contract farming.
Authorities were told to provide training so that farmers could access and learn about new farming methods and use new cultivation technologies to increase the quality and quantity of farm products. In this regard, the Politburo stressed the need for the more effective operation of agriculture and forestry demonstration centres in providing training and technical services to farmers.
The Politburo called for the government to urgently formulate comprehensive master plans and projects for rural development and poverty reduction, with priority given to remote border areas.
The government was asked to increase investment in scientific research on agricultural production, including seeds, livestock, and planting and rearing methods to increase yields.     
The Politburo underlined the need to improve roads in rural communities to connect production supply chains and the farm product trade between rural communities and townships.
Also, the government was asked to develop and improve other basic infrastructure in rural communities including the electricity and telecommunication networks, along with improving education, skill training and healthcare services.
Authorities were told to urgently assess previous contract farming practices including the ‘2+3’ model, in which farmers are responsible for providing land and labour, while investors provide seedlings, technical services, and markets. Assessment will also be made of the ‘1+4’ contract farming practice, in which people provide land, while investors are responsible for labour, seedlings, technical services, and markets.

By Souksakhone Vaenkeo
(Latest Update February 25, 2020)