Agriculture demonstration centre to benefit northern farmers
 
The government of China has provided a 40 million yuan grant (about
49.6 billion kip) to the Lao government to build the Lao Agricultural
Technology Demonstration Centre in Oudomxay province.
 
A project agreement was signed on Monday in Vientiane between the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Planning Department Deputy
Director General, Mr Somphan Chanphengsay, and Yunnan Native Produce
Import and Export Company Manager, Mr Wu Jianhui.
 
The signing was witnessed by Lao Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
Sitaheng Latsaphon and Chinese Ambassador to Laos Pan Guangxue.
 
The centre will be built on 30-50 hectares of land in Donekeo village,
Xay district, to demonstrate and teach agricultural and forestry
techniques to farmers and agricultural staff in the nine northern
provinces .
 
Both sides have agreed to allocate priority to crops that are suitable
for cultivation in the north of Laos , such as rubber, sweetcorn, tea,
rice and tobacco.
 
The centre will grow seeds, train agricultural staff in cultivating
seedlings, demonstrate the development of seedlings and in general
support the production and use of quality seedlings. It will also
disseminate new farming techniques in the north of Laos .
 
When the centre is built, the Chinese government will provide
agriculture and forestry experts to help Lao technical staff.
 
The signing follows a project agreement and consultation with
inspectors from China , who met with Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry officials and Oudomxay province authorities in 2007.
 
The ministry has set up agriculture and forestry extension centres in
many districts of the northern provinces . The centres support certain
areas but many northern farmers still have no means of learning new
techniques, said Mr Somphan.
 
He said the centre would help to improve the skills of agricultural
technical staff from other centres and the provincial agriculture and
forestry sector in the north so they could teach more farmers new
forms of crop cultivation.
 
The centre is also a sign of the good relationship and increasing
cooperation between Laos and China through the contribution to rural
agricultural development.