The National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES) is a comprehensive national framework for growth and development, and has a particular focus on the improvement of the poverty situation in the poorest districts. It has thus a dual objective: enhancing growth and development, and reducing poverty.
From a poverty eradication perspective, the most important policy-related objective regarding agriculture/forestry development is improvement of household food security. Contributing to this objective, and improved living standards more generally, market-based farming will be enhanced, disparities between lowland and sloping land farming reduced, and sustainable forest and watershed management enforced.
The Policy describes current situation of food insecurity in Lao, indicates vulnerable populations and target groups. It also sets out a poverty-focused Agriculture/Forestry Development Plan, which focuses on ensuring food security through identification of local needs and adjustment of extension services, distribution of improved paddy seeds, training of farmers, more effective use of irrigation systems and strengthening of livestock. The Policy also specifically indicates measures to be taken to reduce the vulnerability of rural households from drought and flood damage, livestock diseases as well as the risks of market-based system.
The Policy also addresses maintaining a certain growth rate in the agricultural output and promotion of commodity production, by increased credit availability and financial institutions, facilitation of land occupancy entitlement, capacity building, support for establishment of agro-processing by private sector and farmers groups, trade facilitation and regional economic facilitation, as well as bottom-up participatory planning, improved natural resource management, decentralization, diversification and technology transfer. Environment conservation in the context of poverty reduction issues is also among the priorities of this Policy. It includes a plan of action to improve the management of natural resources through increased participation and protection, especially of the poor, improvement of the institutional framework and its capacity through raising public awareness and political commitment, as well as improvement of the pro-poor environmental management and industrial and construction sectors.
The Policy also includes the development of agricultural production in view of the adoption of market principles blended with community-based initiatives to facilitate the transformation from subsistence to commercial farming. In this context, farmers are being assisted to diversify into cash crops, horticulture, livestock, fishery and NTFP, based on socio- economic and agro-ecological considerations in each region. Applied research and district extension services support these initiatives.
The NGPES outlines a wide range of measures to strengthen the capacity of the Government at all levels to better fulfil its vital role. Among these measures are strengthening of the public service, especially at the district level. To help ensure that all citizens and particularly the poor and disadvantaged have effective legal rights, the Government will emphasise greater transparency of and access to the legal system. Sound, accountable and transparent financial management is an integral part of the Government efforts to increase efficiency of public management and resource allocation.