This project seeks to improve the development of small-scale farming in Laos and Cambodia by means of novel approaches in three areas: analysis of farming systems, scaling up activities beyond the farm level, and education and capacity building.

This new project in Laos aims to boost the sustainability of land management and governance as well as to support climate-resilient livelihoods. Its mission is to enhance knowledge, capacities, and processes – in government and the private sector – on behalf of quality investments, climate-resilient practices, and the empowerment of vulnerable communities. The project is a joint effort between CDE and the government of Laos, and is funded by the Swiss government (see also the next post).

On 3 November, an agreement on the new, already mentioned, project in Laos was signed in Vientiane. The date also marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Laos and Switzerland. At the signing ceremony for the agreement, Phet Phomphiphak, Lao Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and Pedro Zwahlen, Ambassador of Switzerland to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, both expressed their enthusiasm for the project and emphasized that the initiative aligns with Laos’s development vision and Switzerland’s regional priorities. Read the press release by the Lao government.