FAO extends Hand-in-Hand Initiative to support Lao agriculture

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has extended the Hand-in-Hand Initiative to improve the agriculture sector in Laos, at a meeting held in Rome, Italy, to discuss the project.
FAO supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to showcase Laos’ potential in business opportunities in agriculture to foreign investors at the Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum.
The Initiative is one of the biggest programmes designed to eradicate poverty under Sustainable Development Goal No. 1, end hunger and malnutrition (SDG 2), and reduce inequalities (SDG 10).

Officials meet at the Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum in Rome, Italy, on Monday.

Designed by FAO, the Hand-in-Hand Initiative is an evidence-based, country-led and country-owned initiative aimed at accelerating agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development.
The project addresses factors inhibiting Laos’ achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through an innovative, comprehensive, and fully integrated approach in order to deliver holistic and effective development assistance and in a collaborative, accountable, pragmatic and flexible partnership framework.
The Hand-in-Hand Initiative is not a stand-alone programme but a country-level approach. As such, it responds to the call of the 2030 Agenda for market-oriented, partnership-based approaches to ending poverty, hunger and malnutrition while promoting sustainable use of natural resources, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
In partnership with FAO, the Lao government will utilise the Initiative to establish a green and sustainable economic corridor in the north of the country.
This area suffers from persistent levels of poverty and malnutrition. At the same time, preliminary analysis suggest that this region also presents significant opportunities to use agriculture as a vehicle for transformative and inclusive economic development.
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Mr Thongphat Vongmany said “Laos is graduating from being a Least Developed Country, has transformed from being a landlocked country to a land-linked country, and is fast becoming a logistics hub for the entire Indochina Peninsula.”
“With a functioning high-speed train link between Laos and China, we are connected through a network of roads and railways with the entire region. This infrastructure gives us the opportunity to connect to markets worldwide.”
“We have made a commitment to use the strengths of the country’s natural resource base for sustainable agricultural and economic growth, which is highly suitable for a variety of agri-based development interventions.”
The Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum took place on October 18-19 and was attended by leaders from 20 countries on four continents. The crux of the Initiative’s partnership-building effort is to provide a platform for national authorities to present impact investment opportunities to corporations, multilateral development banks and donors, with a focus on the growth potential of the agriculture sector and national business opportunities.
For countries, long-term finance in public investments is key for Hand-in-Hand’s success.
For multilateral development banks, their blended finance structures and risk-mitigating mechanisms can support private investors in the poorest, fragile countries, and help enhance their roles in participating countries.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update October 21, 2022)