Farmers have low access to education, census reveals

The 3rd Lao Census of Agriculture has found that access to education among farmers is low, with 28 percent of farmers never having attended school, 31 percent completing only primary school, 14 percent completing lower secondary school, and just six percent finishing upper secondary school.
Women still have less education than men, especially at the basic education level, with 32 percent of women never having attended school compared to 19 percent of men.

In terms of gender, the census revealed that 90 percent of the heads of farming families are male while 10 percent are female.
A report on the findings was presented on Tuesday at a meeting to launch the results of the 3rd Lao Census of Agriculture 2019-2020, chaired by the Head of the Lao Statistics Bureau, Ms Phonesaly Souksavath.
The census was carried out by the Lao Statistics Bureau and Ministry of Planning and Investment in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
Speaking at the meeting, Ms Phonesaly said “The Lao Statistics Bureau greatly appreciates the close collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture and line ministries at the central, provincial and district levels and their efforts to ensure the census was carried out successfully.”
“The technical support provided by FAO with regard to personalised training and hands-on technical assistance in the use of innovative technologies enabled the first Lao Agriculture Census to be completed using computer-assisted personal interviewing techniques,” she added.
Director General of the Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Sousath Sayakoummane, said “The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry greatly appreciates the close collaboration with the Lao Statistics Bureau and FAO in the planning and implementation of the 3rd Lao Agriculture Census.”
“This collaboration brought together a variety of experts across statistics and agriculture to guarantee the relevance of the data produced,” he added.
Also speaking at the launch, FAO Representative in Laos Mr Nasar Hayat said “The LACIII represents a foundational building block towards a sustainable agricultural data system in Laos.”
“The government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has worked closely with FAO to be forward-looking in planning for the census by choosing to invest in new cost-effective technologies and methodologies that will provide the groundwork for future data needs in agriculture,” he added.
The census was carried out in 2019-2020 and is the third agriculture census undertaken in Laos after the second was undertaken nearly 10 years ago in 2010-2011 and the first in 1998-1999.
It is the first agriculture census in Laos to use the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing mode for data collection.
The use of this method represents an effort by the Lao Statistics Bureau and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to transition towards a digitised approach to data collection.
The preliminary results of the census will be a key instrument for the government in carrying out effective socio-economic and rural development plans to improve living standards in rural areas.
The data obtained is also critical to the success of the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda.
The census includes fundamental data on the organisational structure of agricultural holdings, such as farm size, land tenure, land use, the structure of livestock populations, gender-disaggregated data, forestry activities, fishing activities, and household food security.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update December 22, 2021)