Republic of Korea provides US$9 million for rural development

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry signed a Record of Discussion online on November 1 to initiate the Integrated Rural Development Project in Champassask, Saravan and Xekong provinces.
The 5-year project is being implemented until 2025 with a total budget of US$9 million.
The project aims to develop participatory rural community for the successful implementation of the Sam Sang (Three Builds) directive of the government of Laos in line with the fundamentals of the Saemaul Undong (SMU, The New Village Movement) model.
In particular, the project aims to create rural income generation, improve infrastructure, strengthen the capacity of communities and officials, and increase agricultural knowledge to guarantee food security in the Southern provinces, the KOICA Office in Laos stated.
In addition, the project will build a training centre for capacity building in terms of agricultural production, processing and marketing for agricultural development.
Speaking at the online signing ceremony, Acting Country Director of the KOICA Office, Mr Sangjun Kim, highlighted the successful features and lessons learnt through the rural community development project from 2014-2021 and emphasised the need for the active participation of government officials and village residents in ensuring the effectiveness of the project.
Acting Director General of the Department of Rural Development and Cooperatives, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Khamouane Khamphoukeo, stressed the importance of and urgent need for funding investment in remote rural areas.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update November 4, 2021)