Projects and Flagship Initiatives in Laos

The Alliance Cassava Program in Laos leads in co-developing innovative solutions for specific regions, farming systems, and markets boosting farm productivity, enhancing consumer benefits, and driving sustainability for the cassava-growing smallholders and their communities. 

Through the Future Stems facility, the Alliance and NAFRI is also taking the lead in rapidly producing and distributing disease-free and disease-resistant planting materials to safeguard smallholder cassava farmers in Laos and three other neighboring countries (Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia). 

The cassava molecular laboratory in Laos backs groundbreaking work on characterizing highly infectious transboundary cassava pathogens in the region using globally accepted protocols. Supporting cassava improvement programs such as Future Stems, the molecular laboratory tests mother plants and planting materials to ensure multiplication and distribution of disease-free materials. The laboratory validates molecular diagnostic technology developed in collaboration with interdisciplinary research groups across the globe and shares them with National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) in Southeast Asia. 

Working closely with the National Agriculture and Forestry and Research Institute (NAFRI), the Alliance champions actionable research to sustain key livestock critical to sustenance and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Laos.

The Alliance in Laos is contributing knowledge and expertise to developing sustainable management and production practices for high-value commodities, such as cassava and banana, to bolster local income and improve nutrition in local communities.

Within the Intervention Package 3, the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program aims to develop an integrated approach to conservation and use of nutrient-rich agrobiodiversity spanning crops and landraces, small livestock and indigenous breeds, fish species and aquatic diversity in Laos, among the priority countries. 

Safeguarding the genetic native tree diversity of valuable Rosewood species along the Greater Mekong Region is at a critical juncture in Southeast Asia, including Laos. The Alliance is working closely with a regional network of experts and organizations to improve conservation and restoration initiatives for many threatened tree species.

To address potential losses from extreme climate conditions, the Alliance is capitalizing on digital technology to deliver ICT-based information services in Laos. Through the Laos Climate Services for Agriculture, more than 110,000 farmers are involved in co-creation of agrometeorological services, further guiding them on better crop management while bolstering climate resilience in the region.