$9.7m grant for Lao food security in Laos focusing

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will launch a 9.7 million U.S. dollar program in Laos focusing on food security, nutrition security and market linkages for rural communities, according to an IFAD press release here Friday. The Southern Laos Food and Nutrition Security and Market Linkages Program will be launched on November 15 under the guidance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The program, implemented over six years from 2013 to 2019 aims to reduce extreme hunger and ensure sustainable food and nutrition security as well as increasing the income of households in the target areas. The program will target 175 villages in an attempt to intensify and diversify farming systems and promote nutrition education. IFAD aims to facilitate rural access to knowledge and information as well as linking farmers to partner banks and business partners. "This project provides an opportunity to combat food and nutrition security in southern Laos and to empower people living in rural poverty to have greater income generating and market negotiation power," said Stefania Dina, IFAD Country Manager to Lao PDR. Since 1978, IFAD has invested approximately 14.9 billion U.S. dollars in grants and low-interest loans to various countries to enable rural people to grow and sell more food. IFAD is an international financial institution and specialized UN agency based in Rome.