Opening Remarks for Launch of the National Action Plan on Sustainable Food Systems Transformation

Excellency, Dr. Linkham Douangsavanh, Minister of Agriculture and Environment

Dr. Chanthakhone Boualaphanh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment

Our colleagues from the Asian Development Bank: Mr. Qingfeng Zhang, Senior Director, Agriculture, Food, Nature and Rural Development from Manila; and Mr. Amr Gari, Officer-in-Charge of the ADB Country Office

Heads of UN Agencies

Directors-General and other Government counterparts 

Development Partners:

Thank you for joining us today for the launch of the National Action Plan on Sustainable Food Systems Transformation. Our event today showcases the importance of food systems transformation to sustainably reduce food insecurity, improve nutrition, promote more sustainable livelihoods, and drive economic activity in Lao PDR. National and international partners have long been engaged in supporting components of the national food system, like promoting better agricultural practices, improving production and better connecting producers to the markets that they serve.  The National Action Plan we are launching today offers an integrated approach to these important goals, connecting farming, nutrition, climate action and markets into one coordinated effort.

Sustainable food systems transformation is possibly more important in Lao PDR than any other country in South East Asia. The agricultural sector accounted for almost a quarter of the economy in 2024, serving as a primary source of income and employment for nearly 70 percent of the country’s labor force. The sector is also increasingly shaped by the effects of climate change, including reduced yields due to average temperature change, or crop loss due to recurrent climate shocks.

An integrated approach to food systems recognizes how improvements in production can positively transform lives and livelihoods for the many people that the system serves. Improved production technologies mean producers benefit from better markets and diversified crops, and raise household earnings. Likewise, linking sectors and institutions helps producers handle climate shocks better, with tools like early warning systems, and real-time information improves decisions of what, when and how to produce. Further, nutrition-sensitive approaches such as aligning production decisions with community-level nutritional requirements and promoting dietary diversity and healthy foods are key to cutting malnutrition rates. These interventions need to work effectively together to improve access to nutritious food for vulnerable groups, including children, and to minimize the generational effects of undernutrition and acute malnutrition linked to food insecurity.

Ladies and gentleman:

Integrated food systems reform is an opportunity to promote sustainable livelihoods, people-centred rural development, and improve health and nutrition outcomes that raise the potential of all people in Lao PDR. It is an example of the kind of sustainable, inclusive and green growth that is central to Lao PDR’s plans to graduate from LDC status.

A National Action Plan encompassing all these areas and interventions is a fantastic example of effective collaboration between Government and its partners, including the UN System and the Asian Development Bank. Seen from an angle of the 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan, the National Action Plan is a true force multiplier: it contributes to at least five of the Plan’s six outcome areas – from human capital development to self-sufficient economy and regional integration, and from poverty reduction and people’s wellbeing to environmental and climate resilience.

In direct support to this National Action Plan, seven UN agencies joined forces in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to establish the “Integrated Food Systems and Climate Resilience Initiative in Lao PDR”, a 2½ -year, US$ 4.5 million UN Joint Programme. This work is funded by the UN Joint SDG Fund in partnership with the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, as well as resources of the participating UN organizations.

This Joint Programme would not have been possible without the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s continued leadership, and the spirit of partnership with the Asian Development Bank that allows us to channel our technical and financial support in complementary areas to promote climate-resilient food systems in Lao PDR.

I wish to thank the seven UN agencies – FAO, IFAD, UNEP, UNDP, UN-Habitat, UNICEF and WFP – that have come together to support the National Action Plan. The UN Joint Programme will focus on increasing the level of youth and community engagement in climate-smart agricultural practices, better integrating traditional, climate-sensitive practices into local food systems activities, and improving understanding of financial and climate risks in agricultural decision-making, to name a few areas of support.

The Project will benefit 100,000 people across 20,000 smallholder farming households in Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces, 40 percent of which are expected to be women-headed households, and 20 percent involving older persons as direct beneficiaries. Joint Programme activities will also involve 55,000 youth, and 800 provincial and national officials. 

We hope that the lessons learned from our Joint Programme will inform future activities promoting new production technologies and financing products in food systems development.

On behalf of the UN Country Team, let me thank H.E. Dr. Linkham for his stewardship of the National Action Plan, as well as colleagues at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and other partners institutions who supported the development of the UN Joint Programme.

We look forward to working with you all as we move to implementation of this crucial initiative.

Thank you.