Rome, 19 January 2024 – Awareness of local nutrition practices and solid coordination among development partners are necessary to tackle the multiple complex causes of malnutrition in Laos. This is one of the main findings that emerged from the project performance evaluation of the Southern Laos Food and Nutrition Security and Market Linkages Programme (FNML) in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, published by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE).

The project performance evaluation (PPE) report found that while the FNML’s support to agricultural production groups contributed to increased production and crop incomes, this did not translate into improved nutrition. Moreover, besides implementing nutrition-related activities through different partners, there was no clear coordination with other nutrition programmes in the target area, which would have been crucial to address the multiple and complex causes of malnutrition. Consequently, malnutrition and diet diversity remain serious problems for the target families.

The FNML was designed to ensure sustainable food and nutrition security and incomes of households in 175 villages in the target districts in the south of the country. The total programme cost was US$18.86 million, funded by an IFAD Debt Sustainability Fund  grant, an Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme grant, the Government of the Lao PDR and beneficiaries. The FNML is the sixth project evaluation carried out by IOE in Lao PDR to date.

The IFAD-supported programme proved innovative in a number of areas, including the creation of agricultural production groups (APGs), the provision of training, matching funds and adaptation to climate change practices. With regard to the latter, concerted efforts were made by FNML to mainstream climate change adaptation throughout the programme. These resulted into the implementation of climate change adaptation learning activities within the country and region, and the integration of such practices into project interventions.

An activity that farmers highly valued was the provision of seedlings for cultivation in the forest production zone. This intervention added a clear production value to the forest and enhanced forest cover. The FNML also improved farmers’ access to markets through the setting up of agroshops along main roads, providing an additional market for nearby villages to sell produce. Beneficiaries perceived these outlets as useful for increasing sales.

Overall, the provision of inputs was well-adapted to the needs of APGs owing to their close involvement in the process. Increases in the farming area cultivated, in the volumes produced and yields increased productive capacity.

Nevertheless, although all target villages were reached, the remoteness of many villages with poor road conditions meant they generally received less support. The different livelihood strategies and needs of people across villages in different rural contexts was not fully recognized or accounted for. The planning processes in some villages also meant that some voices were less heard or never heard, such as those of young men and women with limited or no access to land, as well as poor women and men who do not speak Lao.

Furthermore, APG members benefited from the project in proportion to their rates of literacy and means of production. This means that the benefits have been relatively higher for people in villages close to district centres and men and women with more arable land, labour and literacy skills.

In addition to the aforementioned nutrition-related lessons, the experience of the FNML highlights the need for a better balance between the breadth of activities, local implementation capacities and the number of poor and remote villages that can be reached effectively. IFAD and Government should ensure a strong diagnostic study of local conditions and different poor and vulnerable people’s needs and priorities during design and early implementation to apply tailored solutions to different locations and groups.

In the early 2000s, Lao PDR was one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia and the Pacific. Its GDP grew by an average of 7.3 per cent per year. In 2011, Lao PDR became a lower-middle income country.  Economic growth was predominantly driven by large-scale investments in capital-intensive sectors, particularly in mining and hydropower. During the last five years, GDP growth has slowed due to long-term structural vulnerabilities and external shocks. Lao PDR is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to adverse climate change impact, ranking 137 out of 181 countries according to the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index.

For further information, please contact Alexander Voccia [here]

• To access the project performance evaluation of the Southern Laos Food and Nutrition Security and Market Linkages Programme (FNML) in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, please click here.

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