VIENTIANE, March 9 (Vientiane Times/ANN: The government of France is further supporting the sustainable agriculture value-chain through the Mekong Tea Project, aiming to strengthen the tea production value-chain in Laos and increase the benefits to small farmers.
The official launch of the Mekong Tea Project took place in Vientiane recently and was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Linkham Duangsavanh, and the Ambassador of France to Laos, Florence Jeanblanc-Risler.
Speaking at the event, a representative of the Mekong Tea Project said “The upper Mekong region is the cradle of tea. In Laos, there are different varieties of wild tea, whose rich genetic heritage remains to be explored.
"Broadly present from North to South, fresh tea leaves are either collected in the forest as a non-timber product or from tea plantations in the uplands.
“Medium to high quality tea offers relatively high incomes to local communities. This potential should be preserved and tapped so that both local communities and natural resources benefit from sustainable development models, ” she added.
This is precisely the approach promoted by France through this project. The main objective of this three-year project is to increase tea smallholders’ incomes through better governance of the tea value-chain and better market access with the promotion of high-quality products.
It is financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through a 1.5 million euro grant.
To achieve this objective, two pilot projects in Bokeo and Xayaboury provinces will be initiated to support tea producers towards the sustainable production of high-quality tea and ensure long-term and fair commercial relationships with international buyers.
The project will also contribute to the revitalisation of the National Tea Learning Alliance, which gathers public institutions, stakeholders and development partners, to serve as a knowledge-sharing platform and unite efforts to define strategic orientations and a governance model based on inter-professional collaborations for tea sector development.
The Mekong Tea Project is the continuation of a longstanding cooperation between France and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in particular the Department of Agriculture, which will play an important role in the implementation of this project.
The project will receive technical support from a consortium composed of AVSF, GRET and LCG.
“Together, we hope that Lao tea culture can be built on a stronger foundation to promote the image and reputation of Lao tea on the international scene while safeguarding the interests of tea smallholder farmers and local businesses, ” Ambassador Jeanblanc-Risler said.
AFD director in Laos, Julie Gabet Ouahioune, said “The tea sector in Laos does not yet have a national strategy. The context is therefore favourable to build a solid development path, using multi-stakeholder collaboration principles and building references at the local level to structure the tea value chain at the national level.” - Vientiane Times/ANN
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