Agriculture Competitiveness Project

The development objective of Agriculture Competitiveness Project for Lao People's Democratic Republic is to increase the competitiveness of selected agricultural value chains in the project areas. This project has four components. 1) The first component, Improved Agricultural Efficiency and Sustainability, aims to support (a) the increased adoption of improved varieties and high-quality seeds; (b) the increased application of GAP; (c) the provision of critical productive infrastructure; and (d) the strengthening of public services delivery. It has the following four subcomponents: (i) Promoting Adoption of Good Varieties and Quality Seeds; (ii) Promoting Good Agricultural Practices; (iii) Providing Critical Productive Infrastructure; and (iv) Strengthening Public Services Delivery. 2) The second component, Enhanced Agricultural Commercialization, aims to support (a) establishing of an Agricultural Value Chain Facility (AVCF); (b) measures to better link farmers to markets; and (c) studies to improve the enabling environment for agro-enterprise and value chain development. It has the following three subcomponents: (i) Establishing an Agricultural Value Chain Facility; (ii) Linking Farmers to Markets; and (iii) Improving the Enabling Environment. 3) The third component, Project Management, aims to support the following subcomponents: (a) project management; and (b) monitoring and evaluation (M and E). 4) The fourth component, Contingent Emergency Response, aims to finance public and private sector expenditures on a positive list of goods and/or specific works, goods, services, and emergency operation costs required for emergency recovery.