VIENTIANE (XINHUA):Southern Laos' Sekong province has received over US$4.2 million in grants through Official Development Assistance (ODA), to finance projects centered on agricultural development, rural development, and nutrition.
The projects aim to boost crop cultivation, animal husbandry, agricultural infrastructure and rural development, in a bid to alleviate poverty related to malnutrition and to generate more income for local communities, Lao National Radio reported on Thursday.
In recent years the Lao government has provided more than 259 billion Lao kip (US$12 million) to finance 169 development projects in rural areas of Sekong province, some 530 km southeast of Lao capital Vientiane.
People in rural areas are benefitting from these development projects and enjoying a better quality of life.
Basic infrastructure and public utilities have been improved and extended so that rural communities have more educational facilities, better healthcare, clean water, other essential services, and farmland, according to the report.
Authorities are also improving economic, social and environmental infrastructure in a bid to ensure a green environment.
From 2022-2025, rural development projects will center on the construction of overflow dams, small-scale irrigation, schools, construction of teacher and student dormitories, water supply, and road repairs in villages.
Farming, animal husbandry and tourism will also receive support through the provision of technical training and financing aimed at community development. - Xinhua
