Coffee tree seedlings ready for planting in Luang Prabang province. - Vientiane Times
VIENTIANE: Farmers in Luang Prabang province are growing coffee to export to Japan, under the Cocreation of Food Security for Farmers with Economic Empowerment with Japan (Coffee-Japan) project.
Since the project began in February, people in Luang Prabang have begun to change the way they live, with significant support from the project, according to the World Food Programme.
Farmers started growing coffee on local arable land and began learning about good nutrition, showing incredible determination to succeed and make improvements to their lives.
The project helps to bolster coffee production and marketing efforts, while promoting access to and understanding of essential nutrition.
The progress of project implementation has seen farmers change their mindset and adopt an easier and healthier lifestyle.
They have learnt about the importance of good nutrition, are getting a new income stream from coffee cultivation, and are learning about the need to preserve forested land.
The Coffee-Japan project is funded by the Japanese government and carried out in collaboration with the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the United Nations World Food Programme, Saka no Tochu, a Japanese private company active in Laos, and Saffron Coffee, a Lao fair-trade coffee company.
The project is underway in eight villages in Luang Prabang’s Phonxay and Viengkham districts, and will take place over a period of 30 months.
The coffee produced under the project will be sold to Japan.
Japan’s support is helping to stabilise and improve rural incomes, while ensuring food security and improving nutrition.
The project has provided training and infrastructure for farmers, which will benefit their whole village, with the ultimate goal of a better life for everyone in the community.
Through the project’s activities, it is envisaged that more coffee will be grown for export, specifically for small- and medium-scale coffee roasters in Japan.
Coffee-Japan is an innovative public-private partnership with a sustainable people-centred approach, integrating export-grade coffee production, capacity building and nutrition awareness to empower communities and drive positive change. – Vientiane Times/ANN
