Khammuan reaps benefits of model agricultural villages

Friday, May 31, 2019

Efficient farming practices in Khammuan province have seen many communities designated as ‘model agricultural villages’ because they have driven up the production of agricultural goods and increased the amount of produce sold to neighbouring provinces and regions. The province’s agriculture officials said the establishment of model agricultural villages falls in line with Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) policy which seeks to stabilise the nation’s food security and increase agricultural exports to other countries.

photo source from Vientiane times

Model agricultural villages are those which have shown exceptional diligence in following the government’s recommendations on what crops to grow. They are marked by farming communities that have an excellent working knowledge of the land and who have shown strong commitment to growing the best quality crops. The products grown in model agricultural villages must assist the local community in some way. Officials said Khammuan now has 10 model agricultural villages and that plans are underway for the designation of more in the near future.
An official from the province’s Agriculture and Forestry Department said the department sees great potential in agriculture and believes it will be the main driving force behind Khammuan’s future economic growth and development. Khammuan currently has a lot of unused land which provincial authorities believe could be well suited to the cultivation of a wide variety of crops. The more food that is produced for export will mean more wealth for the people of Khammuan, the official said.
Provincial authorities encourage farmers to grow a variety of commercial crops. This lessens the likelihood of oversupply of one product. It also means local families have access to a wider variety of fresh fruit and vegetables than they otherwise might have had, at cheaper prices.
The province expects its rice harvest to reach around 406,940 tonnes this year. The 84,603 hectares of rice under cultivation this rainy season could produce 329,950 tonnes. The 13,650 hectares of dry season rice fields are expected to produce 76,990 tonnes. Provincial authorities said Khammuan’s farmers will grow sugarcane, tobacco, corn and sweet potato this wet season, among many other foods. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry expects to meet its agriculture development strategy targets of 2025.