📋 Tender Overview
Location
Laos
Duration
Start
Mar 2025
End
Jul 2030
Budget
AUD 3,190,000
Description: The agriculture sector plays a crucial role in the Lao economy, accounting for approximately 20% of GDP and employing around 80% of the workforce. Recognising the significance of agriculture, the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic has prioritised agricultural development and implemented a comprehensive policy agenda to enhance agricultural productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.
The Lao government is committed to evidence-based approaches in developing and adapting this policy agenda, as evidenced by the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025, which emphasises the use of evidence and data in policy decision-making.
This project will leverage expertise within the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and support its renewed commitment to evidence-based policy development and its willingness to strengthen the mandate of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) to provide research results for policy development. However, there is need to increase the capacity of NAFRI to operate as the primary institution to prepare policy-relevant knowledge for various government departments and international development partners.
The primary objective of the project is to explore and implement successful approaches and pathways that bridge the gap between research and policy development. Through policy studies, capacity support and policy dialogue, as well as including other ongoing ACIAR-supported research, the project seeks to strengthen NAFRI to become the primary research-to-policy conduit in the field of agriculture and rural development, ultimately leading to the effective presentation of research evidence to the policy development process in Lao PDR.
