Assisting MAF in the drafting of a concept note on agriculture water management strategy and master plan

Clarification on the localization: Lao PDR National level

Name of client: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR (MAF)

Description of the project: 
In the framework of the contract AFD/DOE/NAT/ARB/2019-012, related to a technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of Lao PDR on sustainable irrigated agriculture development, the consultant team produced the following documents :
        -a Concept-note on integrated water resources management for a sustainable irrigated agriculture
        -a Master plan layout, detailing how to traduce the concept note in a concrete plan involving the various departments of the MAF and other ministries.

The concept-note has been prepared by International Office for Water and the layout of Master Plan by Mr Inpasith Thathongsakd, national expert reclulted for the project. Both were procuded in close collaboration with MAF partners.

Description of services provided by IOW: 
Specific tasks for the International experts

• Meet with relevant authorities 
• Review relevant legal and planning documents related to irrigation and water management
• Draft a Concept-note on integrated water resources management for a sustainable irrigated agriculture, developing the needs for a new national strategy on this matter, and including relevant examples of countries facing similar challenges 

In order to prepare the concept-note, 2 missions have been carried out in Vientiane with French experts (August and September 2019). During these one-week missions, the following Lao institutions have been met:

• MAF/Vice-Minister Mr Phouang Parisak Pravongviengkham, twice       
• MAF/Task Force, three times      
• MAF/Department of Irrigation (DoI), twice       
• MAF/Department of Policy and Legal Affairs (DoPLA), twice       
• MAF/Department of Agriculture Extension and Agro-Processing (DAEAP)      
• MAF/Department of Forestry (DoF)       
• MAF/Department of Planning and Finance (DoPF)       
• MAF/Department of Agricultural Land Management (DALaM)       
• MAF/National Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI)       
• MAF/Department of crops production (DOA)