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Laos is a country rich in biodiversity, and its people use agricultural biodiversity resources every day for food, medicine and income. However, this resource is threatened by changes in agriculture and land use practices, including overexploitation. An agricultural biodiversity project is being implemented to ensure that agricultural biodiversity is integrated into national policies and that Lao farmers continue to benefit from biodiversity in their farming systems. The project, which is technically supported by FAO and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has been guiding policy development since 2011. As part of this larger programme, farmers in Phongsay district have been trained in the cultivation of oyster mushrooms. The project started in October 2014 with the establishment of a mushroom cultivation group, and has been receiving technical inputs from FAO and the local technical service centre.
Connecting farmers to high-value markets
Ms. Vieng, 32, can now proudly say that she is a mushroom farmer. She smiles as she shows the oyster mushrooms she picked from a bag, something she learned after attending a mushroom cultivation training in Huayman village in Phonsay district, Lao PDR.
She and seven other villagers from Huayman and three other village groups joined the planting group in October 2014. From the beginning, they learned how to prepare the raw materials under the guidance of the technical service center in the neighboring village of Nambor.
Farmers in the area have a long tradition of gathering wild mushrooms for consumption, but they knew little about how to grow them. The newly formed mushroom team went on a learning trip to learn from two other successful mushroom growers in Luang Prabang. They soon realized that oyster mushrooms could easily be sold in the Luang Prabang market for 20-25 000 kip (2.5-3 USD) per kilogram.
So when the Technical Service Center staff worked with an expert from the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Vientiane to suggest training villagers in growing oyster mushrooms, they saw an opportunity.
Ms. Win has been a member of the group for a year. “Through the training, our group has produced 1.5 tons of oyster mushrooms, and now I spend less time looking for food in the surrounding forests,” she said. The group has sold 20 million kip (US$2,500) worth of mushrooms, 60 percent of which has been deposited in a local bank. Many villagers, like Ms. Win, now have extra income and can better support themselves and their children.
Although Oyster mushroom is an easy species to cultivate, special attention needs to be paid to avoid contamination at every step of the cultivation process, from sterilizing and inoculating the bagged raw materials to keeping the house clean.
“Huayman village performed so well because the villagers understood the simple hygiene rules they needed to follow, such as how to maintain optimal humidity by watering the growing rooms regularly. This was the key to their success,” said Ms. Viengkham, an expert from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The oyster mushroom cultivation groups in Phongsai District have sparked interest and motivation among other local villagers. Mr. Hounpheng is a farmer living in Panma Village, about 18 kilometers from the Nambor Technical Service Center. “When I learned about these groups, I asked the organizers to let me join and attend a training course. Now I know how to grow mushrooms properly,” he said.
The mushroom growing group will have its third harvest in 2016, after which they anticipate that they will be able to produce without additional technical assistance.
Food security and agricultural development policy
A strong partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has made FAO a trusted partner in supporting key policy development in the country. In early 2015, FAO worked with the World Bank to develop the government’s strategic action and investment plan to implement the new national rice policy. This intervention included advice on sustainable ways to achieve food security by increasing production and developing trade and exports.
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