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Capacity Building For Silk and Orange Production - TCP/LAO/3802

Year of publication 2025

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 11

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Synopsis (short abstract) In Lao PDR, both orange and silk production are significant but underutilized agricultural sectors. Despite the potential for self-sufficiency, domestic production of both products falls short of meeting local demand, necessitating substantial annual imports. Although oranges are cultivated in 90 percent of villages across the country, productivity remains low due to farmers’ reliance on traditional management techniques, including poor planting material, minimal fertilizer use, and inadequate pest control methods. These inefficiencies have led many farmers to convert their land to more profitable rubber plantations, reducing the availability of land suitable for fruit trees. Similarly, the silk industry, which operates across 15 of the country’s 17 provinces, experiences shortcomings, with annual production meeting less than 10 percent of domestic demand. Production remains largely traditional, with rural women managing the entire process manually from silkworm cultivation to weaving. Despite government efforts to strengthen the sector, it has yet to achieve standardization, automation, or commercial scale. Within this context, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of Lao PDR requested technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to enhance orange and silk production, with a particular focus on strengthening smallholder farmers.

Language English

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