On 5 Dec, Phanlany Khompoui, WOCAN Core Associate, attended theannual IFAD portfolio review workshop took place in UN House, Vientiane, Lao PDR.40 representatives from IFAD-funded projects, government partners, development partners, INGOs and Non-Profit Associations discussed IFAD’s current Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which covers the period 2011-2015.Participants discussed a range of topics, focusing in particular on challenges and opportunities faced by IFAD-funded projects, the community-based approach to natural resource management and public-private-partnerships.
The COSOP has three main objectives, working to improve: (i) community-based access to and management of land and natural resources; (ii) access to advisory services and inputs for sustainable, adaptive and integrated farming systems and (iii) access to markets for selected products. Five IFAD-funded projects (valued at US$112 million) are currently being implemented in Lao PDR in close partnership with multilateral and bilateral agencies.