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Deep in his heart, La Xayyavieng says he has “always known that agriculture is the lifeline for us to survive and to grow.”
The 46-year-old father of three has long harbored the wish for his children to be agents of change, bringing knowledge and experience back from neighboring Vietnam to the family’s land in Attapeu province in the southeast of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
But as things have turned out, La himself is already creating the change. He’s increased the family’s income by 160 percent in just one season, thanks to a bumper watermelon crop—and without needing to set foot outside his country.
The spectacular transformation has come after he was selected as one of the residents from his home village of Phok, in Saysettha District, to take part in a project called “Building Climate-Resilient and Eco-friendly Agriculture Systems and Livelihoods” (Climate REAL). The initiative is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with financial support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
For years, La’s annual income was less than US$1,350 (LAK 30 million)—barely enough to meet their basic needs.
Lack of access to technologies and knowledge limited La to traditional practices, relying for income on rain-fed rice farming. Getting by in the rainy season was always problematic. Growing vegetables was not an option as they would rot or wash away and the effort would be wasted.
But the FAO project opened up new perspectives, demonstrating that successful vegetable farming could happen in both the rainy and dry seasons.
It was during learning and knowledge exchange visits to other project areas in Savannakhet and Champasak Provinces further to the north, that La realized what the future could hold. “I knew from the bottom of my heart that greenhouses would work for me as soon as I saw them and understood what they were,” he explained.
Built with support from the project and the farmers themselves, greenhouses minimize damage caused by waterlogging or heavy rain. With this structure, La reported that he was able to earn nearly as much in just four months as he would previously earn in a whole year. FAO News
