Mekong Institute (MI) rolled out a national e-training program on “Capacity Building on National Agricultural Innovation Policy Development” to help government representatives contribute to the formulation of a national agricultural innovation policy in Lao PDR.  

“Science, technology and innovation (STI) is a key driver for sustainable growth in the Lancang-Mekong region, especially for the agriculture sector of Lao PDR,” Mr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, MI Executive Director, said in his opening statement. He further explained that STI is necessary to stimulate agricultural production and the efficient use of natural resources.

Supported by the People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, 12 Lao government officials will be introduced to STI strategies for agricultural innovation from November 30 to December 4, 2020. Specifically, the four-day online course will present global best practices and approaches that will help the government create an enabling policy environment for the agricultural sector to increase its effectiveness, competitiveness, resilience, and environmental sustainability.

The e-training is part of the “Capacity Building on Technology and Innovation Policy Development in the Lancang-Mekong Region” project. Following the completion of the online training course, participants will implement their action plans in Lao PDR before reconvening in April 2021 at MI’s Synthesis and Evaluation workshop to assess the progress of their respective action plan implementation, as well as to share good practices and lessons learned.

This is the fourth e-training from the project, with representatives from Myanmar and Vietnam and Cambodia completing their sessions on November 9 to 13 and November 23 to 27, 2020, respectively.