Consultation Workshop on NAFRI’s Five-Year Research Strategy for Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Development (2026-2030) in Lao PDR

IWMI, under CGIAR Initiatives on Agroecology and National Policies and Strategies (NPS), supported the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) in organizing a consultation workshop to shape NAFRI’s five-year research strategy for 2026-2030, focusing on agriculture, forestry, and rural development.

The workshop, held on 9 August 2024 in Vangvieng, Lao PDR, aimed to identify research plans and indicators under NAFRI’s Six Research Programs. These insights will contribute to the Agricultural Development Strategy 2026-2030. The event was chaired by Dr. Chanthakhone Boualaphanh, NAFRI’s Director General, and Dr. Mark Dubois, IWMI Country Representative in Lao PDR and Regional Representative in South East Asia. Dr. Chanthakhone emphasized, “The workshop is a good opportunity for us to support the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in planning its five-year strategic plan. Having clear strategies and target indicators will also facilitate and guide research cooperation with other development partners.” She encouraged participants to share their thoughts on priorities and challenges, such as seed production, agrobiodiversity conservation, and water use efficiency in response to climate change.

In addition, NPS also provides technical support to NAFRI through formulating its first policy research priority agenda through Policy Think Tank (PTT). The Policy Research Priority Agenda 2025-2030 is under drafting and expected to be finalized before the coming meeting of MAF’s Sector Working Group on Agriculture and Rural Development in October 2024, tentatively. Key formulation process, under NPS support, included i) initial consultation and planning between PTT and NPS; ii) joint bilateral consultations with different government departments and sectors as well as development partners; and iii) planning workshop with all NAFRI’s research centers and stakeholders on 10 May 2024, prior to a drafting stage.

The planning workshop is part of the Community of Policy Practice (CoPP) efforts which focuses on food, land, and water domains, under CGIAR initiative on National Policy and Strategies (NPS). It facilitates NAFRI’s all 13 research centers to present their plan and policy research needs for PTT and to develop their research agenda in consultation with other participants include other departments within MAF, different ministries, and development partners. Inputs from the event will be fed into the development of the upcoming five-year strategy 2026-2030 of NAFRI.

NPS has actively supported host partners to build policy coherence through formulation stage and strengthen the community of policy practice and research network.

Author:  IWMI Laos

This work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS). CGIAR launched NPS with national and international partners to build policy coherence, respond to policy demands and crises, and integrate policy tools at national and subnational levels in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR centers participating in NPS are The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.