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Enhancing the Agricultural Economics Research Capacity of Laos
8,400,000 yen (Grant Project)
Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos (NUL, Laos)
In Laos, agricultural products account for 50% of GDP, and the modernization of the agricultural sector is one of the most important tasks for Laos to achieve. It is important that not only irrigation technology be developed, but also the logistics and taxation systems need to be studied in order to modernize the agricultural sector. However, NUL has only offered agricultural economics studies since 2004, and lacks experts in this area. The project aims to strengthen the intellectual basis for the modernization of the Laotian agriculture sector by helping NUL conduct case studies, prepare papers and develop teaching materials.
Activities for the year will be as follows.
- Workshop and preparatory meetings (May, 2006 in Vientiane)
(1) Foreign experts will be invited to help NUL with study procedures and analytical methods for conducting case studies (two days). NUL participants will include 25 young faculty members in the Departments of Agriculture and Economics.
(2) Confirmation of research framework (one day). A research framework will be designed by 16 young faculty members (core research groups) of NUL. Targeted products include aromatics, cassava, sugarcane, and corn.
- Conducting case studies and preparation of papers (May, 2006 to February, 2007)
Core research groups will study the production and manufacturing of the targeted agricultural products based on the framework, analyze the data, and prepare reports.
- Site visits (five days in September in Japan, seven days in November in Thailand and Vietnam)
Middle (3) and young (8) faculty will visit Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam to learn the current situation in research and education in agricultural economics.
- Reporting meeting (February, 2007 in Vientiane)
Results of the case studies will be reported for each targeted product at a meeting with invited foreign experts. Original reports will be checked and the edited reports will be published in academic journals of NUL and the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute. Results of all case studies will also be compiled as a report.
(Second year of a 3-year project)
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