PAKSE, 14 November 2019 – The ASEAN Foundation with support from the ASEAN Centre for the Development of Agricultural Cooperative Lao PDR held their annual ASEAN Exchange Visit from November 11 -14 in Pakse, Lao PDR.
Under the theme “Empowering the Coffee Cooperatives in Value Chain Management and GI Certification,” participants shared their experience and discussed key issues and challenges faced by coffee cooperatives, such as access to market, best practices and lessons learnt of specialty coffee and geographical indication.
Further, they brainstormed on ideas for ASEAN coffee branding and cooperation. The brainstorming session resulted in recommendations from the ASEAN Working Group on Agricultural Cooperative, farmers’ organisations and private sectors to continue its regional cooperation. The recommendations will be discussed during the next working group meeting in Manila.
On the second day, delegates visited the coffee cooperatives in Paksong. In the first stop at Bolaven Plateau Coffee Producers Cooperatives (CPC), they learned about the best practices on fair trade certification, cooperative management and international marketing.
After CPC, the delegates stopped by at Jhai Cooperative’s office to review the youth’s involvement in coffee production and other coffee byproducts such as soap, lip balm and coffee jam. At the cooperative’s coffee farm, delegates saw a demonstration about coffee soap-making process before attending a traditional Laotian ceremony called Baci.
“Today’s meeting is very important for all of us to exchange experiences and lessons learned as well as to identify challenges that hinder cooperative development in ASEAN countries. We will use this meeting as a momentum to come up with clear action plan, strengthen our collaboration and ensure a better access to market,” said Kongkeo Vongpaseuth, Director General of the Laos Department of Rural Development and Cooperative.
He further added that cooperative work plays an important role in stimulating the socio-economic development of many countries and is considered as the key to reduce poverty and ensure sustainability.
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About ASEAN Farmers’ Organisation Support Programme (AFOSP)
Implemented since 2015, the ASEAN Farmers’ Organisation Support Programme has worked to improve livelihoods and food security for smallholder farmers across the ASEAN region. Funded through the European Union (EU) and the AFOSP has been implemented across the ASEAN region. The aim is to support ASEAN Framers’ Organisations to become: stable, performing, accountable organisations, capable of providing effective and sustainable services to their members, with the ability to influence policy and corporate processes on agriculture and food security issues at local, national, ASEAN regional and global levels.
For more information, please visit: https://www.aseanfoundation.org/afosp
About ASEAN Foundation
Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation during ASEAN’s 30th Anniversary Commemorative Summit in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on 15 December 1997. ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN’s body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction and development of the people of ASEAN.
For more information, please visit: www.aseanfoundation.org
