Chinese Government provides grant — through Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Fund — for China-Laos Poverty Reduction Cooperation Community Demonstration Project (Linked to Record ID#49339)

On November 13, 2014, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism was established at the 17th China-ASEAN Summit.

On March 23, 2016, the Chinese Government established the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Fund, through which China pledged to provide $300 million over 5-years to 5 countries along the Mekong River -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam -- to fund small and medium sized cooperation projects (as captured via Record ID#49339).

The Chinese Government subsequently provided grant funding through the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Fund for the China-Laos Poverty Reduction Cooperation Community Demonstration Project.

The purpose of the project was to undertake a set of community development activities — including agro-business demonstration, improvements of small-scale public infrastructure and environment, and capacity building activities — in Thadokkham village within Xaythany District and Vientiane Municipality.

Guangxi Foreign Capital Poverty Reduction Project Management Center and International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC) cooperated with the Department of Rural Development and Cooperatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos to implement the project.

The project, which was undertaken between 2016 and 2020, built 13 steel frame greenhouses, cultivated 26 vegetable planting demonstration households, planted 15 hectares of organic rice, cultivated 27 planting demonstration households, organized 3 technical trainings on rainproof cultivation of organic vegetables and standardized rice planting for 60 villagers.

The second phase of the project built 10 additional steel frame greenhouses with water facilities and paved gravel roads (production roads), carried out technical training for 100 persons on greenhouse organic vegetable planting, provided daily planting technical guidance, built a new village activity center and supported relevant facilities.

A total of 46 vegetable planting demonstration households were cultivated, with an annual income of more than RMB 10000 per household, driving 64 farmers to plant vegetables on the land around the greenhouse.