In the morning of March 27th, 2022, NPMO held signing ceremony for provide matching grant from Lao Agriculture Competitiveness Project to the agribusiness between the Department of Planning and Cooperation and Bounhieng Rice Mill, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, Vientiane Capital.
The signing ceremony was chaired by Dr. Phommy Inthichack, Deputy-Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation and sing the contract with Ms. Bounhieng Phommixay, President of the Manola rice Mill, and attended actively by more than 30 participant from the relevant department from Ministry of Agriculture and forestry, Ministry of industry and commerce, Deputy Director of Agriculture and Forestry and Project coordinator of Vientiane Capital, Central Project Coordinating Committee and the director of the SNV.
At the ceremony, Dr. Phommy Inthichack commented at the meeting that: the main purpose of the supporting fund is to improve the efficiency of production and processing according to the main objective of the project and is also to supplement the farmers who are in the target group and the surrounding area of the project as a contract with the agribusiness. After received the matching grant from the project the entrepreneur should continue to implement the policy to develop the production of the value chain by encouraging the people to benefit together and monitoring the use of supplementary funds in accordance with the conditions set out in the agreement. And another thing the entrepreneur are also involved in mobilizing commercial production by giving farmers confidence that there will be a market for their produce, at the same time, it plays a direct and important role as a driving force in the process of commercial production. Therefore, it requires the cooperation of the private sector as well as entrepreneurs to cooperate and focus on promoting production side by side with the project to develop our production process to move towards commercial production and be sustainable forever.
The investment goal of the Manola rice mill after receiving the funding from the project, it will be used to purchase new rice mill machinery to replace the old ones, which work to support the production group to get quality husked rice to feed the mill and fertilize the group, to promote the production group to get quality paddy to feed the mill as well as to provide seeds and- fertilizer to the group, training to improve the capacity building of business management for mill owners and staff, especially in accounting, inventory management, rice milling techniques and marketing, reducing post-harvest losses by improving the drying and drying system, and controlling insects.
For the total investment budget of 3,948,070,841 kip ($ 379,952), of which the rice mill owner will invest 2,649,195,841 ($ 254.951), and the project will contribute 1,298,875,000 kip ($ 125,000).
