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The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Agricultural extension

Pathways to improving livelihoods in the uplands in Laos

This paper explores recent research in to forage and livestock technologies to improve extension practice in Laos. It focuses specifically on improving food security for upland farmers.

A participatory research and extension project funded by AusAid identified and introduced suitable forages for livestock in two northern provinces of Laos. Different extension methods for scaling out to new villages were trialled, including case studies, cross visits (new farmers visiting a village with impacts) and champion farmer visits (experienced farmers visiting a new village).

Three key learnings were identified:
- Choice of pathways and extension methods for scaling out technologies can be critical to farmer learning and potential long term livelihood benefits
- On the job learning using an action research approach creates understanding of farmer learning and how different factors influence farmer willingness and capacity to use technologies.
- Farmers, government staff, NGOs and the private sector all need to be involved in finding pathways and exploring possibilities for future scaling out of livestock production in Lao PDR.

 

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