Alternative Development Project in Houaphan province, Lao PDR, signed July 8, 2008

Following the success of opium el imination and the declaration of opium free in 2006 in Lao PDR, the Lao Government with support from the UNODC has put an huge effort in mobilizing the donors' communities to support the Alternative Development programme for the former opium poppy communities in order to prevent the revert to opium.

To support this the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) has agreed to jointly implement the project on Alternative Livelihoods for Upland Ethnic Groups and the Alternative Development Project to Help Poor Former Opium Poppy Farmers in XamNuea and Xamtahi districts, Houaphanh Province, Lao PDR.

The Alternative Livelihood for Upland Ethnic Groups, funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) through ADB for $1.82 million, will be implemented in parallel with the UNODC alternative development project, funded by Luxembourg Government through UNODC with the total budget of USD 1,000,000. The Alternative Livelihoods for Upland Ethnic Groups aims to support village planning and capacity strengthening; support construction of rural infrastructures; and strengthen capacity of Government extension services in support of livelihood development activities. The Alternative Development Project to Help Poor Former Opium Poppy Farmers in Houaphanh Province is intended to ensure the sustainability of the elimination of opium production and abuse by providing former opium producing communities and drug abusers in the target districts with community-based treatment, income generation and micro credit opportunities emphasizing an integrated alternative development approach linking social, technical and economical aspects.  

The two agencies will work to forge the synergy and collaboration between these two projects to jointly address the poverty of about 9,070 people living in 1,211 households belonging to 31 villages in 2 districts of Xam Neua and Xamtai, Houaphanh Province. The two projects will support greater community participation in decision making and management through establishment of village development committees.    

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is providing technical support on agriculture related issues for the ADB project while the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and supervision is the main counterpart for UNODC project.