Many people in Lao-ngam district used to grow bananas but have switched\u00a0to sweet potatoes instead after the sale price of bananas declined.\u00a0Mr Khamla Sysombath and his family are among the households who\u00a0have benefitted from the cultivation and sale of the root crop.\u00a0Mr Khamla said staff at the Agriculture and Forestry office advised him\u00a0to grow sweet potatoes so the family went ahead and found that the crop was\u00a0profitable. The family has enlarged the area on which they grow the crop and now have four hectares under cultivation, reaping two harvests a year.\u00a0Mr Khamla said they sold some of their sweet potatoes in Saravan province and some to a neighbouring country, which earned them more than 100\u00a0million kip a year.\u00a0Officials from the Agriculture and Forestry office have been giving advice on the best cultivation methods. Now many families in Phanuan village are model potato growers, which is boosting wealth levels in Lao-ngam district.<\/p>\n