\u201cWe want producers and buyers to discuss their needs. If they don\u2019t communicate, farmers grow what they think is needed but very often this exceeds demand or is not enough,\u201d an official said, speaking at the meeting at the Haddokkeo Horticulture Research Centre in Hadxaifong district.\u00a0\u201cWe need to reduce imports but the problem is that local harvests are not enough to supply buyers\u2019 needs. This meeting is a good opportunity for producers and buyers to discuss what they want and together make a plan for the future,\u201d the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Phouangparisack Pravongviengkham, said.\u00a0\u201cThe purpose of this meeting is to hear growers\u2019 problems and to use this opportunity to introduce standards for harvests. We have the capacity to grow enough vegetables to meet demand in Vientiane but we do not have any data on what and how much the market needs,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\nThe meeting was led by Dr Phouangparisack and attended by officials, local farmers, middlemen and other interested parties.\u00a0Officials heard the problems of local farmers and discussed ways to help them boost yields such as arranging for technicians to provide training.\u00a0\u201cWe can grow lots of vegetable but the problem is that we grow more than is needed so we cannot sell it all. Sometimes middlemen give us very low prices for our crops but we have no choice but to accept what they offer,\u201d said a representative of Hadkansa village in Hadxaifong district.\u00a0In the past, each ministry has arranged meetings to try to solve this problem but it proved difficult to implement their decisions.
\nNow the government has appointed a special division to link the information provided between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and other agencies.<\/p>\n