Laos unveils national agenda for rural development, poverty eradication

VIENTIANE, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Laos has officially launched its National Agenda for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication for 2027-2030, setting targets to reduce poverty, improve rural infrastructure and public services, create jobs and raise living standards in rural communities.

The agenda was launched on Monday at a high-level meeting here chaired by Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, according to a report issued by the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on Tuesday.

Villagers seal and package the vegetables picked from greenhouses at Tha Dok Kham village in Lao capital Vientiane, July 21, 2026. (Photo by Wang Yuping/Xinhua)

Presenting the agenda, Lao Minister of Agriculture and Environment Linkham Douangsavanh said it translates key party and state resolutions into concrete actions. Under the agenda, the government aims to mobilize resources nationwide to reduce poverty and improve rural living conditions. From 2027 to 2030, it plans to lift more than 100,000 families out of poverty and reduce the national poverty rate to a single-digit level.

The government also aims to lift more than 1,000 villages and 25 districts out of poverty status and establish at least four to five model focal villages in each province.

Priority areas include job creation, social protection, rural infrastructure, permanent settlement development and stronger grassroots administration.

Figures presented at the meeting showed that Laos currently has 189,792 impoverished families, or 14.78 percent of households, along with 2,173 impoverished villages and 66 such districts.