Unlocking the potential of ancient tea forests, award-winning coffee, and young farmers
Switzerland and Lao PDR celebrate 11 years of strengthened upland rural advisory services in the country.
A decade ago, farmers in the remote uplands of Xieng Khouang in northern Laos sold their coffee cherries at whatever price local traders offered. Today, beans from these same villages have earned a Great Taste Award in the United Kingdom, and farmers themselves are involved in shaping trading contracts.
This shift reflects the goals of the Lao Upland Rural Advisory Services (LURAS) project, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Helvetas in partnership with the Department of Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives (DAEC) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Since 2015, Swiss support has helped transform agricultural extension in Laos. Instead of a top-down model, where advice is given to farmers, the project introduced a more participatory approach. Farmers are encouraged to identify their own challenges, test solutions, and share knowledge within their communities.
In its final phase, LURAS also focused on strengthening climate resilience. Through a methodology known as Climate Resilient Extension Development (CRED), activities were piloted in 46 communities and reached nearly 28,000 people across four provinces. Local extension staff built the capacity to apply these approaches independently, while initiatives such as Climate Youth Ambassadors helped young people become agents of change in their communities.
As a result, over 70% of households adapted their farming practices, and awareness of land-use planning increased from 32% to 47%. In addition, 33 community-managed facilities were established and continue to operate.
Achievements in the coffee and tea sectors illustrate the project’s tangible impact. In Xieng Khouang, Coffee Learning Centers and partnerships with private companies enabled farmers to process their own beans, secure fairer contracts, and increase their incomes. This contributed to the success of Comma Coffee, which received a Great Taste Award in the UK in 2025.
In the tea sector, the project supported the mapping of ancient tea forests and facilitated collaboration with Chinese experts to improve quality and expand exports. Five permanent Learning Centers now serve as hubs for knowledge sharing and market engagement.
Upland farming communities in Laos are young, and Switzerland has deliberately invested in their potential. With the right support, young women and men have gained the skills, knowledge, and confidence to build livelihoods in agriculture—creating opportunities within their own communities and emerging as role models.
At the same time, this support has helped farmers organise themselves and speak with one voice. Today, the Lao Farmers Association, officially registered in 2025, brings together more than 254 farmer groups. For the first time, over 60 thousands smallholder farmers and their families now have a platform to represent their interests and contribute to discussions that affect their livelihoods.
H.E. Dr. Chanthakhone Boualaphan, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Environment, highlighted that these achievements are reflected not only in completed activities, but also in the strengthened capacities of extension staff, farmer organisations, cooperatives, and local institutions.
“This partnership began with a simple yet ambitious vision: ‘Extension for Everyone.’ Our goal was to reach the entire country and strengthen public extension services across Laos. But we learned that equal reach does not always mean equitable impact—those most in need can still be left behind. That realization led us to adapt and LURAS became our response, focusing on poverty-affected upland provinces, prioritizing climate resilience, and advancing Green Extension,” said Jean-Gabriel Duss, Regional Director, SDC Mekong region
As the 11-year project comes to an end in Xieng Khouang, Oudomxay, Huaphan, and Luang Prabang, its most lasting results lie in the people it leaves behind—farmers, extension workers, young agripreneurs, and farmer associations who will continue to drive change in their communities.
