Agriculture

Agriculture Sector Overview

The Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) Program is working with partners to sustainably grow the agricultural sector in Lao Cai and Son La. The provinces fertile land and improving access to major markets, provides significant opportunities for women to increase their income.

Around 80% of the Son La population is engaged in agriculture and in 2019 the sector represented just over 24% of provincial GDP.  Lao Cai also has a largely rural population with almost everyone involved in agriculture in one way or another; with the sector contributing to 16% of the province’s GDP. Women are actively engaged in agricultural and represent upwards of 60% of total labour, however they face constraints in accessing technical support, inputs and market information.

By supporting women to switch from staple to higher-value crops and improving standards to meet local and international market demand, GREAT partners are creating new opportunities for ethnic minority women with agricultural products ranging from vegetables, passion fruit, medicinal herbs to indigenous pigs.