Earlier this month, we concluded the pilot phase of the Lao Digital Farmer Registry, developed in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) as a Digital Public Infrastructure (
#DPI) building block. The pilot demonstrated how fragmented datasets can be consolidated into a single, structured registry for better planning and program delivery.
Across programs and provinces, agricultural data in Lao PDR has historically lived in silos, with different projects using different formats and identifiers for Agricultural Production Groups (APGs), households, and individuals. This fragmentation made it difficult to build a clear and timely picture of the sector.
The pilot showed that it is possible to bring this data together in a dynamic, standardized, and reusable system. Based on the OpenSPP platform, the Lao Digital Farmer Registry can now provide a unified source of truth for agricultural data across 353 APGs, supporting timely analysis and more efficient delivery of services. The Digital Farmer Registry is ready to be scaled up and integrate the close to 10,000 APGs in Lao PDR, as well as collect data related to villages and farming households.
As a part of the pilot, the ID PASS DataCollect mobile app was developed to support offline data collection and management. The tool caters for the difficulties arising when working in remote areas and allows users to record changes in APGs or households. Once connectivity is available it can synchronize with the Lao Digital Farmer Registry, resulting in up-to-date information that can support the Ministryโs work.
We trained representatives from ProMIS, PICSA, and SRIWSM as well as over 40 Monitoring and Evaluation focal points to run a real-world pilot of the ID PASS DataCollect mobile app and assess its usability and impact in day-to-day data collection.
The pilot has laid the groundwork for a unified, interoperable system that can scale nationally and integrate with other components of Lao PDRโs Digital Public Infrastructure (
#DPI).
We are grateful to the many individuals and partners whose contributions made this pilot a success, including:
โ Dr. Phommy Inthichack, Deputy Director General, Department of Planning and Cooperation
โ Ms. Bounthiene Vongkaysone, Deputy Director General, Department of Irrigation
โ Mr. Khansawanh Sisopha, National Project Coordinator, SRIWSM-PICSA, Department of Irrigation
โ Ms. Rachele Arcese, Programme Officer and Manager for Lao PDR portfolio, IFAD
โ Mr. Soulivanh Pattivong, Country Programme Coordinator for Lao PDR, IFAD
โ Mr. Franck Caussin, CTA, PICSA
โ Mr. Kop Souksayphanh, M&E Officer, PICSA
โ Mr. Sylvain Dorey, Dorey Consulting
We also extend our sincere appreciation to the
@LetsCoDevelop team, in particular CV Madhukar, Elizabeth Ramey, Tim Wood, Lindsey Crumbaugh, Robert Karanja, Christine Kim, Aura Cifuentes, and Desire Kachenje for their support and strategic advice.
#DigitalPublicInfrastructure #DigitalPublicGoods #AgTech