The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao
PDR) shares borders with Cambodia, China,
Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. It has a
tropical monsoon climate characterized by a rainy
season from May to October, a cool dry season
from November to February, followed by a hot
and dry season from March to April. More than
two-thirds of the 6 million inhabitants live in
less developed rural areas and more than onequarter
of the population lives below the national
poverty line of approximately US$1.5 a day (WFP
2007). Agriculture is dominated by rice
cultivation. Despite being an agriculturally selfsufficient
country, food scarcities exist periodically
in various locations, usually in mountainous
areas. A considerable portion of land remains
uncultivated owing to the presence of unexploded
ordnance, generated from the war in Viet Nam
in the 1960s and 1970s, which inhibits crop
production. Floods and droughts have negative
impacts on agricultural activities annually.