On 26 February 2026, the Faculty of Agriculture at Khon Kaen University welcomed a delegation of executives from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) for a study visit on Bio-Circular Agriculture. The visit, part of a local development project supported by the governments of Luxembourg and Switzerland, was led by the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Planning, Ministry of Finance of Lao PDR. The delegation comprised approximately 50 participants, including provincial finance officials, village development committee members from four target provinces, and executives from the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Forestry, and Environment. The objective was to learn about bio-circular agriculture approaches that could be adapted for smallholder farmers in Lao PDR.
The study visit featured a lecture by Associate Professor Chuleemas Boonthai Iwai, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Soil Science and Environment. She presented the core concepts and practical models of bio-circular agriculture suitable for small-scale farmers, such as producing compost and vermicompost, utilising agricultural waste, and implementing simple processing methods that farmers can adopt themselves.
Furthermore, the delegation visited VermiTech@KKU, the Centre for Earthworm Research, Development, and Learning for Agriculture and the Environment, located at the Soil, Fertiliser, and Environment Section of the Faculty. Associate Professor Chuleemas led a tour and demonstrated low-cost vermitechnology, providing detailed instructions along with a simple cost-benefit analysis that farmers could easily understand and apply. She also showcased examples of her ongoing community engagement projects, including academic services that transfer knowledge from Khon Kaen University to the community and collaborative efforts between the university, local administrative organisations, and local communities.
The delegation from Lao PDR expressed significant interest in the bio-circular agriculture technologies presented by Khon Kaen University, particularly the low-cost vermitechnology that uses locally available materials and is accessible for smallholder farmers to learn and implement. Representatives from several provinces actively inquired about the detailed steps of vermicompost production, initial investment costs, payback periods, and models for forming farmer groups and securing financial support through village funds.
Lao PDR officials plan to seek further academic consultation with Associate Professor Chuleemas Boonthai Iwai to sustainably extend these practices to smallholder farming communities in their target provinces. This marks an important academic collaboration between Khon Kaen University and Lao PDR, aimed at jointly fostering sustainable agricultural development.
