A rice called Khao Kai Noi, “little chick”, is a variety of glutinous rice produced in the north of Laos, in Houaphan and Xieng Khouang provinces. It is strongly linked to its geographic region of production, which is characterized by mountainous relief and a cool climate. The name refers to the form of the grain, which is small and round, similar to the broken rice used to feed chicks.
The rainy season has just begun in Laos, the rice paddies have been ploughed and farmers are waiting for the heavy rains before pricking out seedlings. From June to September, rice paddies are deep green, then they slowly develop a golden colour from October to December, when the rice is ready for harvesting.
Well known on the local market, Khao Kai Noi rice is often given as a souvenir or present to visitors. Laotians jokingly say that “if you visit Houaphan or Xieng Khouang province, you have to eat Khao kai Noi rice, otherwise you haven’t really been there”.
In Laos, demand for glutinous rice is now higher than demand for white rice. Consumers are attributing greater importance to the quality of their food and are willing to pay more for higher quality rice.
In light of this, a consortium bringing together GRET, Arte-Fact, Cirad, Iram, Certipaq and Redd was missioned by Agence française de développement (AFD) to implement a territorial project on geographic indications (GIs) in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. In Laos, over a three-year period, the project is supporting the development of Khao Kai Noi rice, which has the first registered GI in the country. These geographic indications enable identification of products with a specific geographic origin, whose quality, notoriety or characteristics are closely linked to this origin.
GRET and its consortium partners are supporting the departments of intellectual property at the Ministry of Science and Technologies and the associations managing the Khao Kai Noi GI in Xieng Khouang and Houaphan provinces, bringing together 336 farmer members and negotiators, with a view to developing their capacities for effective management of the GI. The project will also be supporting economic stakeholders (entrepreneurs, producers’ groups, etc.) regarding traceability and quality control, coordination, promotion and links with the market.
On 10 June, a workshop was organised in Xieng Khouang to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders and draw up a roadmap for development of the geographic indication.
