Chanthaly Syfongxay
Deputy Chief of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, LAO PDR
Chanthaly is a senior agriculture development professional with more than seventeen years project management experience in the sector.
As a community engagement specialist Chanthaly promotes the understanding that positive and sustainable change is made more possible by a strong commitment to the engagement of local communities and developing stakeholders.
She has contributed to agriculture policy development in the Xiengkhouang province and has experience across diverse agriculture development projects covering pest management, chemical reduction, organic vegetables, tea value-chains, farmer networks, participatory models of rural development and women and ethnic group engagement.
Chanthaly completed a Master in Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines and holds a Diploma of Plant Science (National University of Lao), Diploma of Horticulture (Swinburne University of Technology) and a Certificate of Women's Executive Development and Mentoring Program (University of Sydney).
In recognition of Chanthaly’s dedication to the empowerment of women in her local communities, she has received a number of professional development opportunities including an ASEAN Women Leaders Grant, a Rural Participatory Development Training awarded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and most recently of course, the Meryl Williams Fellowship.
From The GEAReD Blog …
Laos’ Shining Star
Chanthaly Syfongxay has followed in her parents’ footsteps and is now the Deputy Chief of Agriculture in the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR. Her favourite part of the job is going out into the country-side to facilitate technical training for small-holder farmers. Her programs help them to diversify and access new markets, creating sustainable livelihoods and decreasing environmental costs along the way.