Unofficial

Translation

Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Peace Independence Democracy Unity Prosperity

Government No. 348/GOL

Vientiane Capital, date 16.11.2017.

Decree
On the Criteria for Poverty Graduation and Development
- Pursuant to the Law on the Government of Lao PDR No.04/NA, dated 08 November
2016;
- Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decree on the Organization and Implementation of
the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry No.99/PM, dated 09 March 2017.
- According to the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry No.1078/MAF,
dated 27 September 2017.

The Government Issues the Decree:

Chapter 1
General Provisions
Article 1. Purpose
This decree defines the criteria for poverty graduation and development. It provides
the basis for defining goals for poverty reduction. It focuses on building families, developing
villages, making large villages into towns in rural areas and strengthening districts according
to the Party Congress and the National Socio-Economic Development Plan for each period.

Article 2. Criteria for Poverty Graduation and Development
The criteria for poverty graduation define basic socio-economic conditions for
families, villages and districts. These provide a basis for assessing the actual conditions in the
country in each period.
The criteria for development define the holistic conditions to measure achievement in
developing families, developing villages, making large villages into towns in rural areas and
development of districts. These provide a basis for assessing the actual conditions in the
country in each period.
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Article 3. Terms
The terms used in this decree have the following meaning:
1. Poverty Graduation refers to the achievement of basic livelihood conditions such
as: having food to eat that provides over 2,100 kilo-calories of energy per person,
per day, having clothes, permanent housing, able to afford health care and basic
education and access to basic public services;
2. Development refers to achievements in the development process, which meet
conditions or criteria for development such as:
- Political stability;
- Peaceful and orderly society;
- People are united and living in harmony, engaged in politics, respect and
follow the law;
- People are able to access basic public services and overcome poverty;
- Sustainable and consistent basic socio-economic growth;
- Natural resources and the environment are managed, protected and used in a
green and sustainable way;
3. Basic Public Services refers to public services provided by state organizations,
private sector businesses and social organizations including public health,
education, transportation, communications, information, energy and clean water,
basic technical materials, finance and trade, security and other services which
support livelihoods and income generation;
4. Family refers to one cell in society, which includes a husband, wife and children
or other family members, which have a relationship and live together as certified
in their family book;
5. Rural refers to the area outside the capital, provincial or district urban centers.
Citizens living in rural areas are mainly engaged in agricultural activities and live
under the authority of the village.

Chapter 2
Criteria for Poverty Graduation

Article 4. Criteria for Graduation of Families from Poverty:

Families that graduate from poverty are those that meet the following conditions:
1. Have safe and strong housing;
2. Have assets and equipment necessary for their livelihoods and income generation;
3. Have labour, stable income or employment;
4. School age family members receive lower secondary school education;
5. Have access to clean water and stable sources of energy;
6. Have access to primary public health services;

Article 5. Criteria for Graduation of Villages from Poverty:

Villages that graduate from poverty are those that fully meet the following conditions:
1. Own or have access to primary or lower secondary school;
2. Own or have access to health centre or primary health care services;
3. Own or have access to a clean water source;
4. Have roads that can be used all year around;
5. Have access to communication and transportation services;
6. Have access to markets to buy/sell/exchange products;
 Unofficial Translation

7. Have access to electricity from the national grid;

8. Over 70% (seventy percent) of the total families in the village have graduated
from poverty. Villages that do not meet the eight conditions above are considered
poor villages.

Article 6. Criteria for Graduation of Districts from Poverty:

Districts that graduate from poverty are those that fully meet the following conditions:
1. Own secondary school;
2. Own district hospital or access to provincial or central hospital services;
3. District urban centre has community running water or piped water system;
4. District urban centre has implemented urban plan;
5. Has road access all year round and connects all villages in the district;
6. Own telecommunication, transportation and information system;
7. Own market to sell and buy products regularly;
8. Natural resources and the environment are managed, protected and used
effectively;
9. Over 70% (seventy percent) of the total villages in the district have graduated
from poverty. Districts that do not meet the nine conditions above are considered
poor districts.

Chapter 3
Criteria for Development

Article 7. Criteria for Developed Families

Developed families are those that fully meet the following conditions:
1. Live in harmony and engage in development ownership;
2. Take initiative in participating in and contributing to national defense-peace
keeping;
3. Meet socio-cultural conditions;
4. Take initiative in managing, protecting and use of natural resources and the
environment, sustainably and effectively;
5. Graduate from poverty and have stable sources of income.

Article 8. Criteria for Developed Villages:

Developed villages are those that fully meet the following conditions:
1. People in the village live in harmony and respect the law. They take initiative in
development;
2. Village political system is stable;
3. Meet the conditions for national defense and peace keeping;
4. Consistent economic growth;
5. Have a good plan of the village which is implement correctly;
6. Have land use mapping for three types of land (construction, production and
public land to support development and services);
7. Have road access all year round;
8. People in the village access public health services easily;
9. Meet the conditions for social, cultural and educational development;
10. Manage, protect and use natural resources and the environment effectively;
 Unofficial Translation

11. Graduated from poverty and have over 85% (eighty five percent) developed
families.

Article 9. Criteria for Developed Districts:

Developed districts are those that fully meet the following conditions:
1. Strong and firm political system and administration;
2. Strong in national defense and peacekeeping;
3. Strong and firm production infrastructure and services;
4. Have a good district plan which is implement correctly and the district is clean
and beautiful;
5. Strong, consistent economic growth, strong financial budget;
6. District urban centre has a good road system connected with the provincial centre
and all villages in the district;
7. Meet educational, social-cultural conditions;
8. Public services are good and accessible;
9. Natural resources and the environment are managed, protected and used
effectively and sustainably;
10. Development covers over 85% (eighty five percent).

Article 10. Criteria for Making Large Villages into Towns in Rural Areas:
A large village in a rural area may be made into a town if it meets the following
conditions:
1. Developed village in rural area, situated in the centre of the district or urban
centre;
2. Centre for economic, social-cultural and national defense-peace keeping for
surrounding villages;
3. Has good connecting road with surrounding villages and districts or urban areas;
4. Has stable basic production and processing of goods;
5. Has regular permanent market to buy and sell goods;
6. Has postal services or telecommunication system;
7. Has a unit or centre for agriculture and forestry technical services;
8. Has banking services or micro-credit services;
9. Has a health centre or small hospital;
10. Has community running water;
11. Has access to electricity from the national grid;
12. Has a primary school and lower secondary school or upper secondary school;
13. Natural resources and the environment are managed, protected and used
effectively and sustainably;
14. Has a population of over 1,000 people for villages in mountainous rural area, and
has a population of over 3,000 people for the villages in the low lands.

Chapter 4
Assessment, Certification and Endorsement

Article 11. Assessment

The assessment of poverty graduation and development across the country is
implemented in three periods: beginning, middle and end of the implementation of the Socio-
Economic Development Plan in each period.
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The assessment of families, developed villages and making large villages into towns
in rural areas and developed districts is conducted annually based on criteria and conditions
for development set by each ministry, state organization or ministry-equivalent organization.
This is to be completed by June and the summary report submitted to the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry by September and a summary report prepared for submission to the
Government.
Local administrations or other sectors may undertake their own poverty graduation
assessment annually within the local boundary and their area of responsibility, especially in
the areas that have poverty reduction projects implemented.

Article 12. Certification and Endorsement

For the certification and endorsement of families that have graduated from poverty
and developed families, the village head makes a proposal to the district governor, urban
head, municipal governor for issuing certificates and endorsement.
For the certification and endorsement of villages that have graduated from poverty,
developed villages and for making large villages into towns in rural areas the district
governor, urban head, municipal governor makes a proposal to the provincial governor or
governor of Vientiane Capital for issuing certificates and endorsement.
For the certification and endorsement of districts that have graduated from poverty
and developed districts, the provincial governor or Governor of Vientiane Capital makes a
proposal to the government for their decision and issuing certificates and endorsement.

Chapter 5
Duties and Responsibilities of the Sector in the Local and Central Level

Article 13. Duties and Responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and

Forestry
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has the following duties and main
responsibilities:
1. To disseminate this decree widely to Ministries, local and central organizations
and international organizations;
2. To draft guidelines, handbooks, questionnaires and related legislation as a
reference for the implementation of local and national sectors for consistency
across the country;
3. To take initiative in coordinating with local and national sectors to summarize the
plan for developing families, village development and graduation from poverty
and making large villages into towns in rural areas, graduation and development
of districts and monitoring and inspection of implementation in each period;
4. To take initiative in coordinating with sectors to undertake the assessment of
poverty graduation and development and to summarize and report the assessment
results to the government for endorsement and announcement in each period;
5. To establish a database, to publish the results of the poverty graduation and
development assessment domestically and internationally;
6. To take initiative in regional and international cooperation regarding poverty
reduction under the law and regulations.
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Article 14. Duties and Responsibilities of Ministries and Ministry-

equivalent organizations
The Ministries and Ministry-equivalent organizations have the following duties and
responsibilities:
1. To disseminate this decree and legislation to staff-government officials under their
authority starting from central to local level;
2. To study and define the criteria and conditions for poverty graduation and
development as well as issuing guidelines, training and building capacity of
technical staff related to their sector at the local and national level;
3. To develop plans, projects and budget plans for developing families, village
graduation from poverty and village development, making large villages into
towns in the rural areas, district graduation from poverty and developed districts
based on criteria and conditions related to their sector and the implementation of
those plans in each period;
4. Conduct assessment of families, village graduation from poverty and village
development, making large villages into towns in the rural areas, district
graduation from poverty and developed districts based on the criteria related to
their sector. Also conduct research, endorse the assessment results and submit a
summary report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the government;

Article 15. Duties and Responsibilities of the local Agriculture and Forestry
Sector
The local Agriculture and Forestry sector has the following duties and
responsibilities:
1. To disseminate this decree, guidelines and handbooks widely to the local sector
for their implementation;
2. To coordinate with the local sector to define and implement the plan for
developing families, village development and graduation from poverty and
making large villages into towns in rural areas, graduation and development of
districts as well as the monitoring and inspection of the actual implementation;
3. To take initiative in coordinating with sectors at local level to undertake the
annual assessment of families, village development and graduation from poverty
and making large villages into towns in rural areas, graduation and development
of districts;
4. To conduct research and summarize the assessment results and submit report to
the district committee, urban centre, province and Vientiane Capital and the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;
5. To establish a database, to record the results of the annual assessment of families,
village development and graduation from poverty and making large villages into
towns in rural areas, graduation and development of districts and to share widely
with sectors, authorities in each level, social organizations and the public.

Article 16. Duties and Responsibilities of the Other Sectors at the Local
Level
The other sectors at the local level have the following duties and responsibilities:
1. To disseminate this decree, guidelines, handbook for implementation and
guidelines for the sectors line management and provide training to staff-
government officials;
 Unofficial Translation

2. To develop plans, projects and budget plans for developing families, village
graduation from poverty and village development, making large villages into
towns in the rural areas, district graduation from poverty and developed districts
based on criteria related to their sector as well as monitoring and inspection of the
actual implementation;
3. To conduct assessment of families, village graduation from poverty and village
development, making large villages into towns in the rural areas, district
graduation from poverty and developed districts based on the criteria related to
their sector;
4. To conduct research and submit a summary of assessment results to the district
and provincial committee for their endorsement and certification and submit the
report to the Department and the District Office of Agriculture and Forestry and
vertical line management.

Chapter 6
Final Provisions

Article 17. Review and Changing the Criteria for Poverty Graduation and
Development
The criteria for poverty graduation and development shall be reviewed and changed
according to the socio-economic growth in each period;
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, together with the Ministry of Planning and
Investment and the Ministry of Home Affairs are the focal points for coordination with other
related Ministries and Ministry-equivalent organizations at the local and national level in
reviewing those criteria and proposing changes to the government for their consideration.

Article 18. Implementation

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry coordinates with other Ministries, Ministry-
equivalent organizations and local authorities to implement this decree effectively.
Other Ministry-equivalent organizations and local authorities acknowledge and
implement this decree strictly.

Article 19. Effectiveness

This decree is effective from the date of its signing and after 15 days of the official
notice letter.
This decree replaces the Decree on Poverty Criteria and Development Standards
No.309/PM, dated 14 November 2013.
All regulations, orders or resolutions that contradict with the provision of this decree
are superseded.

Government of the Lao PDR

Prime Minister

(Signature and seal)

Thongloun Sisoulith