The Agribusiness Program is improving supply chains and sustainable practices, initially with companies manufacturing wood, bamboo and rattan furniture. The program targets agribusiness because of its importance in all three countries in creating jobs and improving rural incomes. In Vietnam, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and others, the program is developing a supply chain linking hundreds of subsistence farmers with a company manufacturing bamboo flooring for IKEA. This is helping farmers increase yields in an environmentally-friendly way. Similar linkages with bamboo harvesters are also being investigated in Lao PDR and Cambodia. In Vietnam, the program is preparing to launch work with a cluster of companies manufacturing wooden furniture, an important Vietnamese export.
