Almost 80% of the population in Laos PDR work in the agriculture sector, while approximately 50% of rural youths are also engaged in this sector (FAO). One of them is Phouttasone Phaengvilay (Noy), a twenty-four-year-old who has been involved in agribusiness since 2008.

Agriculture is traditionally passed on from generation to generation, which is also the case for Noy. She spends her childhood in a farming area in Hoy village, Khoun District, Xiengkhuang province, and has been helping her parents since she was nine years old. She became so passionate about agriculture and now aspires to become an agripreneur.

Due to their hard work in farming, her parents were able to send Noy and her siblings to universities where they obtained a bachelor’s degree. She has never doubted her passion for agriculture, and after graduating from Souphanouvong University, she decided to go back and manage her own farm to grow vegetables such as broccoli, eggplant, cucumber, and chili. Her decision to return to her village is deemed unusual as most of the students who study at agricultural colleges prefer to work for the government, rather than to return to their village.

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