(KPL) During attending the workshop on Integrated Community Development for the Mekong Region One Village, One Product (OVOP) Movement in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, held on 13-23 December 2006, in Oita of Japan and Bangkok of Thailand, I had a good chance to meet and interview Mr Fumihiro Kabuta, Programme Officer to Agriculture Department of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Mr Fumihiro is a young officer and very active with tasks.
Question 1: What is the objective of the workshop?
Answer: Firstly, providing participants form CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) opportunities to learn lessons of One Village, One Product (OVOP) movement in Japan and One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) in Thailand.

Secondly, exchanging experience on current situations and future challenges of rural community development in the Mekong region, particularly OVOP movement or similar rural industrialization in the region.
Finally, encouraging participants to formulate strategies for promoting OVOP or rural industrialization in CLMV countries.

Question 2: Why did Asian Productivity Organization (APO) invite CLMV countries?
Answer: This workshop has been implemented under the financial assistance of the Japanese government, which attach high priority on promoting economic development of new ASEAN member countries-CLMV.
These economies, culture, natural potentials of these four countries are relatively the same. They are also similar to Thailand which has successfully developed OTOP movement in previous years.

Question 3: Which country will host the next seminar on OVOP and OTOP?
Answer: APO believes that all four participating countries will start to promote OVOP movement after completing workshop, and is pleased to support such self-efforts of these countries in holding information dissemination seminar in early 2007.
Since many countries including China, Mongolia, and other African countries have already started OVOP movement, CLMV countries had better take advantage of this big chance if they want to push the movement forward.

Question 4: How often has workshop on OVOP movement been held so far?
Answer: This workshop is the second time that APO has organized seminar on OVOP for CLMV countries. As APO member countries are very interested in this movement, it would be fair for them to attend APO�s OVOP programme. From this viewpoint, this year workshop has very important as six representatives of companies for each country were invited to formulate action plan. Press people are expected to report on OVOP movement in Japan and OTOP of Thailand after participating in the seminar.

Question 5: Do you think OVOP and OTOP are important for Laos?
Answer: every participating country can choose OVOP or OTOP movements through considering at how suitable the movement is for their countries. However, APO believes that OVOP movement could be a good approach for Integrated Community Development which is one of the APO�s thrust areas.

Mr Kabuta joined the Secretariat as a Program Officer in the Agriculture Department starting 1 April. After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a BA in agricultural science. Kabuta spent five year working in various capacities in the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). He then went to the UK, where he received a Master of Science of Agricultural Economics from Reading University, followed by a Master of Science in Environmental and Resource Economics from London University.

His employment with the MAFF then resumed, with his most recent position being Deputy Director of the Food Policy Planning Division. His special interest in the agricultural field is economic analysis of various food and agriculture related issues and strengthening the collaborative relationship between agriculture and the food industry. Kabuta is married and has one daughter. In his off the job hours, he enjoys culinary tourism, especially eating locally produced food in the slow food spirit.