Chronic malnutrition is high with some studies showing it as high as affecting 47 percent of the population. Food insecurity remains a problem in rural areas.

In 1995, NPI, Inc. established operations in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), where most of the population live in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming. The objectives in Laos include improving the livelihoods of the local people, broadening the availability of protein-rich foods in the region, and achieving permanent food security for the people of Northern Laos.

Rice is the dominant crop in Laos, with more than three-quarters of the cultivated land being devoted to rice production. The World Food Programme reports that as much as 85% of the Lao diet is rice. With a diet comprised mainly of carbohydrates, Laos is considered protein-deficient by NPI, Inc.