Minister Le Minh Hoan regards IRRI as the center of global rice research

During an official visit made by Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to the Republic of the Philippines, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan held a working session with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Chairman of the IRRI Member Council, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Dr. Ole Fajori, Deputy General Director of IRRI and the researchers warmly welcomed the Minister and the delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam.

Minister Le Minh Hoan regards IRRI as the center of global rice research which has secured the livelihoods for farmers as well as food for the global population of 8 billion people.

The Minister expressed his gratitude towards IRRI's continuous support and cooperation with Vietnam in various areas includng gene conservation, variety research, cultivation process, technology transfer and capacity building for Vietnamese officials. This is an important contribution to the sustainable development of Vietnam's rice industry. As a result, Vietnam's rice industry has remained as one of the main pillars of national food security and actively contributed to global food security.

Vietnam's agricultural sector as well as the rice industry is facing many challenges in the effort to undergo drastic transformation to enhance added value, quality, brand, multi-value integration and environmental friendliness.

Minister Le Minh Hoan proposed IRRI and the block of international agricultural research institutes (One CGIAR) to support Vietnam's agricultural sector in the fields that IRRI and One CGIAR excel at. This cooperation is in line with the National Strategy for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development from 2021 to 2030, with a vision towards 2050 as well as the Project on Restructuring Vietnam's rice industry until 2025 and 2030. Furthermore, this will contribute to supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development develop and implement a project on establishing high-quality, low-emission rice areas in the Mekong Delta.

IRRI has implemented a series of activities in collaboration with Vietnam in recent years, including: research on disease resistance and climate change adaptation, cross-border seed transfer and certification programs, water-saving rice production, emissions reduction, mechanization, precision agriculture in rice production, the application of circular economy principles in the rice value chain, the utilization of waste by-products, climate change adaptation map, emission measurement and monitoring tools for the rice industry among many others.

IRRI is currently leading and coordinating One CGIAR's eight major research programs with Vietnam, including regenerative agriculture, emission-neutral agriculture, agricultural biodiversity and sustainable landscapes, strengthening agricultural trade and value chains in ASEAN, controlling cross-border diseases, increasing private investment in sustainable agriculture, climate adaptive agricultural and irrigation systems, transforming food system for health and nutrition.

On behalf of IRRI, Dr. Cao Duc Phat elaborated on IRRI's development orientations for the immediate future: The Insitute will focus on research and transfer of varieties to create healthy finished products, varieties with resistant to climate change, farming processes and rice price chain management with reduced emissions. IRRI is strongly committed to accompanying the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam in developing and implementing the Project on establishing high quality, competitive and low-emission rice areas in the Mekong Delta.

Minister Le Minh Hoan thanked Dr. Cao Duc Phat for his recent contributions and enthusiastic support to Vietnam's agricultural sector in his new position as the Chairman of the IRRI Member Council. The Minister also expressed his appreciation for the attention and valuable contributions made by IRRI officers to Vietnam's agricultural sector.

The Minister affirmed that the Vietnam's rice industry needs to be restructured based on advanced knowledge, technologies and continuous innovation to face climate change, market fluctuations and dynamic consumer trends. IRRI will continue to be the center of scientific research and technology transfer for the rice industry in Vietnam and globally.

The Minister suggests IRRI to focus on the behavior and capacity of farmers to develop suitable research and technology transfer as well as training programs. Moreover, the parties need to coordinate resources between IRRI, experts, research institutes of Vietnam, and Vietnamese businesses to accelerate the implementation of researches and produce definite results, to be promptly implemented in practice.

Minister Le Minh Hoan firmly believes that with the companionship of Dr. Cao Duc Phat, the Board of Directors and IRRI researchers, the cooperation between MARD and IRRI will bring new successes to Vietnam's agricultural sector. The two parties have agreed to promptly complete the Framework for Cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and IRRI from 2023 to 2025, with a vision to 2030; the Framework is expected to be signed within 2023.