Harvesting rice in the Mekong Delta region (Source: VNA) Hanoi(VNA) – As many as 4.6 million hectares of land, or 59 percent of total rice areain Vietnam, have been cultivated with domestically-made varieties, according tothe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
In the Mekong Deltaregion alone, the varieties made by Vietnamese scientists have been grown on 77percent of the total rice area. In particular, the high-quality OM5451 varietyhas been used for nearly 1 million hectares.
The productivity ofthe new varieties is higher than old ones by an average 10 percent, equivalentto an addition 1.65 million tonnes of rice or over 8 trillion VND per year.
At the same time, manynew techniques and technologies have been transferred and applied inagriculture, contributing to improving the quality and productivity of productsas well as competitiveness of Vietnamese farm produce, while reducingproduction cost and enhancing incomes of farmers.
Last year, the MARDrecognised 48 new plant varieties, 29 new technology advances and processes,many of which have been applied in production.
The ministry has also placedorder for research on agricultural technologies for the sector’s restructuring towardssustainable development, with 36 technology research projects and seven pilotproduction projects with the engagement of many enterprises.
In 2018, the MARD willpromote technology research and transfer to serve the sector’s reform and thebuilding of new-style rural areas in the 2018-2025 period.
At the same time, theministry will focus on developing national products and national trademarks fora number of products, including rice, mushroom, coffee, catfish and shrimp.
It will also continueencouraging the involvement of enterprises in scientific research andtechnology transfer activities.
In 2017, Vietnam exportedabout 6 million tonnes of rice, over 1 million tonnes higher than last year’sfigure.
An estimated 524,000tonnes of rice was exported in January 2018.-VNA
VNA
