Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) – Five Mekong Deltaprovinces and 11 agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding oncooperation in forming the Mekong Partnership for Climate Resilient RiceResearch Network (MPCRR-N).
The document was inked at a workshop in MekongDelta Can Tho city on June 6.
The signatories were the departments ofagriculture and rural development of An Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu andSoc Trang provinces, along with such agencies as the Crop Production Departmentof the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Academy ofAgricultural Sciences, the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Rice Research Institute, CanTho University, the Integrated Coastal Management Programme, and theInternational Rice Research Institute.
Dr Dao The Anh from the Field Crops ResearchInstitute said the MPCRR-N will take part in the development of coastal ricecultivation systems in the Mekong Delta in a sustainable and climate- resilientmanner.
It will share information about programmes,projects and studies on saltwater- and drought-tolerant rice while also testingthese rice varieties. Through this network, those who are interested insaltwater-resistant rice and agricultural value chains in coastal areas will beconnected.
Tran Xuan Dinh, Deputy Director of the CropProduction Department, said drought and saltwater intrusion led by El Nino from2015 to the latter half of 2016 devastated hundreds of thousands of hectares ofrice in the Mekong Delta, resulting in a loss of about 1.3 million tonnes of paddyrice.
As climate change is forecast to happen fasterand more strongly, millions of rice farmers in the Mekong Delta – the rice hubof Vietnam – will fall into poverty if adaptation solutions are not swiftlycarried out, he added.
MA Pham Trung Kien from the Mekong Delta RiceResearch Institute said regional provinces lack information about drought andsaltwater tolerant rice varieties, while some local varieties with goodtolerance and quality are yet to be popularised.
He noted it is an urgent need for sharinginformation about these rice varieties, exchanging experience in droughtadapted cultivation, and developing value chains of saltwater-proof rice andcrops.
Dinh said the establishment of a network forresearching and selecting saltwater-resistant rice varieties that match eacharea’s conditions is an effective method since it bases on assessment ofproducers and localities.-VNA
The document was inked at a workshop in MekongDelta Can Tho city on June 6.
The signatories were the departments ofagriculture and rural development of An Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu andSoc Trang provinces, along with such agencies as the Crop Production Departmentof the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Academy ofAgricultural Sciences, the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Rice Research Institute, CanTho University, the Integrated Coastal Management Programme, and theInternational Rice Research Institute.
Dr Dao The Anh from the Field Crops ResearchInstitute said the MPCRR-N will take part in the development of coastal ricecultivation systems in the Mekong Delta in a sustainable and climate- resilientmanner.
It will share information about programmes,projects and studies on saltwater- and drought-tolerant rice while also testingthese rice varieties. Through this network, those who are interested insaltwater-resistant rice and agricultural value chains in coastal areas will beconnected.
Tran Xuan Dinh, Deputy Director of the CropProduction Department, said drought and saltwater intrusion led by El Nino from2015 to the latter half of 2016 devastated hundreds of thousands of hectares ofrice in the Mekong Delta, resulting in a loss of about 1.3 million tonnes of paddyrice.
As climate change is forecast to happen fasterand more strongly, millions of rice farmers in the Mekong Delta – the rice hubof Vietnam – will fall into poverty if adaptation solutions are not swiftlycarried out, he added.
MA Pham Trung Kien from the Mekong Delta RiceResearch Institute said regional provinces lack information about drought andsaltwater tolerant rice varieties, while some local varieties with goodtolerance and quality are yet to be popularised.
He noted it is an urgent need for sharinginformation about these rice varieties, exchanging experience in droughtadapted cultivation, and developing value chains of saltwater-proof rice andcrops.
Dinh said the establishment of a network forresearching and selecting saltwater-resistant rice varieties that match eacharea’s conditions is an effective method since it bases on assessment ofproducers and localities.-VNA
VNA
