At the signing ceremony (Source: sggp.org.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation (SDC) will provide non-refundable aid word 365,000 CHF (nearly 369,000USD) for the project Remote Sensing-based Information and Insurance for Cropsin Emerging Economies – third phase (RIICE 3).
An agreement to this effect was signed by the SDC and theVietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hanoi onJuly 17.
The funding, which accounts for 82 percent of the project’s totalvalue, aims to carry out the final steps to integrate the RIICE into the MARD’srice cultivation and production monitoring system.
Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Beatrice Maser Mallor said domestic partnershave applied cutting-edge technologies such as remote sensing and cloudcomputing to assist relevant sides in the rice production value chain.
With such technologies, agricultural agencies can promptly accessaccurate data, thus improving rice production efficiency and enhancing themanagement of natural disaster risks, she said.
MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said the project has helpedVietnam promote agricultural restructuring, especially in the context ofclimate change.
The overall aim of the project is toreduce the vulnerability of rice farmers in low-income countries in Asia andbeyond.
The RIICE is implemented through apublic-private-partnership between the German Development Agency (GIZ), the SDC,the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Sarmap company and SwissRe.
The parties make use of remote sensingtechnologies to map and observe rice growth in selected regions in Asia(Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam).
Such information helps governments to makenecessary provisions to meet potential food shortages given that rice is themost important food crop for most Asian countries.
Additionally, such information can helpstakeholders involved in rice production to better manage the risks involved. Akey option at hands for governments is to establish agricultural insurancesolutions to protect rice smallholders. In the same way, the risks involved inagricultural lending by banks to rice smallholders can be reduced throughinsurance that protects the farmers’ loans against defaulting due to yieldlosses and thus trigger more investments in agricultural production.-VNA
VNA
