Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, held a conference on promoting investment in high-quality, low-emission, green rice production in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta in Tokyo on October 21.
The conference was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam, MAFF Deputy Minister Yoichi Watanabe, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu, attracting over 150 participants from government agencies, associations, cooperatives, and businesses from both countries, including more than 70 Japanese companies interested in green agriculture investment.
Opening the event, Hieu highlighted Japan’s role in providing financial resources, advanced technology, and inspiration for sustainable development, quality standards, and environmental responsibility. Successful collaboration models include high-tech agriculture in Lam Dong, agricultural processing partnerships in the Mekong Delta, and programmes to train highly skilled agricultural workers.
He stressed that the Mekong Delta - the largest rice-growing region in Southeast Asia - is facing severe challenges from climate change, saltwater intrusion, and land subsidence, underscoring the urgent need for a green, smart, and sustainable development model. This prompted Vietnam to launch the “Sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice linked to green growth by 2030” project, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15-20%, increase farmers’ income by 10-15%, and build the “green, clean and low-emission Vietnamese rice” brand internationally.
The ambassador emphasised that achieving these goals requires visionary partners, with Japan being a leading example. He expressed confidence that memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and cooperation agreements signed during the conference would foster multi-layered collaborations - from research and technology transfer to practical investment in localities across the Mekong Delta.
Japanese business leaders echoed this optimism. Akihiko Takahashi, CEO of Sorimachi Vietnam, noted that holding two major Vietnam–Japan agricultural cooperation events within a month demonstrates strong prospects for future collaboration.
Tanimoto Tadashi, Senior Executive of Nihon Nohyaku, highlighted the company’s AI-powered Agroseeker application for pest and weed diagnosis and expressed interest in introducing it to Vietnamese farmers as part of environmentally friendly rice production programmes. Nihon Nohyaku is also collaborating with Sorimachi to develop a digital value chain platform for farmers and adapting the technology to Vietnam’s agriculture.
Closing the conference, Nam praised participants for their practical contributions and highlighted opportunities in smart agriculture, including emission measurement and reporting, by-product management, sustainable cultivation processes, and precision input control for fertilisers, seeds, water, and nutrients.
He noted that the 1-million-hectare programme aims to establish approximately 600 cooperatives to gather farmers, requiring extensive technological support in management, accounting, land inventory, and traceability systems. He called on Japanese companies to bring advanced agricultural technologies to Vietnam and participate in developing high-quality, low-emission rice regions linked to green growth.
During the conference, agencies and enterprises from both countries agreed on key points of cooperation, marking a concrete step forward in Vietnam–Japan investment and technology transfer. Areas of collaboration include AI, big data, agricultural robotics, mechanisation, carbon monitoring and reduction, advanced processing, and by-product reuse, creating a multi-layered ecosystem connecting government agencies, research institutes, businesses, cooperatives, and farmers, and promoting green growth, a circular economy, and sustainable food security./.
