November 11, 2010

Vietnam pushes for more agri sector development

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has called for more investment in agriculture and the promotion of rice production to ensure food security.

Minister Cao Duc Phat said the common challenges to countries are food security in the context of climate change, increasing population and shrinking areas of productive land.

Vietnam has more than nine million hectares of agricultural land, including 4.1 million hectares for rice cultivation, said the minister.

Phat said Vietnam has created a series of solutions to ensure food security by deeply reforming market mechanisms, handing land use rights to farmers and investing in irrigation systems.

In addition, Vietnam has paid attention to breeding research programmes, to create high-yield varieties, and is developing agricultural services, supplying processing equipment, exporting farm products and renovating cooperatives, he added.

Investment in agriculture and rice production in Asia remains low due to its high risk and rice diseases have developed on a larger scale.

Hence, Asian countries need to have a new revolution in breeds and technology to increase rice yield on a global scale amid climate change, said director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).