Australia collaborates with Vietnam on agricultural science, aiming for sustainable and green agriculture

On March 8, 2024 (local time), in the capital city of Canberra, Australia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited and worked at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Present at the working session were leaders of ministries and localities, including Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan.

COOPERATION WITH CSIRO TO STANDARDIZE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

In his speech at the working session, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his impressed with the research cooperation results between CSIRO and Vietnam in many fields, especially agricultural scientific research. The Prime Minister congratulated and thanked CSIRO for its presence in Vietnam since the 1980s when Vietnam was still underdeveloped and impoverished.

The Prime Minister believes that the current development trend is the development of the era; that is overall peace, but there are still conflicts locally – overall harmony, but there are still tensions – overall stability, but there are still conflicts. In places with war, conflict, and tension in the current global integration, it not only affects those places, but also peaceful places like Australia and Vietnam.

CSIRO CEO Doug Hilton reported to the Prime Minister about CSIRO’s cooperation activities with Vietnam, expressing joy in the opportunity to exchange cooperation between CSIRO and Vietnam.

“We are delighted to cooperate with Vietnam in science and technology cooperation programs such as the shrimp industry program in the Mekong Delta, the program to end plastic waste that both countries are facing; satellite observation technology; medical research program to serve cancer treatment. Australia wishes to leverage achievements and build an innovative future,” shared Doug Hilton.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan expressed his pleasure in visiting CSIRO for the second time, previously CSIRO had collaborated with Dong Thap on mangoes and other programs in the Mekong Delta with CSIRO. Currently, CSIRO is collaborating with the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences in the high-quality fruit sector, particularly for potatoes.

“The Prime Minister has approved Vietnam’s Agricultural Development Strategy, approved the Program to develop 1 million hectares of low-emission, high-quality rice. Vietnam’s agricultural development models are associated with green transformation. This cooperation helps address the challenges in the agricultural sector that Vietnam is facing,” affirmed Minister Le Minh Hoan.

Minister Le Minh Hoan stated that in the coming time, Vietnam will focus on standardizing agricultural products, especially tra fish and shrimp, in which Vietnam is leading the world, linking this industry to the global trend of low emissions and green transformation. Therefore, Vietnam hopes that CSIRO will support Vietnam in these industries.

ACIAR FOCUSING ON AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT WITH VIETNAM

Previously, on March 7 (local time), also within the framework of the visit to Australia by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Government of Vietnam, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan worked with Professor Wendy Umberger, CEO of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Since 1993, the Australian Government through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to enhance research capacity, bring scientific and technological advances, and contribute to poverty reduction and improvement of farmers’ income.

At the working session, Minister Le Minh Hoan expressed his gratitude for ACIAR’s support over the past 31 years. “Although the scale of the projects may seem small, they have had positive and practical impacts in practice, especially in supporting small farmers and sustainable agricultural development,” affirmed the Minister.

Sharing more about Vietnam’s sustainable agricultural development strategy, Minister Le Minh Hoan said that the focus is on livelihood transformation for farmers, promoting economic thinking, integrating multiple values, and green growth. In Vietnam, the Central Highlands will focus on developing fruit trees, sustainable industrial plants, with an emphasis on traceability technology to meet new market regulations such as the European Union’s Anti-Forest Regulation (EUDR).

“In the Mekong Delta, we are promoting the goal of reducing emissions and producing salt-tolerant rice varieties; enhancing soil nutrition, developing quality fruit trees, while optimizing the production process to ensure high-quality and safe products,” shared Minister Le Minh Hoan.

For mountainous and highland areas, the focus will be on developing agroforestry models, utilizing the special geographical and climatic potentials of the highland region to produce high-quality agricultural products for farmers. For the fisheries sector, the focus is on resource regeneration, marine resource conservation; promoting innovation in aquaculture, including new products such as clams, oysters, seaweed.

Regarding cooperation in developing agricultural human resources, through scholarship programs and alumni and research connection activities, ACIAR will continue to support Vietnam in building capacity for researchers and scientists.

CEO Wendy Umberger proposed to organize an event in May 2024 to showcase the results of ACIAR projects in Vietnam; organize forums to connect farmers, especially women, with scientists and private businesses in Australia.

Professor Wendy Umberger pledged to continue supporting and closely coordinating with Vietnam to create larger-scale projects to enhance the effectiveness of cooperation between the two sides.