In September 2024, during the state visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to Cuba, the two nations signed a rice production cooperation agreement. As part of this agreement, the Vietnamese government dispatched a team of experts and sponsored various rice varieties, with CT16 selected as the flagship strain, now thriving across Cuban fields.
Implementing this agreement, Vietnam’s private agricultural company, Agri VMA, leased land for rice cultivation near Los Palacios, Pinar del Rio province, Cuba.
According to the international news agency IPS, the first harvest in 2025 yielded an impressive 7.2 tons/ha, significantly surpassing the local average of 1.6 tons/ha. This success stems from the integrated application of Vietnamese technology, including hybrid rice varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, and advanced farming techniques.
The collaboration between Agri VMA and Cuba extends beyond rice cultivation leasing, incorporating two additional business models aimed at comprehensive technology transfer.
Under the agreement signed in February 2023, Agri VMA brought to Los Palacios a full suite of agricultural supplies: high-quality hybrid rice seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, modern machinery, and experienced technicians from Vietnam.
Before scaling up to 1,000 hectares, Agri VMA successfully piloted the project on 16 hectares, achieving a yield of 6.5 tons/ha during the off-season. Projections indicate that if production efficiency is maintained, rice cultivation in Cuba could expand to 5,000 hectares in the near future. This is particularly promising given Cuba’s 2024 domestic rice production of only 80,000 tons, meeting just 11% of national consumption needs.
IPS highlights Agri VMA’s tangible contributions to technology transfer, workforce training, and the restoration of agricultural infrastructure. The Camilo Cienfuegos rice drying and milling plant, severely damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, has been restored to operation, providing jobs for dozens of Cuban workers at wages significantly higher than the national average.
Agri VMA, officially known as AGRI VMA LLC, was established on November 10, 2022, as a subsidiary of Vietnam’s FUJINUCO JSC.
FUJINUCO originated from Phu Sy LLC, initially focusing on three sectors: animal feed production, breeding, and food processing, with products under the FUJI and MEIJI brands. By 2022, the company operated six modern animal feed production plants domestically and internationally, along with a trading company in Cambodia, evolving into the FUJINUCO Group.
Agri VMA owns the VMA FEED animal feed production plant, located at Lot CN05, Vimariel Industrial Park, A10 Subzone, Mariel Special Development Zone, Cuba. The total investment is $20 million, with a land area of 30,000 m².
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