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International rice institution assists Vietnam’s farmers
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will help transfer farming technology, provide expertise and train farmers as part of a deal signed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The commitments were made by the IRRI during a working session with a MARD delegation in the Philippines late July.
Director of the Agricultural and Fisheries Promotion Centre and head of the MARD delegation, Tong Gia Khiem, said the two sides had also agreed to work together for the celebrations of the 50 th founding anniversary of the IRRI in Vietnam . The celebrations are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010.
The IRRI has also helped the country set up a website “Vietnam Rice Knowledge Bank” with its address in Vietnamese as www.caylua.vn .
The site was launched on August 5 after two years’ development with technical assistance from IRRI and the Japanese Government’s funding channeled through the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The website has 12 major themes, ranging from rice production to rice biology, farming techniques, irrigation, nutrition management, epidemics control, harvest and post-harvest technology, seedling nursery technology and rice products.
The wording is reportedly easy to understand, enabling farmers to learn about rice farming directly from the site.
MARD Deputy Minister Dao Xuan Hoc said scientists have created a number of rice strains and advanced technology in recent years and contributed considerably to improving the quality of rice production.
He admitted that the transfer of technology to farmers, however, was still slow and unsystematic.
“The new website ‘Vietnam Rice Knowledge Bank’ is expected to provide broader and deeper knowledge for farmers,” Hoc said.
As the second biggest rice exporter in the world after Thailand , Vietnam plays an important role in the global food market.
The country produces some 34 million tonnes of rice a year, including 8 million tonnes of rice equivalent to 4 million tonnes of husked paddies for export.
VNN
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