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Quest for ‘national rice varieties’ lacks focus and results
Vietnam’s rice has always been cheaper than Thailand’s. Lately the price gap has become wider and wider. This has been attributed to the fact that Vietnam still does not have good ‘national rice’ varieties.
Tran Dinh Long, a professor, academician, and Chairman of the Vietnam Plant Variety Association at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said in a recent interview with Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam that though MARD has spent billions of dong on scientific research, no ‘national rice’ variety has been found. A result is that Vietnam’s rice must always sell cheaply.
Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam: Why don’t we have ‘national rice’ varieties?
Dr. Tran Dinh Long: In order to have high quality rice, the first thing we have to do is to create new rice varieties. Rice variety plays the decisive role in the quality of rice. Thailand is exporting rice to the world with just two high-quality varieties. Thai scientists have focussed solely on developing the two varieties in order to have the best quality rice. Therefore, Thailand’s rice exports always have high prices.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese scientists have been following a lot of scientific research paths. They have created dozens of varieties, but none of them has the standard of excellence we hope for.
In recent years, we have focused on developing technologies. However, Vietnam’s new varieties do not thrive on a large scale in rice fields.
We have not followed a well-reasoned procedure in researching for new rice varieties, from subject selection to project implementation.
In most cases, scientists suggest a theme for research and then they carry out the research when their proposals are approved by scientific councils. The suggested themes are just random ideas which do not originate from market forces.
Vietnam has not concentrated its efforts on the most promising scientists. The budget for scientific research is divided among so many research centres and institutes that each of them gets only one or two billion dong every year. The centres and institutes themselves say they only can create so-so varieties with such minimal funding.
TBKTVN: Do you mean that we have many research institutes that carry research about rice, but little focus?
Dr. Long: Yes, I do. Every research institute studies rice, from the Agricultural Genetics Institute to the Soils and Fertilisers Research Institute to the National Institute of Plant Protection. Therefore, our best human resources have been dispersed.
The biology laboratory is at the genetics institute has modern equipment but does not bring high efficiency. The same is true at other institutes. The finance mechanism remains rigid, so the heads of projects are not allowed to take initiatives in using money.
TBKTVN: Does that explain why a plant breeding programme that spends hundreds of billion dong still cannot produce national rice varieties?
Dr. Long: The scheme on reviewing plant and animal development programmes being followed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development remains irrational. It’s not public, objective nor scientific. At first, some scientists of the plant variety association were invited to join the review conferences. However, they are no longer invited any more. Therefore, scientific projects do not have independent critics from non-state organizations, which means that no one points out the shortcomings of the research. Therefore, though having spent a lot of money, Vietnam still does not have national rice varieties.
TBKTVN: Thailand is exporting well with just two rice varieties. Vietnam has dozens of varieties but our exports cannot compete with Thailand. . .
Dr. Long: When scientists announce new varieties, they always dignify their achievements, saying that the varieties can well replace the Khang Dan or Q5 strains. However, in fact, the new varieties still cannot do that. Unlike Vietnam, which has been following many projects at once, Thailand has been making deep and thorough research. I cannot understand why the Government does not check up on what our research institutes are doing.
The Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) was formed by gathering 12 smaller institutes with 2,000 scientists. How much do we have to pay for so many scientists? The problem is that the state does not clearly require scientists to create national rice varieties.
TBKTVN: Will Vietnamese scientists say ‘yes’ if the State agrees to spend 10-15 billion dong on a single project and orders them to find national rice varieties?
Dr. Long: I think some groups of scientists will take on the job. The problem lies in the financial scheme. I mean by that that the head of the project must be given the right to take initiative in spending money.
In other countries, the state just allocates two million dollars, for example, and requires a rice variety be developed with certain attributes. It does not care how the money is spent in detail. Meanwhile in Vietnam, money is scattered over administrative staff at many levels, while researchers – the ones who really create new varieties -- get just a little bit of money.
VAAS once hired an Australian Viet-kieu to work for it, but it had to stop because there was no mechanism to permit it to pay a salary to a foreigner.
VietNamNet, TP
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