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Biofuel crop project under way
The first stage of a US$1 million project focusing on vegetable and bio-fuel crops kicked off yesterday, October 21, with the inauguration of a Vegetable Component Office at the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (FAVRI) here.
The Korean Project on International Agriculture (KOIPA), funded by the Korean Rural Development Administration (RDA), will be implemented for the next three years, from 2009-12.
Under the first stage, activities on surveying and collecting available varieties of sugarcane, cassava and sweet sorghum in the country will be carried out under the management of the KOIPA Project Centre.
Experts from both sides will preserve and evaluate growing conditions and the capacity for ethanol production of the collected varieties at experimental sites.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Bui Ba Bong said that he hoped for further co-operation between the two countries in general and in agricultural development in particular in the future.
Director of MARD’s Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) Nguyen Van Bo greatly appreciated South Korea’s agricultural development.
Bo said that South Korea’s advanced agricultural technologies could be suitably adapted to Viet Nam’s farming environment.
He said that Viet Nam was currently experiencing some serious issues, including food safety, climate change, pollution and a shortage of energy resources. Statistics from foreign and domestic researchers had shown that the agricultural production of roughly 11 million households across the country would be affected by climate change in the future.
"There is a standing need to set up and conduct comprehensive research to solve these critical problems," he said.
Delivering a speech at the meeting, head of RDA Dr. Na Seung Yeol said that he believed co-operation would help Viet Nam boost its food security and increase its agricultural productivity.
Agriculture still made a considerable contribution of 23 per cent of the country’s GDP, even though the proportions of the sector had been reduced in recent years, the meeting was told.
vietnamnet, vietnamnews
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