Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam, representatives of the 10 CGIAR centres operating in the country and key national and international partners met on 18 October 2017 in the second coordination meeting between MARD and CGIAR in Hanoi
MARD’s vice minister Le Quoc Doanh opened the event and said that despite the agricultural sector providing the country with US$32bn worth of exports earning in 2016, it faced the challenge of coping with a changing climate and global market competition which requires sector restructuring to add more value to producers and ensure its sustainability. He lauded the contribution of the CGIAR centres role in the development of agriculture sector in Vietnam, and said CGIAR could contribute to addressing the current challenges in the sector.
Dieter Schillinger, assistant director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) delivered a keynote address on CGIAR research programs and said CGIAR is committed to providing the scientific underpinnings crucial for Vietnam’s agricultural restructuring strategy in the country, which is one of six focus countries of CGIAR research programmes globally.
Jacqueline Hughes, deputy director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said that CGIAR’s focus on partnerships will ensure that the 10 CGIAR centres in the country complement the government’s agricultural sector programmes.
Hung Nguyen, ILRI’s regional representative for East and Southeast Asia said that ILRI in Vietnam is already playing a key role in efforts to enhance food safety management at the policy level in the country. He said that working with a focal person at MARD would boost coordination between MARD and CGIAR and contribute towards a strategic a long-term partnership between the government and CGIAR.
Bioversity International, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Potato Center (CIP), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), WorldFish and ILRI were among the CGIAR centres represented at the meeting.
The full blog post from the ILRI Asia can be viewed here.
