Vietnam, Australia strengthen cooperation in rice development

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam (center) and Anthony McFarlane (right), communication director of Sunrice Group and Lao Ambassador to Australia, Chatoulong Bouasisavath

McFarlane briefed the ambassador on the group’s cooperation with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) over the past years to research and develop new, high-yield rice varieties in Vietnam. These products not only serve the domestic market but are also exported to Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

He highlighted SunRice’s latest joint project with ACIAR on building a sustainable rice value chain for smallholder farmers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The initiative aims to establish a high-yield, sustainable, traceable, and quality-assured tropical rice value chain in the delta, thereby benefiting local farmers while meeting SunRice’s global market standards.

Sustainable rice production and efficient value chain management are essential for small-scale rice growers in Vietnam, McFarlane noted.

In response, Tam praised SunRice’s effective contributions in Vietnam and expressed his hope that the group would continue to implement more projects supporting local farmers.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese diplomat introduced his guest to Lao Ambassador to Australia Chatoulong Bouasisavath, enabling the two sides to explore potential cooperation opportunities in the production of Halal-certified agricultural goods and rice, as well as to foster partnerships between SunRice and Laos, and agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

Source: VNA