IRRC outreach program kicks off in Vietnam

The dialogue was attended by mostly top-level executives from MARD and other research, extension, and policy institutions.

A two-day planning dialogue on Bridging research and extension for better natural resource management in irrigated rice-based cropping systems was successfully held by Vietnam and the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC), 24-25 August 2006 at the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) in Hanoi. This activity was co-sponsored by Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), headed by VAAS President Dr. Nguyen Van Bo, and the International Rice Research Institute’s (IRRI) IRRC, headed by IRRC Coordinator Dr. Grant Singleton. The dialogue began with an opening address from MARD Vice Minister Dr. Bui Ba Bong.

In line with the IRRC’s country outreach programs, this dialogue was the initial activity for the outreach of IRRC technologies in Vietnam. Now in its third phase, one of IRRC’s aims is to strengthen research and extension partnerships between national agricultural research and extension systems and IRRI, to help spread promising production principles and technologies, and thereby ensure wide-scale adoption of these technologies by the target users—rice farmers.

The dialogue was a top-level activity attended by 32 participants, mostly directors and deputy directors of the different agricultural research, extension, and policy institutions, as well as departments under MARD. In addition to Dr. Singleton, IRRC-IRRI was also represented by IRRC work group (WG) leaders Dr. Roland Buresh (Productivity and Sustainability WG) and Dr. David Johnson (Labor Productivity WG); Dr. To Phuc Tuong, Crop and Environmental Sciences Division head, (representing the Water-Saving WG); and Dr. Florencia Palis, IRRC’s postdoctoral fellow.

Presentations and discussions during the meeting were far reaching and covered research progress and future directions in natural resource management of rice, economic and market forces affecting rice production in Vietnam, and extension structures and processes. Issues that were discussed included the national directions and strategies for rice research in Vietnam; the challenges for rice production (it is more expensive to produce a crop, so farmers need easy-to-use technologies that provide efficiencies in production and/or increases in yield); factors influencing the world rice export market and the possible effects on rice production and marketing when Vietnam becomes a member of the World Trade Organization; requirements for technologies to be assessed by a scientific advisory council prior to obtaining an official decree for promotion of that technology by national extension agencies; and possible frameworks for IRRC and MARD to work together to facilitate the research-extension interface.

The meeting provided a forum for a highly successful dialogue between the IRRC and MARD. Many opportunities for future collaboration were identified. The workshop concluded with a strong commitment by both IRRI and MARD to progress the development of outreach activities to ensure that technologies developed from collaboration between the IRRC and its Vietnamese partners will have a strong impact in the rice-farming communities.

Grant Singleton (g.singleton@cgiar.org)

Country Outreach Programs archive