Mekong Rice Conference 2004

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) – shared by Cambodia, laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and China’s Yunnan province – is home to more than 60 million people, a quarter of whom still live in poverty. Rice production remains the main livelihood for the people in the region with 14 million hectares of rice cultivated over a wide range of environments. Rice is linked to culture and economic development in all the countries that share the Mekong River basin.

The GMS is, and will continue to be, a rich reserve for agriculture and biodiversity – the theme of 2004 World Food Day. With resources well managed, the GMS will contribute significantly towards the Millennium Development Goals (www.undp.org/mdg) of the United Nations (UN), particularly in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing global partnerships.

Participants at the Mekong Rice Conference (MRC2004) will focus on Rice, the Environment, and Livelihoods for the Poor. The MRC2004 has added significance as a special event of the UN’s International Year of Rice (www.fao.org/rice2004) as well as World Food Day 2004 (www.fao.org/wfd) on 16 th October.

The Conference is open to all representatives from governments, non-government organizations, private sector organizations, research institutes, universities, the media and general public.

Keynote Addresses

Dr Gershon Feder, Research Manager for Rural Development at the World Bank, Washington

Sustainable Agricultural Development and Poverty Reduction

Dr William Padolina, Deputy Director General of the International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos Philippines.

Building Partnerships in Rice Research

Representative from the Asia Development Bank, Manila, Philippines

Development Programs in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Dr Nguyen Van Bo, Director of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam

Rice Research and Development in Vietnam

Dr Dao Trong Tu, Director of Operations, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Laos

Rice is life and culture of the people in the Lower Mekong Basin Region