45th Anniversary of CIAT: Welcome from Vietnam

FOOD CROPS. 10 September 2012 in Hanoi, Vietnam, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) celebrates 45 years of research for development aimed at benefiting smallholder farmers and poor consumers across the tropical world. At the same time, the Center marks three decades of innovative research for market‐oriented agricultural development in Southeast Asia, among them including Vietnam.  Welcome from Vietnam by Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Bui Ba Bong .

45th Anniversary of the Founding of CIAT:
Welcome from Vietnam

by Dr. Bui Ba Bong, Vice Minister

of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam

Speech at the 45th Anniversary of the Founding of

the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT

His Excellency Mr. Borrowman, the Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam, ,

Dr. Wanda Collins, Chair of the Board of Trustees of CIAT,

Dr. Ruben Echeverria, Director General of CIAT,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development I would like to welcome all visitors to Viet Nam and say it is my pleasure to join you for the 45th anniversary of theInternational Center for Tropical Agriculture, or CIAT. I would like to congratulate CIAT on reaching this important milestone.

Agriculture remains a very important sector for Viet Nam. Approximately 70% of the population are involved in agriculture and it produces more than 20% of economic output. Viet Nam is a major exporter of many agricultural products, and in some cases the top or one of the top exporters globally, with a total agricultural export value of 25 billions USD annually. In the cassava sector, with a harvesting area of more than half million hectares, the export value of cassava products of Vietnam reaches 800-950 million USD per year. In this connection, CIAT has made a significant contribution through improving the cassava sector of Viet Nam.

CIAT has been working in Viet Nam for more than twenty years with agencies within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and with the university sector. There have been three main areas of collaboration.

The first started with the testing and release of improved animal forage germplasm and management techniques. This has produced significant improvements in animal production and in the livelihoods of tens of thousands of smallholder farming families, especially in the upland areas. These impacts have been seen for livestock sectors ranging from cattle through to fish.

The second major area of impact has been with cassava. In the time CIAT has worked with Vietnamese partners on improvement of cassava, both the area cultivated and the average yield of cassava have more than doubled, resulting in a more than four-fold increase in production and a huge increase in both processing and exports. Impacts have been realized at many levels; at the national level as cassava has become a major export product, and for the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of smallholder families throughout the country through changes in productivity and profitability. Germplasm from the CIAT cassava

breeding program is now included in more than 90% of all cassava grown in Viet Nam.

The third area of collaborative work with CIAT has been in linking farmers to markets, especially farmers from reasonably remote areas of the country in Thua Thien Hue, Hoa Binh, and Dak Lak Provinces. Through addressing a combination of technical and marketing problems improvements in market access, profit, and livelihoods were observed for many communities for a wide range of products, including cassava and livestock, but also fruits, vegetables, and more.

I understand that these three major areas of work have been supported by donor organisations represented in this room, namely the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, the Nippon Foundation, AusAID, ACIAR, and IFAD. We are very grateful for their support, and I know CIAT is grateful as well.

Many challenges remain for farmers in Viet Nam and there is an important role for agricultural sciences in addressing these challenges. The research and extension capacity within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as in the universities and other sectors of the country, must rise to the challenges faced by agriculture. This will involve working with farmers, extension services, and the commercial sectors with a focus on improving livelihoods while maintaining the resources of the country and responding to changes in markets and to climate change. Working with international centers, such as CIAT, and with other national research organizations across the region, is important. There are many problems that can be more efficiently solved and broadly adopted only through international collaboration.

Once again I would like to congratulate CIAT on this important 45th anniversary and we look forward to many years working together in the future. Using thís opportunisty, I would like to thank CIAT and its scientist for their effective support to Vietnam Agriculture.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Ruben Echeverria, CIAT Director General, Dr. Rod Lefroy, CIAT Regional Director for Asia and Dr. Keith Farhney, Project Director of CIAT who have been awarded the Medal for the Cause of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. It is with great honour that I hand over these medals to them in this ceremony.

Thank you.

Welcom and introduction from CIAT by Dr. Wanda Collin, Chair, CIAT Board of Trustees.
Welcome from Vietnam by Dr. Bui Ba Bong, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

Presentation from CIAT : Research for development: A shared success in the region by Dr. Ruben Echeverria, Director General, CIAT

Recognition: On September 10, 2012 in Hanoi, Vietnam, three Dr. Ruben Echeverria, Director General CIAT, Dr. Rod Lefroy , Regional Coordinator CIAT Asia, and Dr. Keith Fahrney , Agronomist and Cassava Project Coordinator were presented with a medal in the name of the Government of Vietnam, by Dr. Bui Ba Bong, Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Rural Developmrnt, for their contributions to agriculture in Vietnam.

Panel Discussion : Envisaging a better future for agriculture in the region : wiews from different stakeholders. Moderator: Geoff Howtin, Vice-Chair, CIAT Board of Trustees; Panel members (left to right): Dr. Ruben Echeverria, Director General CIAT; Adul Vinaiphat, Executive Director, Thai Tapioca Development Institute ; Nguyen Van Bo, President, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Liu Guodao, Vice President, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences; Rod Lefroy, Regional Coordinator CIAT Asia.

View from China: "Proposal for Potential Cooperation between CATAS and CIAT "

See more ...

Cassava for Biofuel in Vietnam

 
Cassava in Vietnam: a successful story  

Cassava and Vietnam: Now and Then

(キャッサバとベトナム－今昔物語）

                                                                     Kazuo Kawano 

    Cassava is so much fun!!

http://foodcrops.vn 
http://cayluongthuc.blogspot.com

http://cropsforbiofuel.blogspot.com;  

http://cassavaviet.blogspot.com;

http://foodcrops.blogspot.com 
http://cassavanews.blogspot.com
http://foodcropsnews.blogspot.com