The US will continue to aid Vietnam in researching, experimenting and
applying biotechnology towards commercialising the technology outcomes
in the country as well as the international market.
US Deputy Chief of Mission Claire Pierangelo made the affirmation at
the sixth annual seminar on biotechnology in agriculture, which was
co-organised by the US Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, in Hanoi on September 24.
The
importance of biotechnology in increasing crop productivity, promoting
safer and greener farming environment, mitigating climate change impacts
and ensuring food security was underscored by US and Vietnamese
officials present at the seminar.
Biotechnology is
the best solution to the creation of plant and animal varieties with
highest economic value as well as environmental protection, said Tran
Xuan Dinh, Deputy Head of the Plantation Department of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vietnam was
urged to take concrete steps and measures and push ahead the
biotechnological application to deal with such challenges posed by
climate change as salt intrusion into rice farming areas, especially in
the Mekong Delta, the region most vulnerable to sea level rise.
Agricultural biotechnology application has been diversified in the
world in recent years, allowing more than 16 million farmers, as
calculated by 2011, to enjoy higher produce output and lower production
cost.-VNA