Seed Equal launches in Mekong Delta with climate-resilient rice seed production workshop

Can Tho City, Vietnam ~ OneCGIAR-IRRI launched its new global initiative Seed Equal- Delivering Genetic Gains to Farmers Fields Initiative in Mekong River Delta (MRD), Vietnam. The launch commenced through the conduct of a workshop entitled “Seed Equal: Delivering Genetic Gains in Farmers’ Fields Workshop on Climate-Smart Rice Seed Production” held in Can Tho City from October 18th to 20th 2022, in partnership with the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture Sciences (VAAS) and Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI).

The objective of the workshop is to provide hands-on training and knowledge on seed production aspects of climate-resilient rice varieties. Scientists from OneCGIAR-IRRI shared their expertise and knowledge on topics such as the step-by-step climate-resilient varieties seed production process, seed system standards, water and nutrient management, mechanization and postharvest, and seed production business model development. The workshop also conducted field demonstrations and hands-on activities at CLRRI. The advanced training and knowledge on seed production of climate-resilient seed production is vital to the management of adverse impacts of climate change on seed production in the MRD, which produces over half of Vietnam’s total rice production and contributes to up to 90% of rice exports. 80% of MRD’s smallholder farmers are engaged in the rice value chain and have an average farm size of 1 hectare.

Dr. Shoba Venkatanagappa, Global Co-lead of the Seed Equal Initiative said that “rice breeding and variety development at IRRI and research organizations in Vietnam such as CLRRI are continually developing new and better climate-resilient varieties. IRRI, over the decades, is providing climate-resilient advanced pre-varieties to CLRRI and FCRI in Vietnam through its long standing rice seed sharing networks such as INGER and ASEAN RiceNet to benefit farmers in Vietnam. However, a concern is the widespread and…