Viet Nam agronomists to help African rice yield

Viet Nam may help African countries improve their rice yields after a successful trial of Mekong Delta rice varieties in Sierra Leone.

Professor Vo Tong Xuan, former president of An Giang University, went to Nigeria and Ghana on Sunday to examine the feasibility of extending his rice project.

The trip is part of his preparation for recommending the government support similar projects across the African continent.

Xuan sent Vietnamese experts to Sierra Leone to trial 50 high-productivity Mekong Delta rice breeds in a town called Mange Bureh to determine which breeds will grow best on a 100-hectare project sponsored by the Sierra Leonean government.

“The experts have successfully grown two paddy crops a year, with a yield of four tons per hectare for each crop,” he said.

Local farmers in Sierra Leone usually only grow one crop each year, with a productivity of one ton per hectare.

“The experts carried out the test without some basic farming equipment imported from Vietnam as previously planned,” Xuan said.

“But they did a good job with such an impressive result. We have three tons of seed rice, harvested from the most recent crops, in store for the next crop.”

“We are expecting even greater success with our next crops. The farming soil here is similar to Mekong Delta region’s,” he said. “Moreover, the sponsor, T4M, has been offered a US$36 million loan by the U.K. government to invest in the project.”

Xuan said he will carry out his project’s motto of “1 plus 4,” where one Vietnamese farmer teaches four farmers from different African nations proper rice planting techniques on an area of five hectares.

“I will also suggest the Vietnam government send agronomists and farmers from Mekong Delta provinces to help African farmers with rice planting techniques,” Xuan said. (Lao Dong)