UQ leading a Sustainable Rice Project in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
The Australian Vietnamese Sustainable Rice Project was officially launched by the Hon Tim Ayres, Australian Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing on Wednesday the 19th of October 2022, in Cao Lanh, Vietnam, with support from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Senator Le Minh Hoan, MARD vice minister Tran Thanh Nam, Andrew Goledzinowski from the Australian Embassy, Sarah Hooper from the Australian Consular General, Australian Centre for Agricultural Research (ACIAR) CEO Prof. Andrew Campbell, SunRice CEO Rob Gordon, and local government representatives. Additional ACIAR representatives, SunRice team members, Project team members from all collaborating organizations, rice value chain actors and most importantly smallholder cooperative farmers were guests numbering in excess of 100 at the launch.
The four-year project is a first of its kind public-private partnership between ACIAR and the SunRice Group, worth $6.8 million in funding to work with smallholder farmers to improve their economic, environmental, and social outcomes in the Mekong Delta. The Australian company SunRice is the largest supplier of rice to the Australian market and is the new owner and operator of the recently refurbished Lap Vo rice mill in Dong Thap Province, Vietnam. A Centre of Excellence in Milling and Post-Harvest Processes at the Lap Vo Mill will be established to develop collaborative learning opportunities within a commercial mill environment to improve management practices in production, handling, and processing to meet international market specific rice products.
Australia and Vietnam are strong partners with shared strategic interests in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The objective of this project aligns with the Vietnamese government’s policy of shifting rice production from quantity to quality and fits well within the strategic highlights of the Australian government to facilitate bilateral collaboration in research and development. The project is a collaboration between Australian entities ACIAR, SunRice Group, University of Queensland, and entities in Vietnam, An Giang University: experts in rice quality, Can Tho University: experts in social development and value chain analysis, and Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI): experts in rice breeding. This project sets out an excellent exhibition of the partnership between Australia and Vietnam in research and collaboration, where Australian researchers and SunRice are working with the Vietnamese government and researchers to support smallholder farmers to engage in a market-led rice export value chain.
The four-year project is a first of its kind public-private partnership between ACIAR and the SunRice Group, worth $6.8 million in funding to work with smallholder farmers to improve their economic, environmental, and social outcomes in the Mekong Delta. The Australian company SunRice is the largest supplier of rice to the Australian market and is the new owner and operator of the recently refurbished Lap Vo rice mill in Dong Thap Province, Vietnam. A Centre of Excellence in Milling and Post-Harvest Processes at the Lap Vo Mill will be established to develop collaborative learning opportunities within a commercial mill environment to improve management practices in production, handling, and processing to meet international market specific rice products.
Australia and Vietnam are strong partners with shared strategic interests in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The objective of this project aligns with the Vietnamese government’s policy of shifting rice production from quantity to quality and fits well within the strategic highlights of the Australian government to facilitate bilateral collaboration in research and development. The project is a collaboration between Australian entities ACIAR, SunRice Group, University of Queensland, and entities in Vietnam, An Giang University: experts in rice quality, Can Tho University: experts in social development and value chain analysis, and Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI): experts in rice breeding. This project sets out an excellent exhibition of the partnership between Australia and Vietnam in research and collaboration, where Australian researchers and SunRice are working with the Vietnamese government and researchers to support smallholder farmers to engage in a market-led rice export value chain.
Project leader Dr Jaquie Mitchell, with Dr Sangeeta Prakash, and researcher Shona Wood (UQ) with SunRice Group CEO Rob Gordon at the SunRice Lap Vo Mill, Don Thap Province, Vietnam.
Project leader Dr Jaquie Mitchell, with
Australian Consul General Ms Sarah Hooper,
Australian Ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski And Assistant Minister of Trade and Manufacturing Hon Tim Ayres,at the SunRice Lap Vo Mill, Don Thap Province, Vietnam.