Public-private partnership highlighted in high-quality rice production project

Effective public-private partnership and support from partners are key to the success of the project on developing 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice linked with green growth in the Mekong Delta region by 2030, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said at a talk on January 30.

Speaking at the on-line talk on the role of public-private partnership and innovation in implementing the major rice production project in the Mekong Delta, Hoan said to implement the project, Vietnam needs to mobilise resources and technical advances. One of the important tools is the "Food Innovation Hub Vietnam” (FIHV) which was established under an initiative of the World Economic Forum to link domestic innovation networks and international ones, and promote the use of digital technology to develop smart agricultural value chains.

He said the FIHV will help expand the scale and accelerate the transformation process of Vietnam's agricultural sector in particular and the economy in general to become a green, sustainable, and low-emission agricultural powerhouse.

The minister also said that, in addition to efforts from state agencies in developing policies and creating favourable conditions to develop green and sustainable agriculture, the engagement of the private sector, support of international partners, organisations, non-governmental organisations, research agencies, and domestic and international experts are important.

“Effective public-private cooperation and support from partners will be the key to the project's success,” he said.

Paavo Eliste, Practice Manager from World Bank said that like many other countries which are affected seriously by climate change, Vietnam has been proactive in implementing new policies to promote the transformation process in the direction of low emissions and green development. At the same time, Vietnam also takes action to increase competitiveness in the international market.

Paavo Eliste said that the implementation of the project opens up great potential for promoting activities in innovation, mobilising carbon financial resources, applying digital technology, and engaging the private sector in unprecedented ways to expand access to markets