Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam speaks at the workshop. Photo: VGP/Do Huong

At the workshop, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said the project will fundamentally transform the rice production system in the Mekong Delta in association with the transformation of farmers' production mindset about agriculture and rice, so that high-quality rice production will be shifted to a higher level of added rice value and sustainable development.

“The project not only develops 1 million hectares of high-quality rice but also enhances the role of cooperatives and businesses to create value chains. Once implemented, the project will require a lot of investment resources. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development intends to mobilize social resources, including the State’s mechanisms and policies support. Resources from enterprises and cooperatives, international organizations and credit institutions will be mobilized to support producers,” Nam said. 

Guo Li, a senior agriculture economist of the World Bank said the bank has been implementing a 40 million USD support project along with a project worth about 60 million USD to develop the carbon credits market after 2027, in addition to a 20 million USD non-refundable program to aid the Scheme. The WB wants to cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and donors to implement projects in the Mekong Delta, he said.