Vietnam Government Promoting Hybrid Rice Production

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is trying to encourage farmers to produce hybrid rice varieties in order to meet country's 70 % demand for hybrid rice by the year 2010.

According to official statistics, currently the rate of hybrid rice varieties in northern and northern central provinces is already between 50 to 55 % of all rice grown. More opportunities to use hybrid rice will be available in the southern region, as the estimated rice production area in the south is expected to increase by between 30 to 40 % in the winter and spring crops of 2007 and 2008.

The government is also running organized training courses on the process of selecting samples and testing the quality of new varieties of rice.