Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday, 16 March 2022 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio and delegation, comprising mainly ministers, have signed an agreement, a farming cooperation, with the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture Sciences, VAAS, known for its long and prestigious history and proud scientific reputation.
Under the agreement, VAAS will exchange genetic resources of plant varieties, selection and creation of plant strains, ecological agriculture, microorganisms, plant protection, agricultural product value chains, technology transfer, and agricultural extension.
The Vietnamese authorities said the cooperation model would be bilateral or trilateral with the participation of international development, advanced industrial nations, or the private sector.
It could be recalled that during the week-long state visit to the third largest rice exporting country in the world by President Julius Maada Bio, he demonstrated that agriculture was the key pillar in bilateral cooperation with the southeast Asian nation, opening up a new chapter in his government’s economic diplomacy.
VAAS Director, Nguyen Hong Son, reiterated that Vietnam was famous for her aquaculture expertise too, adding that the academy was already cooperating with 33 countries and 66 international organisations.
“The academy’s rice varieties are cultivated in 59% of Vietnam’s paddy land and 77% of the Mekong Delta’s,” he said.
At the signing ceremony, President Bio said the similarities in weather and soil between Vietnam and Sierra Leone had boosted his government’s interest in pursuing agricultural cooperation with Vietnam, hoping that it would contribute to Sierra Leone’s food security drive and further development.
“Sierra Leone is paying attention to food production, agriculture, rural development, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, high technology in food and seafood processing,” he said, adding that during the visit members of his delegation would explore farming methods and experience of Vietnam, thereby boosting cooperation at all levels.
President Bio assured the authorities that he highly valued Vietnam’s agricultural achievements, expressing hope that the country would support and share experience with Sierra Leone in that field.
For More Enquiries: State House Media and Communications Unit
