November 4, 2019
Visitors from the Embassy of Vietnam in Mexico and members of CIMMYT senior management stand for a group photograph next to the Norman Borlaug statue at CIMMYT’s global headquarters. (Photo: Jose Luis Olin Martinez for CIMMYT)
Vietnamese officials expressed interest in increased future cooperation with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). A delegation from the Embassy of Vietnam in Mexico visited CIMMYT’s global headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico, on October 21, 2019. The delegation was composed of Hien Do Tat, First Secretary of Technology Science, and translator Cuc Doan Thi Thu.
CIMMYT sends germplasm to Vietnam and has previously collaborated with the country through several projects. More than twenty Vietnamese scientists have received training from CIMMYT.
The Vietnamese delegation was particularly interested in CIMMYT’s work with drought-tolerant maize and requested expert help with fall armyworm, which has appeared in Vietnam for the first time earlier this year. They also expressed surprise at the range of CIMMYT activities, as they were under the impression that the organization’s sole purpose was plant breeding.
CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff reinforced interest in further cooperation with Vietnam, emphasizing the importance of appropriate mechanization and sustainable intensification in agricultural development.
Vietnam produced 5.1 million tons of maize a year, grown on more than one million hectares, according to the latest available figures.
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