Quality Chinese rice varieties might go into Laos

At the invitation by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos, Bai Lianyang, Secretary of Party Committee of Hunan Academy of Agricultural Science (HAAS) took another four heads of Department Of Science And Technology Service, Department of Scientific Research, Rice Research Institute, and Hybrid Rice Research Institute of Hunan Academy of Agricultural Science to pay an exploratory visit to Laos between September 6 and 10.

During the 5-day exploratory visit, Hunan Delegation of Investigation visited Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos and rice predominance areas in Vientiane City, Khammouan Province, Savannakhet Province and Borikhamxay Province, hoping to introduce rice varieties, advanced production technology of quality and high-yield rice for environmental protection, and a whole set of mechanized equipment into Laos with the supports by the governments from both countries in anticipation of, in virtue of excellent geological climate conditions, abundant rice growing resources, sufficient agricultural land and labor, complementing in resource, technology and talents with Hunan Xuanye Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd. which had laid a good foundation of export of Laotian rice. In addition, a HAAS Xuanye Laos Rice Research and Promotion Center was planned to be built in Laos.

Benkuan Kangbenheng, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Forestry of Laos received the Delegation and both sides made a deep communication of building up a HAAS Xuanye Laos Rice Research and Promotion Center in Laos. Benkuan said that Laotian government would draw up relevant policies and provisions to promote the agricultural development in an active manner and provide preferential measures for export of agricultural products and introduction of foreign companies for investment after the China-Laos Railway opened, jointly promoting agricultural development in Laos and enhancing mutual exchange on agriculture and trading in China and Laos. Both sides agreed to make all efforts, with the supports by the governments of both countries, to introduce excellent rice varieties and advanced technologies of HAAS into Laos for demonstration and expansion and establish a demonstrative base for rice breeding and excellent and high-efficient growing in Laos. By doing so, it is hoped to push forward industrialization of rice production and exports and bring benefits to the rice farmers in Laos.

Relevant departments under Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos hoped that HAAS and Hunan Xuanye had a strong cooperation to give advice on agricultural development in Laos, and provide supports and instructions of agricultural technology, trying to achieve ground-breaking growth of Laotian rice production and standardized export as soon as possible and meet the demand on rice domestically and overseas.

 In communication with Department of Agriculture and Forestry of Vientiane City, Khammouan Province and Savannakhet Province, and Thasano Rice Research and Seed Multiplication Center in Savannakhet Province, the Hunan Delegation further learned about and investigated the local geological climate conditions and breeding, growing, processing and sales of rice in Laos.

After doing site surveys on rice growing base in Vientiane, Thasano Rice Research and Seed Multiplication Center in Savannakhet Province, Xuanye Crop Growing Base, Xuanye Agricultural Industry Park in South and rice growing base in Khammouan and Borikhamxay, Bai Lianyang expressed that foreign agricultural cooperation is a key strategy of going globally in China. He hoped that Laotian government could grasp the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road to introduce quality rice varieties and advanced breeding technology from China for the purpose of building up a quality rice variety growing base by Chinese standards for rice export and increasing the yields of Laotian rice by mechanized planting in a large area. HAAS was confident that, in virtue of agriculture technology and professional teams from China, yields of Laotian rice could be increased by another 2-3 tons per hectare, which would help Laotian farmers to have more income and become rich. HAAS also hoped to become a strategic partner of Hunan Xuanye to build up a HAAS Xuanye Laos Rice Research and Promotion Center based in Laos, which would then become a rice breeding center and a center of expanding rice production technology covering Southeast Asia. By doing so, rice growing would become industrialized and export of rice to China commercialized. As a result, more quality rice of Chinese standards would be exported to China and even the world and hence a world brand of Chinese Agriculture would be formed to bring mutual benefits and two-win results by cooperation in agricultural production and import and export.

It is reported that Laotian rice only has a yield of 2-4 tons per hectare while the yield in China can reach up to 16 tons per hectare. By contrast, there is still a large space for Laotian rice to develop.

Bounchanh, Deputy Director of Department of Planting, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos, and Xu Guowu, Chairman of Hunan Xuanye Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., accompanied the visit. (Source from: Hunan Academy of Agricultural Science and Hunan Xuanye Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd.