Rice News Today: Vietnamese PM’s action, Rangpur Farmers hope & Ghana-Korea Cooperation

Rice News Today includes Vietnamese PM’s call for Coordinated action along with Rangpur farmers hope for Bumper boro rice harvest due to the favourable climate conditions and Ghana, South Korea to work on agricultural cooperation to boost rice production & cocoa processing.

Vietnamese PM Calls for Coordinated Action to Stabilise Rice Production and Markets

On March 11, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued an official dispatch calling for coordinated actions to ensure stable rice production in Vietnam market and maintain smooth Vietnam rice export activities amid evolving domestic and global conditions. The Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment with instructing local authorities to closely monitor production in Vietnam, enhance forecasting capacity, and proactively respond to adverse weather conditions. The aim is to safeguard crops, maintain planned yields and output, reduce production costs, and strengthen the country’s position in the Vietnam trade landscape. Not only this, but the ministry was also asked to coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies, and localities to boost linkages between businesses and farmers, promote proactive rice procurement, processing, and Vietnam export operations, and ensure stable sales of commercial paddy in the Vietnam market. Strengthening supply chains will help support both domestic distribution and Vietnam import export balance in agricultural commodities.

At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is required to closely monitor and forecast Vietnam export and Vietnam import activities, consumption demand, and food prices in regional and global markets. This will enable flexible management of rice trading and export operations, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnam rice export in the global Vietnam trade sector. Trade promotion efforts will also be stepped up to expand exports to major and high-potential markets, diversify export destinations, and gradually decrease dependence on traditional importers.

Farmers in Rangpur Anticipate Record Bumper Boro Rice Harvest

According to the latest updates, tender boro rice plants are growing well in the favourable climate of the Rangpur agricultural region, with green paddy fields and rice fields spreading across large areas of farm land. This positive trend in agriculture farming has raised hopes among farmers for a bumper crop rice harvest and improved agricultural production this season.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture, including the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said that farmers have already planted Boro paddy seedlings in 94.78 per cent of the targeted land across the rice plains of the region. Additional Director of the DAE’s Rangpur region, Agriculturist Md Shirajul Islam, said farmers involved in rice farming and agriculture rice farming are actively taking care of the growing crops, reflecting strong progress in farming and agriculture activities.The government has set a record target to produce 23,08,715 tonnes of clean Boro rice from 5,09,094 hectares of farm land in the region this season. With healthy crops across the paddy fields, officials remain optimistic about higher crop production and overall agriculture production.

Ghana, South Korea Deepen Agricultural Cooperation to Boost Rice Production & Cocoa Processing

Ghana President John Dramani Mahama has underscored agriculture as a key area of cooperation between Ghana and South Korea, with a strong focus on Ghana rice production and value addition in the Ghana cocoa industry. While speaking at bilateral talks with Lee Jae-myung in Seoul, President Mahama stated that the government is prioritising agriculture and agribusiness to strengthen Ghana food production, improve Ghana food security, and reduce dependence on food imports. In addition, he highlighted ongoing collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency under the K-Rice Belt Project, which aims to boost rice production in Africa, particularly Ghana rice production. Mahama noted that rice has become a major staple food in Ghana, making it essential to expand domestic production to support Ghana food security and reduce rice imports.

Besides Ghana rice production, President Mahama emphasised the importance of strengthening the Ghana cocoa industry by promoting local processing of cocoa and other agricultural commodities. He said increasing value addition will help enhance Ghana food production and ensure the country benefits more from its natural agricultural resources.