Vietnam MARD awards the Asian Mega-Deltas Initiative and IRRI for supporting the country’s sustainable development

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam awarded a Certificate of Merit to the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for their outstanding performance in implementing AMD, contributing to the sustainable development of the country’s agriculture and rural development sector.

During the inaugural session of the AMD’s Annual Meeting and Pause, Reflect, and Plan Workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 27 February 2024, a special awarding ceremony was held to present the award.

Dr. Dao The Anh, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences-MARD, presented the award to IRRI and AMD through Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander and Dr. Khondker Murshed-e-Jahan, lead and co-lead of AMD, respectively.

Dr. Anh highlighted that the implementation of AMD is very timely as the government, especially MARD, needs support in finding solutions to address the challenges towards an integrated and sustainable management of the Mekong River Delta (MRD).

He stressed that “For almost 3 years of AMD in Vietnam, we appreciate the work that AMD has done, particularly the collaboration and coordination among the various CGIAR Centers, international and local partners, and other relevant stakeholders, including farmers.”

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Sander expressed AMD and IRRI’s gratitude to MARD for the recognition. “With a long history of working with our partners in Vietnam, we are very happy that we are working together on programs that are delivering more impact to our farmers on the ground,” Dr. Sander said.

Recently, IRRI and AMD worked with MARD to develop the principles of the “Sustainable Development of One Million Hectares of High Quality and Low-Emission Rice Associated with Green Growth in The Mekong River Delta By 2030” program. This program aims for the…