$15m centre for seed and farm produce processing inaugurated
$15m centre for seed and farm produce processing inaugurated
An industrial centre for seed and agricultural product processing opened its doors in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap late last week. 
Financed by the Viet Nam National Seed Corporation (Vinaseed), the centre will cost nearly VND350 billion (US$15.03 million) in the first phase and will use Japanese technology.
Chairman and General Director of Vinaseed Tran Kim Lien said the centre will process 100,000 tonnes of rice and 50,000 tonnes of seeds per year.
The centre will strive to research and produce varieties of seedling for large-scale rice production in the Mekong Delta, focusing on products with good resistance to climate change and pests.
The firm hopes the centre will meet up to 75 per cent of farmers' demand for rice varieties and raise their income by 30 per cent.
In addition, the centre aims to change agricultural production management toward 4.0 technologies to reduce losses in rice production while facilitating small and medium enterprises, co-operatives and farmer households to participate in Vinaseed’s value chain to bring about stable incomes for farmers.
In his speech, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said the centre will contribute to improving the rice value chain from seed to production, harvest, processing and consumption for the Mekong Delta region, the nation's largest rice production hub.
