Cần Thơ to host second Vietnam International Rice Festival

Cần Thơ to host second Vietnam International Rice Festival

The event aims to showcase Việt Nam’s rice industry, promote its rice heritage, strengthen the country’s position in global food security, and develop a sustainable rice value chain.

Farmers tend to rice crops in Cần Thơ city. The second Vietnam International Rice Festival will be held in Cần Thơ from Novemmber 23-26. — VNA/VNS Photo

The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ will host the second Vietnam International Rice Festival from November 23-26, under the theme “Vietnam green rice – Reaching the world.”

​The event, jointly organised by the municipal People’s Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, aims to showcase Việt Nam’s rice industry, promote its rice heritage, strengthen the country’s position in global food security, and develop a sustainable rice value chain.

The festival is expected to feature more than 500 exhibitors and international delegations. Major activities will take place at Sông Hậu Park and surrounding streets, with modern agricultural machinery demonstrations along National Highway 61C.

The four-day event will feature exhibitions, competitions, cultural activities, international seminars and business meetings. A major exhibition titled “The rice road from past to future” will trace the development of Vietnam’s rice cultivation from traditional farming to modern agriculture amid Industry 4.0.

Exhibition areas will showcase achievements by localities and rice businesses, agricultural technologies and machinery, digital transformation, specialty and organic rice, OCOP products, cuisine and international rice markets. Visitors will also be able to explore models highlighting terraced rice fields, upland rice, rice-shrimp farming and the project to develop 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice.

​Two international seminars will focus on expanding markets and advancing green rice production. The first, on November 24, will discuss branding, food safety standards, market regulations and trade connectivity while the second, on November 25, will focus on artificial intelligence (AI), Inernet of Things (IoT), blockchain, digital transformation, carbon credits and circular-economy solutions to reduce emissions.

The festival will also feature traditional southern cultural experiences, eco-tourism activities, visits to Cái Răng Floating Market and the Ngo boat racing final during the Oóc Om Bóc Festival.

The event has a projected budget of more than VNĐ34 billion (US$1.3 million), sourced from State and municipal budgets and social contributions.

Organisers expect the festival to give fresh momentum to the Vietnamese rice brand and accelerate the transition from conventional agricultural production toward a greener, more sustainable agricultural economy. 

Bizhub