On December 20, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a webinar to summarize part 3 (Supporting smart agricultural practices to adapt to climate change) under the Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (WB7).
The WB7 project consists of 4 components: Support to improve irrigation management; Upgrading irrigation system infrastructure; Support smart agricultural practices for climate change adaptation and Project management and monitoring, evaluation, and training.
At the workshop, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said that in the context of many risks and negative impacts of climate change and epidemics, the agricultural sector must always ensure the relevant national goals. to food security, economic growth, poverty alleviation and social stability. To realize these goals, MARD has proposed the WB7 Project and supported by the World Bank with a total budget of 210 million USD, of which 180 million is ODA loan and 30 million is the counterpart fund of Vietnamese Government.
Implemented since 2014, WB7 project contributes to improving irrigation and drainage services for more than 93,000 hectares of cultivation in 7 provinces and cities (Ha Giang, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri and Quang). Male). The number of people directly benefiting from the project is more than 245,000 farming households. The system of irrigation works of 7 provinces has been upgraded and meets the latest technologies.
The project has also built 49 smart agricultural practice models to adapt to climate change, including: 14 models specializing in rice and rice-crop crops; 12 models of vegetable production – color; 5 models of specialized vegetable cultivation; 12 models of fruit trees; 3 models of long-term industrial crops (tea and pepper); supporting 3 seed centers.
Crops cultivated in 49 practice models are key crop varieties, valuable for food security and endemic commodities in each locality such as rice, vegetables, fruit trees and perennial crops. is different.
Together with the consent of the people, the project has helped to improve productivity, quality and production efficiency by 15% to 20% compared to traditional farming methods, thereby increasing the income of farmers. population has improved markedly.
The results achieved by the project have made an important contribution to the successful implementation of the Agricultural Restructuring Project as well as the Irrigation Development Strategy to 2030 with a vision to 2050.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development highly appreciates the efforts of specialized agencies, Project Management Boards at all levels and local authorities of 7 provinces and regions. The Project has actively coordinated with donors to successfully implement this project. Projects in the past time”, said Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh.
Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh also emphasized that, through evaluating the entire project results, especially assessing the lessons learned, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with donors to build projects to replicate the package. Smart agricultural techniques. This is also the expectation of local farmers as well as the desire of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as donors in the coming time.
