Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam met with Anthony McFarlane, Communications Director of Australia’s SunRice Group, in Canberra on October 29 to review progress in bilateral agricultural cooperation and explore future opportunities.
McFarlane highlighted SunRice’s long-standing collaboration with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which has supported the development of high-yield rice varieties in Vietnam. These varieties now serve domestic consumption and are exported to markets such as Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. He also outlined the group’s latest public–private partnership with ACIAR, the University of Queensland and Mekong Delta partners to build a sustainable, traceable and quality-assured rice value chain for smallholder farmers.
The project focuses on strengthening marketing opportunities for Vietnamese growers, improving Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) compliance for exports, developing new short-season fragrant rice varieties, and enhancing fertilizer efficiency to reduce production costs and emissions. According to McFarlane, effective value chain management is essential to help Vietnam’s small-scale rice farmers access high-value markets.
Ambassador Tam welcomed SunRice’s contributions and expressed hope that the group would continue expanding initiatives that support local farmers and promote sustainable agriculture in the region. He also introduced McFarlane to Lao Ambassador Chatoulong Bouasisavath, encouraging exploration of cooperation in Halal-certified agricultural products and regional rice value chain development.
McFarlane noted that the project, which is set to conclude in December, demonstrates the impact of collaboration between research institutions, industry and government. He added that SunRice looks forward to continuing its partnership with Vietnam and engaging more broadly across Southeast Asia to advance innovation and sustainable agricultural growth.
(Source: Vietnam Plus)
