As part of the implementation of the Agricultural New Southbound Policy and the promotion of regional agricultural development, today (April 25) in Vietnam, the Chiayi Agricultural Experiment Branch of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) signed the “Agreement to Cooperate on a Demonstration Center on Rice Seed and Fruit Tree Seedling Production” (“Demonstration Center Agreement”) with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An Province, Vietnam. Under the agreement Taiwan will export seedlings, equipment, fertilizer, and agricultural machinery to Vietnam, to support the technological development in paddy rice and fruit tree seedling propagation in Long An province. It is furthermore expected that the agreement will encourage germplasm exchanges and preservation cooperation between the two countries, and that the demonstration of Taiwanese technology will create commercial opportunities for the export of agricultural materials and equipment from Taiwan to Vietnam, creating a win-win situation for the two sides.

In 1999 Taiwan and Vietnam signed the “Agreement on Agricultural and Fishery Cooperation Between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi, Vietnam and the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei,” to promote cooperation and exchanges between the two countries in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and animal husbandry, and to resolve issues of concern related to market access. In December of 2018, the COA and Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development convened the “Twelfth Taiwan-Vietnam Working Group Meeting on Cooperation in Agriculture and Fisheries,” at which the two sides agreed to promote a variety of cooperation projects including a “demonstration center for seedling production” and an “aquaculture demonstration zone.” Thanks to the joint efforts of both governments, today the Demonstration Center Agreement was signed in Long An Province, Vietnam. Coming as it does in the year marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the aforementioned “Agreement on Agricultural and Fishery Cooperation”, the signing and implementation of this new agreement will further promote technical cooperation and exchanges of personnel between local governments in Vietnam and research institutes in Taiwan. It also has profound significance in terms of deepening friendly relations between Taiwan and Vietnam.

The COA states that the Demonstration Center in Long An Province will be Taiwan’s third agricultural demonstration zone project jointly promoted with agricultural ministries of New Southbound Policy partner countries, following on the “Modern Agriculture Demo Farm in Karawang” (in cooperation with Indonesia) and the “Technology Demonstration of Button Mushroom Growing House” (in cooperation with the Philippines). Taiwan’s agricultural production environment is similar to that in many New Southbound Policy partner countries, so there is great potential for the export of agricultural technology, machinery, materials, and equipment from Taiwan to these countries. In the future the COA will continue to deepen bilateral agricultural cooperation and promote Taiwan’s regional agricultural development program, in order to deepen agricultural, economic, and trade cooperation between Taiwan and New Southbound Policy partner countries.