From 26 to 29/5/2014, in Hanoi, the Board of Management of Research Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) had its first meeting on the occasion of the CIAT Asia office moved from Bangkok to Hanoi (in campus of Agricultural Genetics Institute).
According to Prof. Dr. Bui Chi Buu, one of two agricultural scientists of Vietnam was invited to advise by the organization, the reason for this move is the Vietnam office has come a long way in the planting cassava and become the 2nd largest exporter in the world (after Thailand). CIAT hope to Asian office in the capital of Vietnam, a country that has the most dynamic agricultural sector, will help CIAT facilitate more active.
According to the document circulated at the meeting, cassava area of Vietnam has 560,000 ha, exports reached US $ 1.3 billion in 2012 and US $ 1.1 billion in 2013. The cassava productivity increase 2 times mainly due to crossbreeding new varieties as KM94, KM 98-1, SM 937-26 ... from genetic resources of CIAT.
However cassava in Vietnam is not sustainable because the gap between productivity of the world's major categories, as in Tay Ninh cassava yield of 30 tons/ha (not irrigated areas) and 50 tons/ha (with additional irrigated areas), many other places only 15-17 tons/ha.
The gap between productivity by improving breeding and transfer technique has great significance in the implementation of the limited planning area but reached the high volume. The cassava cultivation area of Vietnam is facing five new dangerous pests on cassava as witches broom, mealybug, bacterial blight, whitefly, redmites.
CIAT will promote investment of US $ 13 million to build gene banks for cassava and forage trees, invest a modern laboratory in Hanoi.

Source: cafebiz.vn