On the afternoon of February 1st, the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) successfully held the opening ceremony for Israel’s automatic drip irrigation system. This project was given to VNUA by the Israeli Embassy and Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Israel.
Participating in the event were Mr. Hoang Van Thang – the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Mr. Nadav Eshcar – the Ambassador of Israel to Vietnam with the senior staff of the Israeli Embassy in Vietnam; Mr. Yuval Fuchs – the Vice Director of the Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan – the President of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture; representatives of different departments, branches and organizations under Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; leaders of the International Cooperation Office, the Science and Technology Office, and the Office of Political and Students’ Affairs; leaders, staff and students of the Faculty of Agronomy. A large number of news agencies also attended to report on the event.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Hoang Van Thang, thanked the Vietnamese government, the Israeli Government and the Ambassador of Israel – Mr. Nadav Eshcar, for promoting practical collaboration in agriculture with Vietnam over the previous years. The Deputy Minister praised this Israeli automatic drip irrigation system as a breakthrough in high-tech agriculture, recognizing the frequent water shortages in Israel where they have treated wastewater for irrigation. Although Vietnam presently has adequate water from rivers and rainfall, that does not mean that there is no possibility of water shortages in the future. Therefore, the application of drip irrigation system would be a big step forward for Vietnam’s sustainable agricultural production.
So far, Vietnam has put forth much effort into the application of the drip irrigation system which has been in use for a total of 150,000 ha (45,000 ha in Lam Dong Province). Vietnam’s target is to have around 500.000 ha of land applying this drip irrigation system by 2020. Throughout the process, Israel has always provided Vietnam with significant support.
The Ambassador – Mr. Nadav Eshcar complimented the process and efficiency of the application of drip irrigation system in Vietnam. He and the Deputy Minister - Mr. Hoang Van Thang visited some provinces in the South and Central parts of Vietnam and realized that there is a high risk of water shortage in some of those areas. The application of the drip irrigation system in this area, as well as in the Central Highlands, would further facilitate the development of Vietnam’s agriculture.
On this occasion, the University President – Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan expressed the deepest gratitude for the meaningful gift given to the university. Under the framework of the joint-implementation of the Israeli Agricultural Education and Training Program with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development since 2013, the university has sent 400 students to Israel for the internships in order to gain practical knowledge; participate in various short training courses and sent staff for the visit and work with different Israeli partners.
Assessing the scientific values of the Israeli automatic drip irrigation system to the university, the President believed that this system would help VNUA in boosting the university’s training, research and meeting the needs of farmers and allied industry partners. VNUA would use this system effectively in training, research and technology transfer, and in the near future, this model would be transferred to and replicated in different localities in the country.