Regional exchange workshop of agricultural extension organizations in the Mekong region

From July 24 to 26, in Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province, the Mekong Delta Agricultural Extension Organizations Exchange Workshop was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with relevant units. Attending the workshop were representatives of the Department of International Cooperation; National Agricultural Extension Center - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ninh; Agricultural Extension Center of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong along with agricultural extension agencies, social organizations, scholars, youth organizations from countries along the Mekong River basin including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Speaking at the workshop, Mr. To Viet Chau, Deputy Director of the Department of International Relations, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasized: The workshop is an opportunity for MELA members to continue long-term cooperation to share experiences and knowledge in agricultural development in the Mekong River region, and together build policies on agriculture and agricultural extension to promote cooperation in organizing production connections, improving the value chain of the agricultural sector, especially recognizing the important role of people in contributing to agricultural development in countries.

Mr. To Viet Chau, Deputy Director of International Relations Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, spoke at the workshop.

In Vietnam , the agricultural sector plays an important role in contributing to the development of the country's economy . Therefore, in the coming time, the goal of Vietnam's agricultural sector is to promote the application of scientific and technical achievements, technology application, digital transformation in agricultural cooperation and agricultural extension to increasingly create high-value agricultural products, contributing to the development of the agricultural sector in particular and the economy of each country in the Mekong region in particular.

Delegates attending the workshop.

MELA is the Mekong Extension Alliance, initiated in March 2015 in Hanoi (Vietnam), with members from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. MELA was established to help members share knowledge and best practices in the fields of agricultural advisory services, marketing and sustainable rural development. Since its establishment, MELA has been held in Laos (2015), Myanmar (2016), Cambodia (2017), Thailand (2018), Vietnam (2019). From 2020-2022, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MELA's annual meetings were suspended. In 2023, after a technical consultation workshop held in Laos, the Secretariat and MELA members agreed to choose Vietnam as the host country for the MELA Workshop in 2024.

MELA Secretariat representative speaking at the workshop.

At the workshop, delegates focused on discussing and clarifying key issues such as: climate change in agricultural production; ecological agriculture; application of digital transformation in agricultural production; national action plans of member countries; charter, committee and plan of MELA in the following years...

Delegates attending the workshop.

This workshop aims to help MELA members share information on the latest developments in advisory services to address the most pressing issues for smallholder farmers, especially agroecology, climate change and the use of digitalization, and to further strengthen the role of the MELA Secretariat and its members in developing MELA programs in the coming time. Source: https://nhandan.vn/hoi-thao-trao-doi-vung-cac-to-chuc-khuyen-nong-vung-song-mekong-post820802.html