The 'golden grain' of Vietnam-Cuba friendship

After 23 years of implementing the Vietnam-Cuba Cooperation Project to develop rice production in Cuba (2002-2025), many VIBA rice varieties (abbreviation of Vietnam and Cuba) have been successfully researched by agricultural engineers of the two countries and have high productivity, helping the brotherly country of Cuba to gradually become self-sufficient in food security.

Cuban Minister of Agriculture Ydael Pérez Brito answered questions from VNA reporters.

According to a VNA correspondent in Havana, speaking at the project's closing ceremony, which took place in the coastal city of Varadero in Cuba's Matanzas province, with the participation of representatives from the two ministries of agriculture, researchers and engineers from Cuba and Vietnam, Cuban Minister of Agriculture Ydael Pérez Brito affirmed that this is a typical example of cooperation and reflects the achievements that both sides can achieve when working together.

Launched in 2002, the project is being developed in four production areas in 11 provinces of Cuba, including Matanzas, Mayabeque, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Villa Clara, Santi Spiritud, Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Granma and Las Tunas. In the period 2024-2025, the average yield will reach 5.8 tons of fresh rice per hectare, 2.5 times higher than the yield that Cubans cultivate and exceeding the project's target of 5 tons of fresh rice per hectare.

Throughout the five phases of this project, Cuba and Vietnam have cooperated closely, sharing knowledge, technology and experience, helping to improve agricultural capacity and allowing Cuba to move towards food self-sufficiency.

For his part, Deputy Project Director, Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, emphasized that the project's success today is thanks to the special attention of the two Parties and the Government , as well as the intelligence, relentless determination and sweat of thousands of Vietnamese-Cuba managers, experts, engineers and farmers.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Project Director, spoke at the event.

With the spirit of solidarity, overcoming difficulties and the dedication of the technical team and experts of the two countries, 4 short-term VIBA rice varieties, adaptable to soil conditions, high yield and good quality have been successfully researched and put into widespread cultivation.

In addition, the Vietnamese side has completed the transfer of technology, farming techniques and training of 80 Cuban agricultural engineers in rice cultivation.

Sharing at the conference, Mr. Lázaro Puerta, a farmer in Florida district, Camaguey province, expressed: “I am very grateful for the farming knowledge that Vietnamese agricultural experts and engineers have imparted, and thanks to that, the yield on the field has been significantly increased from about 2-3 tons of fresh rice/ha to over 8 tons/ha.”

On this occasion, Minister Ydael Pérez Brito awarded certificates of merit to the team of Vietnamese engineering experts and the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences for their great contributions to Vietnam-Cuba rice production cooperation.

Group of Vietnamese and Cuban experts and engineers of phase 5 of the Vietnam-Cuba rice cooperation project.

Speaking to VNA reporters, Minister Ydael Pérez Brito assessed the five phases of the project as a great success. He affirmed that this is a project of friendship, faithful and steadfast Cuba-Vietnam friendship, and thanked Vietnam for transferring technology, techniques, supporting rice varieties and agricultural machinery as well as training human resources to help Cuba increase rice production.

For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Quang Long affirmed that the project demonstrates the success of the efforts and long-term commitment of the Vietnamese Party and Government in supporting Cuba in ensuring food security. He said that the success of the project will create an important premise to help Cuba enter a new stage of agricultural development, as well as agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

The project to support Cuba in agricultural production is of particular importance both economically and politically, demonstrating the solidarity and friendship between the two countries. The completion of the fifth phase of cooperation in rice production in Cuba is not the final step but the beginning of a new phase aimed at consolidating the achievements of a proven experience in practice with concrete results.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/hat-vang-cua-tinh-huu-nghi-viet-namcuba-20251021125413352.htm