Huge potential for agricultural co-operation between Vietnam and Canada

The North American country is one of the world's main food suppliers thanks to its developed agriculture sector.

​According to data from the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), the productivity of canola, Canada's signature product, has doubled over the past 50 years. In addition, the weight of cattle and pigs has increased by about 40% thanks to applying technology and developing better varieties with higher yields.

Canada is therefore playing an important role in the world's food security goals and is also a leading country in terms of reducing emissions in agricultural production.

Lenore Newman, director of the Institute of the Food and Agriculture Institute at Fraser University, said Canada is making progress in a number of areas, including genetic technology which is helping to create richer flora and fauna, richer nutrients, and be more resilient to climate change.

According to Professor Peter Phillips of the University of Saskatchewan said Canada has increased investment resources in technology development in the agricultural sector as a means of increasing production capacity and improving crop quality.

The Canadian market boasts a competitive advantage in ensuring food security and can be viewed as a major supplier of food and feed to the world, he went on to say.

Regarding the potential for co-operation between the Vietnamese side and Canada in the field of modern agriculture, Newman said that Fraser University is seeking partnerships in Vietnam as Canada is a country on the West Coast of the Pacific Ocean and has a lot of potential within the sphere of influence in this region, especially in terms of exchange and technology transfer.

Exchanging and learning from each other to gain greater expertise on different types of agriculture is positive and will ultimately help to further build the Pacific Rim ecosystem of agricultural technology for all countries in the region.

Over recent years both sides have paid great attention to co-operation in the field of agriculture to jointly contribute to global food security whilst ensuring the food supply chain.

The Canadian Government has sponsored the project "Food Safety for Development" and the project "Coastal Communities Adapting to Climate Change" for Vietnam, thereby contributing to the greater development of safe and sustainable agricultural production.

Since the enforcement of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the value of export and import of agricultural products between the two countries has increased from US$623 million in 2017 to reach more than US$1 billion at present.

Tyler McCann, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, commented that both parties have great potential to build links because of the good trade relationship between the two sides and the agricultural sector is an important part of that.

Collaboration with the country can help Canada to access the Indo-Pacific market. Agriculture should therefore be viewed as a top co-operation issue because it not only involves trade relations, but also academic and professional exchanges, he stressed.