On Wednesday, the 5^th Mekong Extension Learning Alliance (MELA) meeting opened in Da Nang, drawing the participation of 60 delegates in total from 5 countries, namely Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

The delegates attending the 5th Mekong Extension Learning Alliance (MELA) meeting

Themed ‘Smart Farmer and Climate-Smart Agriculture - CSA', this year’s event, which runs until 13 September, aims to share information, knowledge, experience, and best practice in extension and advisory services amongst Mekong Region countries and institutions involved in agriculture and rural development, and to provide a space for reflection, hands-on peer support and learning.

In his welcome speech, Mr Nguyen Phu Ban, the Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development remarked, in recent years, Da Nang’s agricultural sector has gained positive achievements in restructuring crops and livestock, enhancing productivity, product quality and promoting the restructuring the agricultural sector towards increasing added value and sustainable development.

The local agriculture aims to create key products and fully tap the marine potential to promote offshore fishing, fishery logistic services associated with the seafood processing industry.

Aside from this, importance has been attached to developing hi-tech, organic and ecological agriculture to ensure production efficiency, agricultural quality and food safety.

In particular, plans for the establishment of hi-tech agricultural production areas and the city’s Hi-tech Agricultural Park have been made by the city authorities, whilst many agriculture promotion policies have been issued.

The Co Tu ethnic minority group’s traditional dance being performed at the event

Dr Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, the Director of International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, hoped that MELA’s member countries would strengthen regional cooperation in science and technology, and promote agricultural production expansion, rural development and investment in regional agricultural value chains.

Under the agenda, the participants present and discuss the implementation of national policies and efforts in promoting climate-smart agriculture, green agriculture and development of farmers’ organisations, including agricultural cooperatives in MELA’s member countries.

Besides, there are practical experience exchanges in supporting farmers in the Mekong region and strengthening the capacity in rural counseling services and achieving the target of 1 million farmers applying IT and hi-tech in their agricultural production activities.