The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the University of Queensland, and SunRice Group on March 12 announced an extension of their research partnership to advance climate-smart rice production in the Mekong Delta.
With in-principle terms incorporating a $650,000 co-investment, the deal will look at supporting Vietnamese smallholder farmers to address the increasing climate vulnerabilities and meet premium export market standards. It will deliver gender-inclusive, climate-smart capacity building for farmer cooperatives, helping them refine their post-harvest efficiency and traceability to supply premium buyers.
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It will also advance the ongoing breeding innovation to have high-quality, climate-resilient rice varieties ready for commercialisation.
Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Gillian Bird emphasised the significance of the partnership during her first visit to Mekong Delta and SunRice’s Lap Vo Mill in Dong Thap province.
“This initiative exemplifies the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Australia and Vietnam, where we strongly support Vietnam’s sustainable economic growth and innovation in the agriculture sector. It’s great to see how a rigorous public-private partnership between the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the SunRice Group can use science to drive economic growth and also reduce emissions,” Bird said.
SunRice Group CEO, Paul Serra said partnering with ACIAR and the University of Queensland over the past four years had delivered concrete achievements in Vietnam by increasing the supply of rice, improving farmer profitability, and reducing production costs. This new scheme also aligns with the Vietnam One Million Hectares of Low‑Emission, High‑Quality Rice Initiative.
“These successes, along with the adoption of sustainable rice growing practices in the Mekong, demonstrate how multidisciplinary research can help deliver practical solutions,” he said.
“This new initiative will focus on scaling these outcomes, and the development of premium fragrant long grain varieties suited to SunRice’s high value branded markets, while also addressing climate risks and increasingly stringent market requirements, which we know are two areas of growing concern around the world.”
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ACIAR has been working closely with Vietnam since 1993, and this new plan will reflect the strength of the Australia-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and a shared commitment to sustainable agriculture and gender equity agendas.
Acting ACIAR CEO Nick Austin confirmed ACIAR’s commitment to working with Vietnam to address their priorities and continue to develop locally led initiatives to benefit Vietnam.
“ACIAR is pleased to see the positive results from our previous public private partnership, improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Partnering with SunRice gives farmers commercial adoption pathways for high-value exports, while moving to sustainable farming practices,” he said.
Led by The University of Queensland, this new initiative will be in partnership with An Giang University, Can Tho University, Cuu Long Rice Research Institute and Ricegrowers Vietnam, a member of SunRice Group.
University of Queensland Project Leader Prof. Jaquie Mitchell said the initiative’s success was underpinned by the strength of its diverse team, bringing together experts from both the private and public sector across multiple disciplines in Vietnam and Australia.
“From the outset, we believed this partnership had the potential to deliver real impact for both commercialisation and sustainability, and it’s gratifying to see our research demonstrate the benefits across the value chain, particularly for smallholder farmers. We’re excited to continue building on this collaboration and to deliver even greater benefits for the farming communities in the Mekong,” Mitchell said.
