The meeting between the Guinea-Bissau delegation and the Field Crops Research Institute in Hải Dương Province on Friday. VNA/VNS Photo

HẢI DƯƠNG – President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo visited the Field Crops Research Institute (FCRI) under the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) in Liên Hồng Commune of Hải Dương city, the northern province of Hải Dương on Friday.

VAAS Deputy Director Đào Thế Anh said the academy has taken part in many programmes to help guarantee food security in Africa. In Guinea-Bissau alone, it is carrying out a project on cashew farming, and it hopes for continued support from the country so that the project is successful.

Presenting some of the FCRI’s research results and partnerships with African countries over the last 15 years, FCRI Director Nguyễn Trọng Khanh said the institute has cooperated with some African countries such as Senegal, Guinea, Angola, Congo, Sudan, Mali, and Mozambique.

He noted that the FCRI has sent more than 300 experts to Africa. In particular, it has transferred rice, soybean, and sweet potato varieties and assisted countries in the continent form new crop systems, thus helping improve farmers’ income and ensure food security.

The Guinea-Bissau delegation introduced their country’s specific climate and soil conditions, and also discussed the selection of suitable rice varieties, efficient farming practices, and environmental protection in agriculture with FCRI experts.

President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said Guinea-Bissau is an agricultural country, and that through the visit to the FCRI, it wishes to learn from Việt Nam’s agricultural development experience.

He also expressed his hope that agricultural projects similar to those the FCRI has implemented in some other African countries will be carried out in Guinea-Bissau in the coming time.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Hằng described the Guinea-Bissau President’s official visit to Việt Nam as a milestone in expanding bilateral relations in multiple areas, including agriculture.

During the trip, the two countries are set to sign an agricultural cooperation agreement, she said, noting that Việt Nam is ready to send experts to Guinea-Bissau to promote partnerships in agricultural development in the coming time.

At the FCRI, the Guinea-Bissau delegation visited the laboratory, the hi-tech melon production area, and the trial rice cultivation area of the institute. VNS