To Viet Chau, Deputy Director of the International Relations Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasised, that the workshop is an opportunity for MELA members to continue to work together to share experiences and knowledge in agricultural development in the Mekong River region and build agricultural extension policies to improve agricultural value chains.

He noted that agriculture plays an important role in Vietnam’s economic development, so the goal of Vietnam’s agricultural sector is to foster the application of scientific and technical achievements in agricultural production, to create high-value agricultural products, contributing to the development of the agricultural sector and development of countries in the Mekong River region.

At the workshop, delegates discussed key issues such as climate change in agricultural production, ecological agriculture, digital transformation applications in agricultural production, national action plans of member countries, and MELA’s charter, committee and plans for the coming years.

MELA was initiated in March 2015 in Hanoi, with members from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.

It was established to help members share their knowledge and practical experiences in agricultural consulting services, marketing and sustainable rural development.