By Ha Yen, Mai Loan

Maize, soybean, cassava, and potato are crops that Vietnam needs to
genetically modify to improve productivity as soon as possible, said Dr.
Nguyen Quoc Binh, Deputy Director of the HCM City Biotechnology Centre on
Sept. 29.
According to Binh, genetic modification needs to be applied to stimulate the
productivity of these plants because they are major ingredients in animal
feed. Vietnam should not apply genetic modification to other crops like
pepper, rice, and coffee yet because they are major export items of Vietnam.

Some Vietnamese scientists presented reports about genetic modification
research works, for example Dr. Tran Thi Cuc Hoa from the Mekong Delta Rice
Institute, who introduced a study about an insect-resistant soybean variety.

In Vietnam, genetic modification has been used on rice, maize and cotton.
Vietnam allows the development of genetically-modified plants and animals.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister recently approved a pilot programme to develop
and apply biotechnology in agriculture and animal husbandry to 2020. Under
this plan, Vietnam will put some genetically-modified crops in mass
production and then clone animals. Annually the state budget will spend
around VND100 billion ($6.25 million) on this programme.

Certainly, 100% of genetically-modified products sold in the market must be
supervised and meet Vietnamese standards and over 50% of the population must
have information about and contribute their opinions on the granting of
bio-safety certificates to these products.

According to a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development survey
announced at a seminar in September 2007, most animal feed samples taken
from the market contained a certain amount of genetically-modified food
(maize and soybean). Most of these products were legally imported through
joint-venture companies.

In Vietnam, some varieties of genetically-modified maize are grown alongside
normal maize in HCM City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong. These varieties were
brought to Vietnam by foreign companies.

Farmers in the southern-central region and the Central Highlands have
planted genetically-modified cotton.

At a workshop on genetically-modified crops held by the Agricultural
Genetics Institute and the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in early 2008, scientists and officials
said that there were no accurate statistics about the area and the varieties
of genetically-modified trees in Vietnam.

Prof., Dr. Vo Tong Xuan, a Vietnamese member of ISAAA, said while many
countries have strongly developed genetically-modified trees, many others
are still hesitant because they don?t thoroughly understand
genetically-modified trees and their advantages.

But, are genetically-modified products safe? Scientists say many
international scientific organisations have researched and concluded that
genetically-modified food is safe.

Dr. Randy Hautea, global coordinator of the ISAAA, said in the US,
genetically-modified food accounts for up to 70% of the food on the market.

A total of 674 genetically-modified products had been approved by 53
countries for sale in their markets by November 2007. The first
genetically-modified plants were commercialised in 1993-1994.
www.checkbiotech.org