Rice gene resource management project approved (for illustration only. Source: backan) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on November 12 approved a project of managing dryland rice’s genetic resources in Vietnam with funding from the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI). The project will be conducted by the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences until 2014, with the help of related agencies in Hanoi and other provinces. It aims to preserve and save the genetic resources of dryland rice while encouraging farmers to use the resources in a sustainable way, contributing to ensure food security in Vietnam. It will help limit the loss of genetic resources due to the narrowing of the cultivation area, and improve the quality and quantity of dryland rice genes stored in the National Plant Gene Bank. The project is expected to help collect genetic materials of about 200 additional dryland rice varieties, bringing the total number of varieties stored by the bank to 800. Source: VNA