Vietnam’s rice bowl saved the country from starvation in post-war years. Now, the region has to transform itself again.
has a PhD in environmental chemistry, a postdoctoral fellowship on pesticide residues in South-East Asian food chains, and a plan to license the company’s technology all over the world.
Now, thousands of two-metre plastic vertical pods stretch out in gracious rows in the company’s farms. Orlar has evolved to the point where demand for its lettuce, rocket, edible flowers and strawberries exceeds supply. Mid-range supermarkets and restaurants can’t get enough of what Hugo calls “Orlar goodness”.
China’s insatiable thirst for river water to drive its hydropower plants is shaping into an existential threat for the five other countries through which the Mekong runs. Hundreds of dams, many built in the past decade, have disrupted the river’s pulse. Wet-season flows have diminished and millions of tonnes of nutrient-rich sediment are trapped behind concrete.
Ditty thinks he may have been the first foreign accountant in private practice in postwar Vietnam when he arrived 29 years ago. He has been fascinated by the place ever since. His role as an adviser to companies coming in and going out gives him a good insight into what the international community is interested in. So far, the agricultural sector hasn’t attracted a huge amount of attention.
SunRice began as a co-operative when a group of rice growers pitched in funds to build a mill. Xuan, who is well acquainted with Australian farmers and scientists, is hopeful a revamped co-operative model will help Mekong Delta farmers adapt to changing conditions. Co-operatives, he says, could help convince farmers of more sustainable ways to use fertilisers.
“Often in Vietnam, once you join a company, how you advance depends partly on your connections, on whom you know,” says Woong. “Here, if you contribute, you are recognised. Hopefully we can develop new systems for growing these crops and along the way pick up all the geniuses of Vietnam – at least all of the ones not in fintech.”
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