Hun Sen for rice research sharing

Hun Sen for rice research sharing

PHNOM PENH (AP): Prime Minister Hun Sen Thursday urged Southeast Asian countries to share their scientific research on rice to increase regional production and boost profits.

Hun Sen was speaking at a meeting of agriculture and forestry ministers of the members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

"I would like the meeting to encourage the idea of establishing a network of institutions for research and development of rice production in the region," Hun Sen said in a speech to open the two-day meeting.

He said ASEAN's international competitiveness in agricultural and forestry products will be enhanced if "attention is paid to the improvement in our standards and product quality."

Few Cambodian goods are exported because of the generally inferior quality of the fruits and vegetables grown, stored and transported here.

Hun Sen said the affects of the 1997 Asian economic crisis continue to haunt the region as it struggles to compete in the global economy.

"As ASEAN economies continue to recover from the financial crisis, our main concerns are competitiveness of the regional economies in the international markets," he said.

"Therefore, we should not only seek self-sufficiency in food at the regional level, but should also have a long-term vision beyond this," he said.

Some 80 percent of Cambodia's population lives in rural areas and almost all of them farm. The government, with the support of international aid agencies, has been trying for years to encourage farmers to grow products besides rice.

The meeting marks the first time Cambodia, ASEAN's newest member, has hosted a meeting of the member nation's ministers.

The other ASEAN members are Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.