IRRI May 2014.

http://irri.org/our-impact/reducing-poverty/vietnam-s-rice-harvest-rises-through-research

Vietnam’s rice production has increased every year since the 1980s, with the country now being the world’s second-largest rice exporter. Rice research and the development of new rice varieties in particular greatly contributed to this.

In a recent study, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) looked at the economic impact and value of rice breeding work of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) between 1985 and 2009 across Southeast Asia.

During this time, rice farmers in southern Vietnam achieved yield increases of 9.8% and gained an additional US$127 per hectare due to IRRI’s breeding contributions. This is the highest dollar gain for farmers among the country's rice-producing neighbors included in the study: the equivalent average annual benefits for Indonesia and the Philippines, are $76/ha and $52/ha, respectively.

Benefits in northern Vietnam were lower than in southern Vietnam due to the popularity of rice breeding material from China for northern Vietnam.

For the 25 years ending 2009, the annual value of IRRI’s rice breeding benefits across all three countries studied by ACIAR averaged $1.46 billion and around 42% of these benefits – or $610 million – flowed directly to Vietnam.

Rice is the staple food in Vietnam like in most Asian countries. The Vietnamese government recognized its importance and formed partnerships with countries and research institutions, including IRRI, to help the country develop its rice sector.