Professor Vo Tong Xuan and Australian experts discuss rice production at An Phong Cooperative (Dong Thap) - Photo: TL
The first generation of students of Professor Vo Tong Xuan are now mostly retired, but the image of the "commander-in-chief" in the movement to collect rice varieties and plant IR36 rice to relieve hunger in the late 70s of the last century is still vivid in their minds.
The passing of Professor Vo Tong Xuan left behind endless sorrow for generations of students. All shared the same opinion that thanks to Mr. Xuan, they had progressed and thanks to his contributions, the country's agriculture had achieved the achievements it has today.
Initiate a movement to collect rice seeds
Associate Professor, Dr. Vo Cong Thanh (School of Agriculture, Can Tho University, retired) recalls the days when he was part of the generation of students participating in the movement to collect rice seeds and plant rice under the direction of Professor Vo Tong Xuan.
He affirmed: "Mr. Xuan is the one who took the initiative, or in other words, the "commander in chief", to send students to collect rice varieties in the Mekong Delta to create a group of rice varieties so valuable that it cannot be calculated in money."
It was in 1974, when Professor Vo Tong Xuan returned from studying in the Philippines and called on students to "bring back rice varieties from wherever they are from and they will be rewarded with points". This method, after a short time, collected over 2,000 rice varieties and most of these collected rice varieties were sent to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for preservation.
Mr. Thanh said he took the entrance exam and passed the entrance exam to Can Tho University in 1975 and had the honor of studying with Professor Vo Tong Xuan for two years, 1978 - 1979, right at the time of famine due to food shortages caused by the brown planthopper epidemic.
"At that time, he gathered us together to guide us so that we could then go and teach people how to plant 1kg of rice per hectare or the technique of soaking three times in boiling water and two times in cooling water. He opened a training class on how to do it, and we were farmers so we learned quickly without any problems," Mr. Thanh recalled.
IR36 is a rice variety that is resistant to planthoppers and with the technique of 1kg of rice per acre of land, it saved a lot of rice seeds because farmers at that time grew 10-15kg of rice for 1 acre of land. Because the amount of seeds was too small, the technique of 1kg of rice per acre of land had to be used to save rice seeds and also gave the fastest results to relieve hunger at that time, at the same time quickly multiplying the area of precious rice varieties.
Learned a lot by "following teacher Xuan"
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Sanh - former director of the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute - affirmed this when recalling the years he spent with Professor Vo Tong Xuan working in the fields across the country.
In 1984, Mr. Sanh, who had just graduated, had the honor of joining Professor Vo Tong Xuan in the 9,000-ton food and agricultural technician program of Minh Hai province (now Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces). After the country's reunification in 1975, Minh Hai was a disadvantaged area with resources but backwardness. With this program, Professor Vo Tong Xuan was the bridge to bring science and technology to the people.
"The results of this model were very good, especially the development of rice-shrimp and rice-fish models. These results were based on the use of resources in the Ca Mau peninsula with the rice cultivation system as the foundation, and the development of additional techniques to improve the economy for farmers," Mr. Sanh recalled.
However, Mr. Sanh said that he really learned the most when he participated in the national rice farming system research program from 1990 to 1995 as a network technical coordinator, under the guidance of Professor Vo Tong Xuan.
Having had the opportunity to travel to all regions of the country from North to South, Mr. Sanh said he has learned the comparative advantages of each region.
"Personally, I have learned the way of doing and thinking of Mr. Xuan. From there, I applied it to the Mekong Delta with the three rural areas (agriculture - farmers - rural areas) and regional linkage as the foundation," said Mr. Sanh.
Talking about his teacher, Mr. Sanh commented: "He is a man who sacrifices tirelessly and has great ambitions for the Mekong Delta and for farmers.
The good thing about him is that he is willing to travel, is diligent, has a heart for farmers and in dealing with agriculture, and with the Mekong Delta in particular. That is what attracts scientists to carry out the programs.
Only people with great ambitions can think and remember about farmers and this land in any situation.
Laying the foundation for agricultural cooperation
At noon on August 21, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - Secretary of Can Tho City Party Committee - led a delegation to pay respects to Professor Vo Tong Xuan's funeral as assigned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Earlier in the morning, representatives of the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research visited Professor Xuan. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh An - Chief Representative of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research - said that Professor Vo Tong Xuan was the first Vietnamese advisor to the Australian policy advisory council on international agricultural research about 25 years ago. Ms. An said that Professor Xuan was the one who laid the foundation for strong cooperation between Australia and Vietnam, especially in the field of agricultural research cooperation.
A lifetime attached to rice plants and fields
On the afternoon of August 21, Minister Le Minh Hoan authorized journalist Hoang Tri Dung - Head of the Tuoi Tre Newspaper Representative Office in the Southwest region - to send Professor Vo Tong Xuan's family a photo of him and Professor Xuan taken together at a meeting in mid-May 2024.
"I joined the Party and State leadership delegation that just returned from a visit to China. Today, I was busy with a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee, so I could not visit and see off the professor.
The photo I sent back to the professor’s family was taken at the meeting on May 15, 2024. That day, seeing that the professor was in good health, I was so happy to go and discuss with him about the establishment of the national rice council. I did not expect that this would be the last meeting.
I would like to send it back to the professor's family and convey the message that the professor was a scientist who spent his whole life attached to rice plants, rice grains of his homeland, and attached to the fields," said Mr. Hoan.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nho-nhung-lan-loi-ruong-cung-thay-vo-tong-xuan-20240822075345256.htm
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