Vietnamese professor honoured by Japanese Consulate General

(VNF) - The representative office of the Japanese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has presented a certificate of merit to Professor, Dr. Vo Tong Xuan for his contributions to friendship between Vietnam and Japan.

Addressing the award ceremony on November 23^rd, Japanese Consul General in HCM City Nakajima Satoshi praised Xuan’s contributions to boosting economic and technological cooperation and friendship between the two countries after receiving his doctoral certificate in Japan.

Professor, Dr. Vo Tong Xuan (R) received present from Japanese Consul General in HCM City Nakajima Satoshi. (Photo: Lao Dong)

Prof. Dr., Hero of Labor, People's Teacher Vo Tong Xuan is a well-known teacher and scientist in the country and the world. He was born in 1940 in Ba Chuc commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang province.

He earned a scholarship to study at the University of Los Banos (Philippines) specialized in rice. In 1975, he got a PhD degree in Kyushu University in Japan on rice research.

Dr. Vo Tong Xuan is the rector of Tan Tao University (TTU). He is the former rector of An Giang University (AGU) and the former vice rector of Can Tho University. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation from 2002 until 2010.

He won a lot of international prizes including Derek Tribe Award for Science and Technology 2005; Nikkei Asia Prize 2002 for regional growth; Ramon Magsaysay Award 1993 for State Service; the certificate of merit of the Prime Minister of Canada (1995) for "serve and contribute to the world science”; Medal for Agriculture of the French Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (1996); Award for "Best Alumni" of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (2001), the Derek Tribe Award - Australia (2005) and others.

Professor, Dr. Vo Tong Xuan. (Source: Internet)

He is known throughout southern Vietnam as Dr. Rice because of a popular television show that he ran that taught farmers tactics for growing and cultivating rice. He was also instrumental in the eradication of the brown plant hopper bug which, throughout the 1970s was destroying rice crops. Part of the problem in eradicating the bug infestation was the type of collectivization imposes on the farmers of southern Vietnam. He helped to bring about reforms in the early 1980s that can be seen as catalysts to the reforms (Doi Moi) of 1986.

As a pioneer in rice research in Vietnam, the Professor has contributed to transforming the Mekong Delta from a hungry region into one of the world’s leading rice producers. He has also helped many countries across the world with wet rice cultivation./.

( Compiled by VNF )