US Deputy Chief of Mission Claire Pierangelo made the affirmation at the sixth annual seminar on biotechnology in agriculture, which was co-organised by the US Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in Hanoi on September 24. 

The importance of biotechnology in increasing crop productivity, promoting safer and greener farming environment, mitigating climate change impacts and ensuring food security was underscored by US and Vietnamese officials present at the seminar. 

Biotechnology is the best solution to the creation of plant and animal varieties with highest economic value as well as environmental protection, said Tran Xuan Dinh, Deputy Head of the Plantation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

Vietnam was urged to take concrete steps and measures and push ahead the biotechnological application to deal with such challenges posed by climate change as salt intrusion into rice farming areas, especially in the Mekong Delta, the region most vulnerable to sea level rise. 

Agricultural biotechnology application has been diversified in the world in recent years, allowing more than 16 million farmers, as calculated by 2011, to enjoy higher produce output and lower production cost.-VNA