H.E. Mme. Tong Xiaoling, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam, together with Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources of Brunei Darussalam, attended, on 30^th January 2010, the harvest ceremony of the Chinese hybrid paddy cultivated for trial in Brunei Darussalam. This trial cultivation was conducted jointly by Wangwangda Agro-husbandry Co., Ltd. from China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Wenzhong Agro-technology Sdn. Bhd. from Brunei Darussalam.

Ambassador Tong (2nd from left) and Pehin Yahya (3rd from left) in Paddy Harvest　 

Attaching great importance to food security, the Bruneian government has set up an ambitious target of realizing a rice self-sufficiency rate of 60% by 2015. Once the output from this trial cultivation is proven to be satisfactory, the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources will conduct a large-scale cultivation of Chinese hybrid paddy covering lands of more than 700 hectares. Pehin Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya visited Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last year, where he also visited the hybrid paddy cultivation base, thus opening the gate for agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

Paddy in Good Growth