The winner of Vietnamese Talents Awards 2010 in the field of natural sciences, Dr Bui Chi Buu, considers the prize the most prestigious in his distinguished scientific career.

Pham The Duyet - Former President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee presented the award to scientist Bui Chi Buu.

With the product titled “Selecting and creating rice varieties for the Mekong River Delta,” Dr. Bui Chi Buu, Vice Director of the Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Director General Institute of Agricultural Sciences for Southern Vietnam (IAS) is one of only two scientists being honoured at the Vietnamese Talents Awards 2010 in natural sciences.

Dr Buu was very happy and proud of the award. “I am very surprised to be awarded the Vietnamese Talents Awars 2010,” he said. “Many scientists have considered this the equivalent of the Nobel Prize of Vietnam. Vietnamese Talents Awards is a helpful playing-field and a great encouragement for local scientists.”

He also attributes his success to the great support and contribution of his colleagues and especially local farmers. “This award will also encourage local farmers to help develop Vietnam\'s agriculture.”

Explaining the practical application of his study, Dr Buu points out the increase in rice output in the Mekong Delta, from 4 million tonnes in 1975 to 20 million tonnes now. “We have made this achievement by creating many new rice varieties and upgrading the irrigational system."

Dr Buu has developed the product from a successful studies in preserving rice genes and creating new rice varieties in the Mekong Delta. These studies have helped the small-scale Vietnamese agriculture to the 7th position in the world.

“I was born in the Mekong Delta Province of An Giang and had seen the hardships of the local farmers here,” the scientist recalled. “I decided to study agriculture majoring in rice breeding and have followed this work till now because I believe that I have chosen the right work.”

The scientist also is concerned that the local agriculture sector cannot attract good human resources because of low payment at the institutes. “We need to have better mechanisms in place to attract good staff to develop our agriculture, which is one of our biggest potentials in the future,” he said.