Filipino Agriculture Scientist Receives a Prestigious Medal from the Vietnam Government

From left: Director General, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Dr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Former MARD Minister Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Chargé d' Affaires (CDA) Paul Vincent Uy, Dr. Leocadio Sebastian, MARD Vice Minister Dr.Le Quoc Doanh, and former MARD Vice Minister Dr. Bui Ba Bong. (Hanoi PE photo)

HANOI 13 December 2019 –– Dr. Leocadio Sebastian, the regional program leader of the CGIAR Research Program for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in Southeast Asia, received the “Medal for Contribution to the Cause of Agriculture and Rural Development” awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on 26 November 2019.

The said award is the highest honor given by Vietnam’s MARD for individuals (mostly foreigners) who have made an outstanding contribution to the agriculture and rural sector of the country.

Through the CCAFS program, Dr. Sebastian has been a staunch advocate of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in Vietnam by leading various research for development (R4D) activities to promote locally-adaptive CSA technologies and practices to help farmers cope with climate change. One of the major contributions of CCAFS work in Vietnam that was acknowledged was the application of climate-smart mapping and adaptation planning (CS-MAP) by the Department of Crop Production, which has helped farmers avoid the negative effects of El Niño, particularly salinity intrusion, in rice production. CS-MAP helped in avoiding the recurrence of major rice production loss, which happened in 2016 (more than 200,000 hectares affected by salinity intrusion and more than one million tons of rice loss).

He was also recognized for guiding CCAFS in providing inputs to the Vietnam’s agriculture related submissions to UNFCC, policies and programs. Dr. Sebastian also served as the country representative to Vietnam of the International Rice Research Institute (2013-2017).

The awarding ceremony was chaired by the Vice Minister Le Quoc Doanh and attended by Dr. Cao Duc Phat, former Minister (2006-2017) of MARD and current member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Dr. Bui Ba Bong, former MARD Deputy Minister (2001-2013), Consul General Paul Vincent Uy, Chargé d'affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi, and the director generals of key departments of MARD. The participants of the CCAFS Annual Regional Program Meeting from Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia also attended the awarding ceremony held in Pullman Hanoi Hotel on 21 November 2019. END

For more information, visit https://www.hanoipe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinVietnam/.