Mekong Delta Development Research Institute

The Mekong Delta Development Research Institute (MDI) was established in March 2005 based on the expansion of MD Farming Systems R&D Institute (1995), formerly the Department of Rice Science (1976), Can Tho University The Institute's activities, by well-experienced and specialized staff with international and in-country collaborations, are aimed at sustainable socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta through:

•  education and training programs,
  
•  research and technology transfer, and
  
•  consultancy and implementation of local development programs/projects.
  

The Institute focuses on four research programmes: (1) food security, (2) agricultural resource management, (3) rural development, and (4) climate change adaptation and mitigation. Specific research themes are as follows:
• Crop genetic resources and bio-diversity management
• Rice breeding and sustainable rice farming practices
• Adaptive farming systems and multi-functional agriculture
• Agricultural system planning and management
• Agricultural economics, enterprise economics, and resource economics
• Supply and value chains of key agricultural commodities
• Urbanisation, rural poverty, migration, and gender and ethnicity
• Rural development policies and institutions
• Vulnerability assessment and community-based climate change adaptation planning