Amid the endless golden rice fields of Sancti Spíritus, Vietnamese agronomist Tran Thi Tham cannot hold back her emotion as she gazes at the full, ripened stalks— the result of months of overcoming adversity alongside Cuban farmers. “Seeing these fields like paintings, with yields surpassing all previous harvests, confirms that we are doing something truly meaningful,” she says.

As part of the Vietnam-Cuba Rice Development Cooperation Project, Tham leads key activities ranging from seed selection to training in advanced farming techniques. “I knew exactly what needed to be done, and I was determined to fulfill this mission,” she affirms.

Her arrival in Cuba in November 2024, following a 30-hour flight, was eye-opening. “The airport was dark due to power outages, and paperwork was done by flashlight. I immediately understood the scale of the challenges,” she recalls. However, the warm embrace of the Cuban team quickly eased her doubts. “That welcome became my fuel.”

In Sancti Spíritus, the situation was stark. Fields had been abandoned due to fuel shortages, invasive marabú plants overtook arable land, and blackouts lasted up to 20 hours. “The fertile soil stuck to our shoes as if trying to hold us there,” she says with a hint of irony.

Nguyen Chi Vuong, the lead Vietnamese specialist in the area, outlines some of the technical challenges. “Outdated methods, such as sowing dry seeds directly into flooded fields, lead to losses of about 171 kilograms per hectare.” In response, the Vietnamese team introduced sweeping changes, including the use of pre-germinated seeds, smaller plots with fixed borders, and precise land leveling.

Obstacles persisted. Tham recounts, “Once, we had seeds ready for aerial sowing, but due to fuel shortages, we had to plant them manually.” Still, the effort paid off. “The burst of joy we felt when we achieved record-breaking yields was priceless.”

Beyond the numbers, this is a story told in smiles and body language, bridging linguistic and cultural divides.

As Pham Van Thuan, head of the Vietnamese specialist group, summarizes, “We did not bring only seeds, we brought our hearts. Our greatest achievement is seeing Cuban farmers apply these techniques with confidence and work toward their own food self-sufficiency.”

These golden fields represent more than abundant harvests. They are a testament to the enduring Vietnam-Cuba friendship and to the vital role Vietnamese agricultural expertise plays in global food security.