Dr. Võ Tòng Xuân (born 6 September 1940) is former Provost of Tân Tạo University (TTU), the former rector of

An Giang University An Giang University (AGU) ( vi, Trường Đại học An Giang) is a Vietnamese public university based in the city of Long Xuyen in An Giang Province. With over 10,000 enrolled students annually, it is one of the major educational and research ...

(AGU) and the former vice rector of Can Tho University. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

from 2002 until 2010. He is known throughout southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

as Dr. Rice (as in a medical doctor) because of a popular television show which he presented that taught farmers better techniques for growing and cultivating rice. He was also instrumental in the eradication of the

brown planthopper The brown planthopper (BPH), ''Nilaparvata lugens'' (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) is a planthopper species that feeds on rice plants (''Oryza sativa'' L.). These insects are among the most important pests of rice, which is the major staple cr ...

bug which, throughout the 1970s was destroying paddy rice. Part of the problem in eradicating the bug infestation was the type of collectivization imposes on the farmers of southern Vietnam. He also helped to bring about reforms in the early 1980s that can be seen as catalysts to the '' Doi Moi'' reforms of 1986. His activities were a key driver of Vietnam becoming one of the world's largest rice exporters.

Notable Positions within International Organizations

* Member, Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation (2002 to 2010) * Member, Board of Governors, Asian Institute of Management in Manila (1997 to date) * Member, Board of Trustees of the

International Potato Center The International Potato Center (known as CIP from its Spanish language, Spanish-language name ''Centro Internacional de la Papa'') is a research facility based in Lima, Peru, that seeks to reduce poverty and achieve food security on a sustaine ...

at Lima, Peru (1996–99; 2016 to date). * Research fellow and trustee of the

International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its wor ...

. * Member, Board of Directors of the International Fertilizer Development Center (2007-2017)

Notable International Awards

* Recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1993. * Canada's Certificate of recognition for his "Dedication and contribution to the world of sciences" * France's "Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole Medal" * Japan's Nikkei Asia Prize for Regional Growth * Philippines's D.L. Umali Award * Australia's 2005 ASTD Derek Tribe Award. Currently, he is a

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...

and Technology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vo, Tong Xuan Living people 1940 births People from An Giang Province Asian Institute of Management people Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize Agronomists