How should Viet Nam approach gene-editing technology?

Vietnamese scientists have already mastered gene-editing technologies across multiple crops.

Toward smarter rice varieties

As Vietnam’s agriculture faces climate change, complex disease pressures, and food-security challenges, improving crop resilience is critical to sustainable development and national food security.

Bac Thom 7 and TBR225 are among the North’s staple rice varieties, known for high yields, consistent quality, and adaptability across ecological zones. Their key weakness, however, is susceptibility to bacterial leaf blight, one of rice’s most damaging diseases, causing serious losses for farmers.

In response, the Institute of Agricultural Genetics launched a project applying gene editing to enhance bacterial leaf blight resistance in Bac Thom 7 and TBR225. This is one of Vietnam’s pioneering efforts to use gene editing in crops, opening a new path for modern plant breeding.

“We applied gene-editing technology to improve bacterial leaf blight resistance in TBR225 and Bac Thom 7", said Dr. Nguyen Duy Phuong, Head of the Molecular Plant Pathology Department at the Institute of Agricultural Genetics. “Initial results show the edited lines exhibit strong, broad-spectrum resistance to multiple domestic strains".

Clarifying the distinction between gene editing and genetic modification, Dr. Phuong noted: “Genetic modification introduces a foreign gene from another organism to create a new trait. Gene editing does not add external genes; it directly tweaks native genes to achieve desired traits. As a result, the final product contains no foreign DNA, similar to conventionally bred varieties".

In this study, the team identified susceptibility genes, those that make plants vulnerable to pathogen attack. Using CRISPR/Cas9, they knocked out these genes, closing the “entry points” pathogens exploit and thereby boosting disease resistance.

These early gains not only advance the improvement of TBR225 and Bac Thom 7, but also lay the groundwork for broader application of gene editing in Vietnamese crop breeding, toward smarter, greener, more sustainable rice in the future.

An urgent need for a legal framework

As global bioscience advances, gene editing is widely viewed as a 21st-century breakthrough that shortens breeding timelines while improving yields and climate resilience.

To ensure safe, effective deployment, however, Vietnam needs a fit-for-purpose, transparent regulatory framework.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khuat Huu Trung, Deputy Director for Science at the Institute of Agricultural Genetics, a key regulatory criterion is whether a method produces a novel protein.

“Gene editing essentially modifies DNA to change protein structure or function and deliver the desired trait”, Dr. Trung explained.

Gene editing works by cutting DNA at precisely defined sites, then leveraging the plant cell’s repair machinery to establish the new trait. The process parallels conventional mutagenesis using chemicals or radiation, but is more precise, safer, and less time- and cost-intensive.

“For gene-edited crops that contain no foreign DNA, trials should follow procedures for conventional mutation-derived varieties, alongside evidence that no transgenic constructs remain”, Dr. Trung said. “With today’s technologies, verifying this is entirely feasible and low-cost”.

Beyond technical issues, policy and governance demand special attention. Dr. Trung argued that Vietnam should promptly build a clear legal pathway for gene editing to set research priorities, select target crops, motivate scientists, shorten time to market, and improve competitiveness.

He also flagged intellectual property gaps around target genes and editing methods. “Vietnam lacks clear IP rules for gene targets and editing techniques. This is vital to include in the legal framework to protect domestic researchers and institutions”, he stressed.

A robust framework, he added, would help researchers focus resources on developing high-yield, high-quality varieties, advancing a sustainable, modern, globally integrated agriculture.

Removing bottlenecks

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien called gene editing a revolutionary advance in contemporary agricultural science. “We must rightly recognize this technology’s role to seize the development opportunity,” he emphasized.

In practice, gene editing is no longer new in Vietnam; multiple institutes and centers are researching and applying it. It represents the next step beyond genetic modification—delivering superior yield, quality, and adaptability in crops and livestock without introducing foreign DNA.

Vietnam, he argued, must capitalize on this window to assert the role of science and technology while mobilizing its research talent.

Once the legal framework is in place, Vietnam can marshal its science-and-technology system to raise competitiveness across farming, livestock, fisheries, and veterinary sectors, Deputy Minister Tien said.

“Gene editing is not just a research topic, it’s a springboard for Vietnamese agriculture to enter a new era: proactive, modern, and deeply integrated with the world”, he added.

Citing the importance of adopting innovations and seizing opportunities, he pointed to earlier debates over the introduction of Pacific white shrimp between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Reality proved its economic value: Vietnam now has about 740,000 ponds, producing 1.3 million tons annually, with Pacific white shrimp dominant.

He called for rigorous scientific and practical review, coupled with flexible legal application, to leverage Vietnam’s biodiversity while meeting regional and international standards, thereby clearing bottlenecks and paving the way for agricultural gene editing.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, former Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, suggested Vietnam consider a product-based regulatory approach, like many advanced economies, to spur innovation and shorten commercialization timelines.

Specifically, countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several Latin American nations including Argentina and Brazil have shifted toward evaluating the final product of gene-edited crops rather than the method used to create them.

This approach streamlines procedures and shortens regulatory timelines while maintaining biosafety. “If Vietnam follows suit, we can accelerate research and deployment of advanced biotechnologies, especially gene editing in agricultural production”, Dr. Thuy said.

She cautioned, however, that product-based evaluation must be paired with strong oversight. Vietnam needs rules for biosafety, risk monitoring, science communication, and transparency so the public and markets can understand and accept gene-edited products. To that end, she recommended coupling product-based assessment with case-by-case review and implementing traceability to protect biodiversity, ensure biosafety, and enhance transparency.

Forum: “Gene Editing in Agriculture - A Strategic Technology Aligned with a Legal Framework”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is convening the forum “Gene Editing in Agriculture - A Strategic Technology Aligned with a Legal Framework” to facilitate exchanges among regulators, scientists, businesses, and the media on technological advances, international legal frameworks, public–private partnership trends, and policy directions suitable for Vietnam. Details:

Time: 8:00–11:30 a.m., October 18, 2025.

Join online via Zoom by clicking here https://zoom.us/j/97074482896?pwd=6w7GBn5t4B2dMYN47hXrLNzbFb08uC.1#success 

Or use Zoom ID: 970 7448 2896; Passcode: 18102025.