Technology paves the way for 'reviving' Vietnamese soybeans

Improving the quality of domestic soybean varieties

Once considered a key crop in Viet Nam's agricultural sector, soybean cultivation has been declining sharply over the years. According to data from the National Statistics Office, Viet Nam had around 200,000 hectares of soybean cultivation in 2010, but the figure had fallen to about 20,000 hectares by 2025, representing a 90% decline.

In contrast to the contraction of domestic growing areas, soybean imports have risen rapidly over the years. In 2010, Viet Nam imported approximately 270,000 tons of soybeans, while the volume had surged to around 1.5-2 million tons by 2025. This trend indicates that soybean demand in Viet Nam is continuing to grow significantly.

Most imported soybeans are currently used for animal feed production. However, demand for soybeans as food is also considerable, while domestic supply remains insufficient. One of the reasons why soybean plants have gradually lost their competitiveness is the low productivity of indigenous varieties and their limited economic efficiency, prompting farmers to switch to other crops.

Meanwhile, soybeans are considered a highly valuable crop, particularly for green and sustainable agriculture. In addition to producing nutrient-rich beans, soybean plants are often likened to "natural nitrogen factories." Their root systems contain nodules with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that help improve soil quality, enhance fertility, and reduce the volume of chemical fertilizers.

In the context of modern agriculture's shift toward emission reduction, resource saving, and sustainable development, soybeans and other legume crops are being regarded as important links in the crop structure. Faced with this reality, in 2013 Viet Nam Soya Products Company (Vinasoy) established the Vinasoy Soybean Research and Application Center to focus on research, germplasm restoration, and the breeding of new soybean varieties suited to Viet Nam's production conditions for food processing.

By 2014, the Center had begun implementing a breeding program using modern technology. After just over four years, the unit successfully developed and obtained official recognition for its first soybean variety, VINASOY 02-NS. This was considered a major breakthrough, as researching and breeding a new variety previously could take 8-10 years.

According to Dr. Le Hoang Duy, Director of the Center, to shorten the research duration, the Center applied molecular genetic technology through the real-time PCR system to verify hybrids at an early stage. After hybrid seeds are created and planted, leaf samples are collected around 10–20 days later for DNA analysis to accurately determine whether the hybrid plants meet the required standards. This technology enables rapid screening, improves accuracy, and significantly reduces breeding time.

In addition to targeting high yields, the new soybean varieties are being developed toward good pest and disease resistance, adaptability to different ecological regions, and suitability for soy milk production. Notably, Vinasoy has chosen to develop non-GMO indigenous soybean varieties, following a model similar to Japan's approach, with a focus on serving the food industry rather than primarily supplying animal feed production.

To support its research activities, the Center has established a gene bank containing around 2,500 different soybean lines and varieties, including domestic genetic resources and varieties collected from overseas. All of them are non-GMO varieties. The collection is regarded as an important genetic database, enabling scientists to select superior traits as parental materials for breeding new varieties.

Following the success of VINASOY 02-NS, the Center continued researching more specialized varieties such as VINASOY 06-HI, which contains Isoflavone levels 2-4 times higher than conventional soybeans. Several new varieties featuring balanced omega-3-6-9 ratios and higher levels of health-promoting compounds are also being researched and registered for plant variety protection.

Sustainable cultivation for raw material areas

Beyond variety research, Vinasoy aims to build a closed soybean value chain, from breeding and technical transfer to product consumption by farmers, to develop raw material areas. After successfully breeding new varieties, the company conducts field surveys to identify suitable ecological zones and develops mechanization-based cultivation processes to improve production efficiency before transferring the technologies to farmers.

At present, Vinasoy's soybean seed production and raw material areas are distributed across multiple regions nationwide, including Northern, Central, Central Highlands, and Southern Vietnam, with staggered cropping seasons.

According to Dr. Le Hoang Duy, soybeans are highly sensitive to photoperiod, meaning many varieties are only suitable for specific regions. However, the VINASOY 02-NS soybean variety developed by the Vinasoy Soybean Research and Application Center has demonstrated good adaptability to various regions when combined with appropriate cultivation techniques. This is considered one of the outstanding achievements of the Center’s modern breeding program.

One of Vinasoy's largest raw material areas is currently located in Cu Jut, Lam Dong Province, which has the potential to develop around 1,000 hectares of soybeans. The company is currently linking with local farmers to cultivate approximately 200-300 hectares each year.

During the first 2025 crop, the average yield of the VINASOY 02-NS variety was around 2.6 tons per hectare, with some farming households achieving up to 3.5 tons per hectare. This is considered a very high yield for soybeans, particularly given that many indigenous varieties previously recorded maximum yields of only around 1.6 tons per hectare.

In Cu Jut, soybeans are cultivated in rotation with other plant species such as sweet potatoes and peanuts. This farming model helps improve soil quality, control pests and diseases, reduce fertilizer costs, and increase yields for subsequent crops. It is regarded as an approach well aligned with the current trend in sustainable agriculture.

Beyond the Central Highlands, Vinasoy is also promoting research into soybean-rice rotation models. In many localities across the Mekong Delta, continuous cultivation of three rice crops per year is no longer economically efficient. Some farmers currently grow only two rice crops before leaving fields fallow. This period is considered highly suitable for integrating soybean cultivation into production systems.

Soybean-rice intercropping helps save irrigation water, break pest and disease cycles, and increase soil organic matter thanks to the plant’s natural nitrogen-fixing capability. In Northern Viet Nam, soybeans were once widely planted as a winter crop but gradually declined over time. At present, Vinasoy is cooperating with agricultural research centers and crop breeding institutes to gradually restore this production area.

"Our long-term goal is not only to expand soybean growing areas but also to contribute to creating positive impacts on future development policies for Viet Nam's soybean sector. We hope to work with research agencies, the agricultural sector, and local authorities to gradually revive Vietnamese soybeans," shared Dr. Le Hoang Duy, Director of the Vinasoy Soybean Research and Application Center.