Vinaseed to trial Agri Smile biostimulants amid rising food safety and sustainability demands

Farmer Man watering fertilizer harvesting organic vegetables.
Vinaseed will begin rice field trials of Agri Smile biostimulants to explore their potential to boost sustainability, productivity, and the global competitiveness of produce. (Getty Images)

Vietnam’s Vinaseed will begin rice field trials of Agri Smile biostimulants to explore their potential to boost sustainability, productivity, and the global competitiveness of produce.

Biostimulants are emerging as a key tool for sustainable agriculture, with potential to boost productivity while reducing the use of chemicals.

Vinaseed, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s PAN Group, is eyeing biostimulants as an untapped source of growth.

“With government policies encouraging organic and biological agriculture, I believe biostimulants have the potential to become a priority group of products for development, registration, and market expansion,” said Nguyen Thi Tra My, PAN Group CEO and Vinaseed chairwoman.

From a national perspective, a wider adoption of biostimulants could be a strategy to boost the sustainability and global standing of its agricultural sector.

“This green technology is expected to play a crucial role in reducing agricultural chemicals, improving yields, enhancing climate resilience, and meeting international standards – thereby strengthening the global competitiveness of Vietnamese agriculture,” said Nguyen.

With this trial, Agri Smile aims to eventually register and distribute products in the Vietnamese market.

Both companies will develop a registration dossier and a product distribution plan in the Vietnamese market, aiming bring this technology to farmers quickly.

Vietnam-Japan partnership

As a new field, Vinaseed would benefit from international support for technology transfer, field trials, and market rollout, with Japan emerging as a key partner.

“As a relatively new field in Vietnam, biostimulants will create significant opportunities for international cooperation in technology transfer, trials, and commercialisation – with Japan being a key strategic partner.. Japan is not only an important partner for many Vietnamese enterprises, but also a place that affirms product quality,” said Nyuyen.

Vinaseed signed an agreement with Agri Smile, a Japanese producer of biostimulants and the Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI), the R&D arm of Japanese multinational Mitsubishi Group which will provide research support for the project.

This agreement was inked within the Vietnam-Japan Public-Private Cooperation Forum framework.

Vinaseed sees biostimulants as one solution to help Vietnamese agricultural products meet global sustainability requirements and maintain stable productivity.

This collaboration represents not only a chance to expand markets but also a commitment to building a future where food security, sustainability, and innovation are central.

It sees this as an opportunity to help Vietnamese rice and agricultural products meet top-tier standards for high-end markets.

One such opportunity lies in Japan, where there is growing demand for rice.

According to Vinaseed, it is stepping up exports of its branded packaged rice, following successful entries into challenging markets such as Canada, Australia, the UK, and Mongolia.