Hanoi - The world's biggest rice importing and exporting nations met in Vietnam on Friday and approved a plan targeting problems triggered during this year's rice price crisis.

Ministers of agriculture from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi to endorse a seven-point action plan developed earlier this year when prices of rice shot up to a record high of 1,000 dollars a ton last April, triggering a world food crisis.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which co-chaired the meeting and proposed the plan, was also asking for 15 million dollars a year for the next ten years to adequately support the plan.

"At a time of trillion-dollar bailouts for the global financial sector, 15 million dollars a year is barely the annual bonus of a former Wall Street executive," said Robert S. Zeigler, the director general of IRRI.

"The message is very clear," said Zeigler. "We have the scientific expertise, knowledge and partnerships to grow the rice Asia needs and now - with this endorsement by these nations - we have strong political support. The only things missing are the financial resources needed to implement this."

In their report, the IRRI recommended that the best way to find a balance between keeping rice prices low for the poor and high enough for farmers was to, "ensure that production increases faster than demand, and that it is highly profitable, resource-efficient, and sustainable".

Details of the plan mainly include reducing yield gaps in rice-growing areas, developing a new generation of rice scientists and researchers, providing rice policy support, improving breeding pipelines and accelerating the delivery of new technologies, higher-yielding rice varieties and research.

Thailand and Vietnam, both members of ASEAN, are two of the biggest rice exporters in the world.

The discussions took place in conjunction with the 30th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry on Thursday and Friday, organised by Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture in coordination with the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation and ASEAN secretariats. (dpa)