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  Young people in HCM City take part in a project to plant trees in Đắk Nông Province. — Photo sggp.org.vn HCM CITY — Tree-planting projects to protect the environment have become increasingly popular among young people from HCM City. Their projects have not only contributed to increasing forest coverage on barren hills but also brought economic benefits to local people. The project 'Garden-Forest' was launched by JOY (Journey Of Youth) - a volunteer group in collaboration with the group named 'Planting one million trees per year' and Bù Gia Mập National Park to plant trees on farmers' land in Central Highlands provinces.  The volunteers have also worked with agricultural experts to teach organic farming techniques to farmers, helping them have a stable income.  Before planting trees, the young people studied the local climate and soil to choose suitable trees and lived with the farmers to understand the steps for planting. Trúc Nguyên, a 19-year-old member of the project from Bình Thạnh District, told Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper: “This is the first time I know how to start a tree nursery and plant trees. It was quite hard work for the first time gardening but we are happy." Volunteers chose the rainy season to run the project to reduce the need for irrigation water. During a field trip, they also visited Gia Ân mangosteen farm, which has been granted a Global Good Agriculture Practices (GlobalGAP) certificate in Đắk Nông Province and listened to an agricultural expert who has worked at the farm for 20 years. “I know many green and afforestation projects but I still have not participated. These projects have just been rolled out once and don't have a long-term plan or seedlings management," said Đặng Khải An, a 21-year-old volunteer from Phú Nhuận …

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  A pig farming household in HCM City’s Củ Chi District. – VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Anh HCM CITY — HCM City plans to move its pig farming industry away from breeding for pork and increase the number of pigs raised for breeding purposes in the next five years. It will develop nuclear farms for producing high-quality piglets for supply to farmers in the city and elsewhere. It will seek to expand household pig farms into large–scale farms that breed operate on an industrial scale, use high–tech breeding techniques to ensure safety and achieve Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards. It has 2,280 pig farming establishments with more than 200,000 head. It plans to sustain this size until 2025.    Most of the farms are in the five outlying districts of Củ Chi, Hóc Môn, Bình Chánh, Cần Giờ, and Nhà Bè. The number of farms that do not comply with safety standards, especially those that feed their animals food residues, will be reduced this year. The city targets 60 – 70 per cent of households farming pigs to VietGAP standards this year and 90 – 95 per cent by 2025 and 90 – 100 per cent of them meeting environmental protection regulations this year and 100 per cent by 2025.     A digital map for managing pigs and pig diseases will be ready by this year. The city wants more than 10 per cent of farming households to be members of co-operative groups or co-operatives this year and 20 per cent in 2025. To meet the five-year targets it will encourage farming households to invest in farms with closed processes, adopt advanced breeding techniques and raise pigs either for meat or producing piglets and not both. It will implement bio-safety measures for disease prevention to develop farms that are safe from outbreaks and ensure the use of pig feed with clear origins.  The pig farming districts in co-operation with relevant …

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  Medical officials perform the COVID-19 tests. — VNA/VNS Photo HCM CITY — HCM City authorities have ordered all non-essential services and entertainment, cultural and sports activities to be suspended from noon on Tuesday amid continuing COVID-19 transmission. All beer clubs, pubs, karaoke parlours, bars, discotheques, beauty salons, massage parlours, saunas, gymnasiums, cinemas, theatres, and gaming and wedding facilities will remain closed until further notice. Religious events with 20 or more people gathering has been banned. The chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, made the announcement following a meeting with the city Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Monday. Those offering essential goods, petrol stations, pharmacies, and healthcare facilities can remain open but need to fully comply with the Ministry of Health’s pandemic preventive measures. The Nguyễn Huệ flower street will open on Wednesday (February 10) but its opening ceremony has been cancelled. Phong instructed district people’s committees to impose strict fines on people not wearing masks in public. The HCM City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday morning reported two new cases, both workers at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport. Up to now, seven airport employees have tested positive and 25 others in the city have contracted the virus from them. —VNS       …

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