Hi-tech agriculture proves effective in Dong Nai Agricultural production has been affected by abnormal weather conditions, climate change, and diseases over recent years. Many farms in southern Dong Nai province have applied high-technology in agricultural production in order to cope with the situation, helping increase quality and output. High-tech production requires massive investment, not just capital but also technology, equipment, and “grey matter”, to adapt to cutting-edge manufacturing methods. High-tech manufacturing models have been expanded around Dong Nai, especially in animal husbandry and on poultry farms. Dong Nai has more than 46,000 hectares of crops using water-saving technology and the province has gradually changed to green breeding in accordance with Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practice (VietGAP) standards. Agriculture accounts for 8.3 percent of Dong Nai’s economic structure and agro-forestry-fisheries value currently stands at nearly 1.8 billion USD. The results reflect the province’s large-scale manufacturing development investment and high-tech application to adapt to unfavourable conditions and meet market demand. Vietnam’s growth outlook to depend on authorities’ response to new outbreak: WB Vietnam’s growth prospects will depend on how well and how quickly the authorities will bring the new coronavirus outbreak under control and how quickly international and national vaccinations will proceed, according to the World Bank (WB). In its Vietnam Macro Monitoring report issued earlier this month, the WB said January’s industrial production index jumped by 24.5 percent year on year, the highest growth rate since the beginning of 2019. Merchandise exports and imports respectively grew 51.8 percent and 41.8 percent from the same period last year. The preliminary January goods trade surplus is estimated at 1.1 billion USD. Exports to the US and China continued the robust growth of 2020 while those to the EU, ASEAN, Japan …
Low income property
Prolonged pandemic issues cloud recovery
Dinh Quang Hinh, analyst at VNDIRECT Securities JSC, noted that the local economy’s recovery “will slow down”, especially in the next two months. According to Hinh, the tourism industry may still be the most affected by the new COVID-19 wave. Reports from travel and airline businesses showed that many travellers cancelled flights and hotel reservations, and postponed their plans. In addition, the blockade in some localities such as Hai Duong province and the closure of a number of non-essential services in other cities and provinces may reduce the growth rate of several service sub-sectors, especially accommodation, catering, tourism, and entertainment. At a cocentrated quarantine area. Photo: VNA Unfeasible policies Facing the serious impact of COVID-19 on the economy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham The Anh, chief economist of the Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), said that the country could not pursue macro policies in the same way other countries would do, for example through large-scale monetary easing, due to limited financial resources after years of deficits, coupled with constraints to inflation and exchange rate targets. Vietnam was one of the few countries in the world with positive economic growth in 2020. But this year, according to Anh’s observation, “the policy space is no longer wide” to support economic growth and social security. Last year, the State Bank of Vietnam lowered interest rates three times and supported commercial banks with a VND250-trillion package ($10.87 billion), which is still being deployed. In addition, pandemic prevention and social backup subsidies to ease the impacts of the crisis are also putting great pressure on the budget balance. In 2021, monetary policy, particularly interest rate tools, will see a significantly reduced effectiveness, according to the VEPR’s chief economist. Anh also warned about an asset bubble that is forming in the stock and real estate markets. Last year, property …
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Can Tho earmarks 30.6 mln USD for poverty reduction
Can Tho city has encouraged farmers to switch to high-value crops on low-yield rice fields, enabling many poor households to escape poverty. (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) - The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho plans to spend 703 billion VND (30.6 million USD) this year on poverty alleviation measures . The money, to come from the central and local governments, soft loans and other sources, will be used to provide poor households with all basic social services and improve their incomes. They will include support policies and programmes related to healthcare, education, vocational training, soft loans, and job and poverty reduction models to help poor and near-poor people. Loans worth 640 billion VND (27.8 million USD) will be provided to 12,974 poor and near – poor households and those that have newly escaped poverty to do business. The city will provide free health insurance cards to 3,090 poor and ethnic people living in disadvantaged areas, and 34,729 near-poor people, ensuring that this demographic is covered 100 percent. It will provide scholarships or reduce or waive school fees for 1,870 poor students, and vocational training and jobs for 750 poor and near-poor people . It will expand 48 successful poverty reduction models, and carry out agriculture extension programmes to benefit 150 poor and near-poor households. The city has implemented various policies and programmes in recent years to enable poor households to escape poverty sustainably. Last year it built 485 houses, gifted 43,556 health insurance cards to poor and near – poor households and provided soft loans worth a total of 648 billion VND (28.1 million USD) to poor and near - poor households. More than 44,900 poor and near-poor households received 33.7 billion VND (1.5 million USD) worth of Government subsidies to overcome the impacts of the COVID- 19 pandemic. The city reduced its poverty rate by 0.37 percentage points and had only 1,036 poor households last year, …
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