Telemedicine for rural areas

Experts from the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Hà Nội Agriculture Promotion Fund visit a chicken raising model for clean eggs with high productivity in Liên Châu Commune, Thanh Oai District in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of the Hà Nội Sub-department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội’s agricultural sector has strengthened safe agricultural areas to ensure sustainable production and provide a source of clean food for domestic and foreign consumers living in the capital city. Nguyễn Giáp Đông, head of the Ba Vì District's Economic Division, said that the district currently maintained a safe tea production area spanning 1,550ha and productivity of 10.5 tonnes per hectare per year. The output for the whole year is estimated at 16,275 tonnes of fresh buds, worth VNĐ350 million (US$14,900) per hectare per year. To help farmers maintain and expand safe production areas, Ba Vì District has supported and created … [Read more...] about Hà Nội builds safe agricultural production areas

Vietnam’s rate of child labor is 9.1 percent, around two percentage points lower than the average in the Asia-Pacific region, an official told a workshop held in observance of World Day Against Child Labor 2022 (June 12) on Friday. The 9.1 percent equates to more than one million children in the 5-17 age group engaging in labor, Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha cited results of a survey done in 2018 by her ministry, the General Statistics Office, and the International Labor Organization (ILO). The country’s child labor rate has been on the decline since 2012, when it was 15.5 percent, according to Ha. However, the issue has lingered and tends to take place in informal fields, such as household enterprises and manufacturing and production supply chains, which makes it difficult to detect. Therefore, the Vietnamese government has sped up multiple efforts to end child labor in all its forms, Ha emphasized. In contrast with the Vietnamese … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s child labor rate lower than Asia-Pacific average: official

A rice field in the Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp’s Tháp Mười District. Many rice farmers in the delta are gradually reducing their areas for rice cultivation due to rising prices of input materials — VNA/VNS Photo Nhựt An MEKONG DELTA — Rice farmers in many Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces are reducing rice cultivation over rising prices of inputs like fertilisers and pesticides. According to the Đồng Tháp Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the area of rice cultivation in the province for the summer-autumn crop is 375,263ha, down 8,305ha over last year. In An Giang Province, the area of rice seeding for the same crop was 209,186ha, down about 600ha over last year. The province’s Plant Protection Division said farmers were switching to vegetables and fruits. Vĩnh Long Province, meanwhile, expected to sow 51,500ha of rice for the summer-autumn crop last year, but the total sowing area was around 45,267ha, about 88 per cent of the plan. … [Read more...] about Mekong Delta farmers back away from rice as input costs rise

The launch of the project on May 27 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – An EU and French-funded project was launched on May 27 to improve the climate resilience of urban infrastructure in four northern central provinces of Vietnam. The project is financed with 5 million EUR (over 5.3 million USD) in non-refundable aid from the EU, 123 million EUR in ODA loan from the French Development Agency (AFD), and 28 million EUR from the Vietnamese Government. It aims to reduce the vulnerability to natural disasters in five urban areas, namely Phat Diem township (Ninh Binh province), Ngoc Lac township (Thanh Hoa province), Hoang Mai town (Nghe An province), and Huong Khe and Thach Ha townships (Ha Tinh province). Under this project, necessary urban infrastructure facilities will be built to serve water drainage, ease flooding, and improve environmental hygiene, clean water supply, and solid waste treatment. Technical assistance will also be provided to help the localities enhance the … [Read more...] about EU-funded project to boost urban infrastructure’s climate resilience

The Vietnam Bear Rescue Center will be located at  Bach Ma National Park in the Central province of Thua Thien-Hue. The new facility will be constructed on an area of 12.7 hectares including 12 houses and 12 semi-wild houses with a total non-refund donation of US$10.5 million from Animals Asia. According to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center, on May 27, the Forest Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , the Bach Ma National Park coordinated with the Animals Asia to organize a ceremony to publicize the project, which will be built in the administrative-service area of the Bach Ma National Park to serve over 300 species of bear in a semi-natural environment. The project is expected to start construction in 2022 and be completed in four years later. Doctor. Jill Robinson MBE, the founder and General Director of Animals Asia Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Director of the Forest Protection Department Nguyen Quoc Hieu informed that … [Read more...] about Vietnam to build second facility of Vietnam Bear Rescue Center in Thua Thien-Hue

The AFD and EU have been actively supporting Vietnam in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Vietnam will receive financial aid from the EU and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to reduce the vulnerability to climate hazards in several towns in four northern and central provinces. The project is jointly co-financed with a EUR5 million (US$5.36 million) grant from the EU, a EUR123 million ($132 million) ODA loan from the AFD, and EUR 28 million ($30 million) from provincial budgets. The principal goal is to help localities adapt to climate change and recover from natural disasters such as flooding, typhoons, and drought. Delegates attend the launching ceremony. Photo: the Embassy of France in Vietnam The regional towns include Phat Diem in the northern province of Ninh Binh, Ngoc Lac in the central province of Thanh Hoa, and Hoang Mai in the central province of Nghe An, Huong Khe, and Thach Ha in the central province of Ha Tinh. … [Read more...] about AFD, EU strengthen urban climate resilience in Vietnam

Seven groups of black-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nigripes), an endangered species, are living in Chua Chan Mountain in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, according to a local review. The People’s Committee of Dong Nai announced the result of the review, of which the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development took charge, on Friday. The seven groups include around 159 to 192 black-shanked douc langurs, which have grown well and are in the expanding stage of population growth. In particular, each herd has adult and semi-adult males and females, juveniles, and newborns. Officers also noticed the langurs’ separating from their original herd and merging into a new group during the review process. A pregnant black-shanked douc langur is spotted in Chua Chan Mountain, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. Photo: V. Dung / Tuoi Tre In addition, the officers identified 154 plant species that are food for the black-shanked douc langurs, accounting for … [Read more...] about Review finds threatened langur species in mountain in southern Vietnam