Body of cosmetic surgery victim found in river

The body of a woman who died under the knife of an unlicensed cosmetic surgeon, who later dumped her into a river, was retrieved, according to Hanoi police.

In October, Le Thi Thanh Huyen died while receiving breast enlargement surgery at the Cat Tuong Beauty Clinic, run by Dr. Nguyen Manh Tuong of Bach Mai Hospital.

The victim's body was found on Red River in Hanoi by residents of Gia Lam District. ADN testing confirmed that it was Huyen’s body. The victim's husband said that the family has not yet received an official statement from police, although another family member said that they expect some information today (August 5).

The conclusion of the criminal investigation  was that Tuong directly caused the death of Huyen during cosmetic surgery on October 19, 2013, and that he asked his staff to cover up the incident.

At around 11pm on the same day, Tuong, together with members of his staff, are alleged to have loaded the body into a car and dumped it in the river, after abandoning Huyen's motorbike and bag on the road.

They were arrested a few days later.

Police and the victim's family have been searching for her remains since the incident.

Both Tuong and his accomplice Khanh were charged with violating healthcare and medicine regulations, as well as illegally transporting a dead body.

Hydropower dam fracture deluges Highlands province

The dam at Ia Krel 2 hydropower plant on Po Co River in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai broke again on Friday, causing a flash flood that devastated crops and infrastructure.

About 60 hectares of crops were flooded and 30 hectares of rubber trees were damaged, according to Duc Co District authorities.

Hoang Cong Lu, vice chairman of Gia Lai Province's People's Committee, said local authorities had evacuated residents from the flooded areas.

Nguyen Ngoc An, deputy director of the Bao Long Gia Lai Industries and Hydropower Company, the investor of the plant, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) that cracks were found across the surface of the dam at 8:00 am on Friday. Thirty minutes later, they broke a 100-metre section of the dam, causing water to flow out and submerge the surrounding area.

Last year, when 30 metres of the dam broke, local authorities spent nearly VND3 billion (US$141.4 million) to compensate those living nearby for property damages, An said.

Damages from the latest incident have not yet been calculated.

"We sent an urgent report regarding the incident to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for instructions and assistance", said Hoang Cong Lu, deputy chairman of the provincial People's Committee.

The Ministry of Construction requested on Saturday that Gia Lai province authorities co-ordinate with the ministries of industry and trade and agriculture and rural development to determine what caused the incident.

Relevant agencies were also asked to send reports to the Ministry of Construction about the safety of other lakes and dams in the province by the end of the month.

Part of Hanoi Highway closed for metro work

Vehicular traffic will be banned from a parallel road on Hanoi Highway leading to HCMC from August 9 until the end of 2015 to make room for construction of an elevated track and a station of Metro Line No. 1, according to the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railway (MAUR).

Hoang Nhu Cuong, deputy director of MAUR, said traffic redirection is necessary to secure road safety and avoid congestion given heavy traffic on Hanoi Highway and Cat Lai intersection.

The section closed to traffic will start from the junction with Giang Van Minh Street to Road No. 1, meaning traffic from Thu Duc District and District 9 moving into the city will be affected.

Drivers are advised to take a bypass by following Road No.3, then Road No. 1, Road No. 4 and Road No. 5, An Phu Street, Road No. 13 and Giang Van Minh Street before re-entering Hanoi Highway.

Vehicles that enter a residential area in District 2’s An Phu Ward are required to take a one-way parallel road on Hanoi Highway between Le Thuoc and Giang Van Minh streets.

Work on Binh Thai Station in Thu Duc District started on Monday, and is expected to be complete at the end of 2016. The three-floor station measures 137.5 meters in length and 23 meters in width.

Passengers can enter and leave the station via the ground floor while the metro line will run on the first floor. The second floor is intended for technicians and equipment.

This station is part of the metro line project that connects Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9.

Traffic has been also banned from a section of Le Loi Boulevard between Pasteur and Dong Khoi streets to facilitate construction of an underground station in the city center.

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) last Friday cancelled a number of flights departing for and from Lien Khuong Airport in Dalat due to bad weather conditions.

According to the airline, two HCMC-Dalat flights were canceled. Flight VN1380 had to land at Cam Ranh Airport in Nha Trang instead to ensure safety for passengers.

Passengers holding economy-class tickets on this flight were compensated VND300,000 each while those with business-class tickets got VND400,000.

Two flights flying between Danang and Dalat and another two between Hanoi and Dalat were also canceled. The number of passengers on the canceled flights of the day totaled 690.

Last Friday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said technical problems forced Vietnam Airlines to cancel three flights last month.

According to the authority, the canceled flights used ATR72 aircraft. Vietnam Airlines currently has 14 ATR72s, with seven operational at Tan Son Nhat Airport, two at Danang Airport, four at Noi Bai Airport and one on standby.

Between June 30 and July 17, five ATR72 aircraft were repaired. As a result, the flight schedules for the ATR72 fleet on July 3, 13 and 16 were affected.

The airline had to use A321 aircraft as a replacement for Hanoi-Dong Hoi flights on July 3, 13 and 16.

Bad weather in Hanoi last Saturday also compelled VietJetAir to divert three Hanoi-bound flights to Vinh and Danang on the central coast.

One flight from HCMC had to land in Vinh and another in Danang. The third flight en route from Dalat City to Hanoi was diverted to Danang.

After weather improved in Hanoi, the three flights resumed their trips to Hanoi. A lot of other VietJetAir flights were affected such as Hanoi-Buon Ma Thuot flights.

The low-cost carrier served food at the airport and paid VND300,000 in compensation for each affected passenger.

The passengers whose flights were cancelled got priority to book seats on replacement flights to Danang or HCMC, reschedule flights and return tickets free-of-charge.

Last Friday a Vietnam Airlines aircraft on the way from HCMC to Dalat was forced to land at Khanh Hoa Province’s Cam Ranh Airport due to the same reason. The affected passengers got a compensation of VND300,000 for economy class and VND400,000 for business class.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has told airlines to make proper compensation for the customers affected by flight delays and cancellations.

Officials suspended over bribery allegations

Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Register Centre 86-01S Tran Dinh Tue and some of his employees were suspended following bribery allegations.

Last Friday, a leader from the Vietnam Register reported that Tue and the other employees allegedly accepted bribes while verifying and registering vehicles.

The Binh Thuan Department of Transport sent an inspection team to the centre today to conduct an overall investigation and strictly punish employees who violated laws.

The Viet nam Register will replace the workers who were suspended.

Deputy director suspended for wrongdoing

Deputy Director of the Binh Thuan Register Centre 86-01S Tran Dinh Tue and some of his workers have been suspended for making mistakes at work.

Last Friday, a leader from the Vietnam Register caught Tue and some other workers breaking the rules while verifying and registering vehicles. Reportedly, there was evidence that they had received bribes.

The Vietnam Register submitted a report on the matter.

The Binh Thuan Department of Transport has sent an inspection team to the centre today to make an overall investigation and strictly punish those employees who have violated the rules.

The Vietnam Register will assign more workers to help the people get their vehicles registered at the centre.

Ha Noi police to check quality of bike helmets

The Ha Noi People's Committee asked the municipal Traffic Safety Committee to conduct a helmet inspection campaign alongside local police.

Inspectors will check trading certificates, bills and receipts belonging to helmet vendors and importers, as well as examining working conditions and trademark ownership at helmet manufacturing enterprises. They will also test various helmets to ensure their safety.

The Product Quality Management Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology inspected nearly 80 helmet manufacturing and trading enterprises in 12 provinces and cities in the first six months of this year.

Out of more than 300 helmet samples, 46 failed to satisfy quality and trademark regulations.

The Ha Noi police have confiscated more than 5,000 substandard helmets from trading enterprises so far this year.

Tran Dinh Minh, 40, a resident of Ha Noi's Hoang Mai District, was grateful for the inspections, saying that the responsibility for judging helmet quality should fall on police and market watch officials rather than individuals.

"We cannot really distinguish good helmets from fake ones. The inspections will help eliminate the fake ones from the market, so we can buy good helmets," he said.

Extension given to caged-fish breeders

Twelve aquafarmers have been given extra time to move their fish cages from a stretch of the Dong Nai River because recent rains have made the current too strong.

On Saturday, the People's Committee of Bien Hoa City suspended an order for them to shift their fish cages from the river as it passes through Hiep Hoa Commune and Thong Nhat Ward in southern Dong Nai Province.

The enforcement order was made after the breeders refused many times in nine years to quit the stretch of water.

The committee said waste water from fish raising as well as human waste from hundreds of other acquafarmers had severely polluted the river.

Under a plan approved by the committee in 2005, 247 caged-fish breeders were to be evacuated to another stretch of river from Rach Cat Bridge to An Hao Boat Station to continue their breeding.

Each household was allowed to use a maximum of two fish cages. Each cage is 8m x 4m x 2m.

However, only 126 of the 247 breeders have so far voluntarily evacuated, the committee said.

Therefore, the committee said it had to start enforcing its decision with the first 12 breeders on Saturday.

However, after negotiations, the breeders agreed to leave voluntarily within a few days if given financial support from the authority.

Nguyen Le Xuan, one of the breeders, told Viet Nam Multimedia Corporation online newspaper that the flow of water in the present stretch was very strong, so it was hard to remove the cages now.

Xuan also said that the authority only paid VND8,000 (US$37 cents) for fish weighing under 500 grams, and VND30,000 ($1.40) for fish weighing above 500 grams.

This was much lower than the market price, she said.

Ha Noi urged to boost flood controls

Ha Noi Water Resources Management Department and irrigation work operators must prepare plans to deal with flooding during the rainy season, said vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee, Tran Xuan Viet.

Viet asked them to take drastic measures to minimise flooding on agricultural land.

The water resources department and irrigation operators, including companies and reservoir owners, must examine their infrastructure and take measures to ensure their safe operation during the rainy season.

At present, irrigation operators manage 519 pumping stations along nearly 3,500km of channels throughout the city.

They also control 11,325 sewerages and 18 agricultural reservoirs that help control floods or save water for drought.

However, many pumping stations are degraded and 40 per cent of irrigation works are 40 years old and said to be outdated.

Viet said that in addition to the weather, the situation was made worse by both irrigation work operators and others who discharged solid waste into the channels.

In the first six months of this year, the water resources department and irrigation operators ensured water supplies and irrigation for more than 126,000 ha of cultivated land, including more than 100,000 ha of rice.

When Storm Ramnasun hit last month, it brought heavy rain and increased city river levels. However, more than 99.6ha of newly-transplanted rice was saved from flooding.

Vice chairman Viet asked local authorities, particularly those in flood-prone districts like Ung Hoa, Thach That and Thanh Oai, to co-operate with irrigation operators closely in monitoring and protecting irrigation works.

Texting campaign raises fund for AO victims

A mobile texting campaign was launched on August 4 to collect money in support of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin nationwide.

From now to September 30, people can support the campaign by texting DACAM to 1409. Each SMS costs VND18,000 (US$0.845).

This is the fourth time this kind of charity event has been organised by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA), with the aim to help relieve the pain of the victims.

Over the past three years, the programme has received more than 500,000 texts, equal to over VND10 billion (US$470,000). The money has been allocated to localities to build caring and rehabilitation facilities for AO-infected persons.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, VAVA Vice President and General Secretary Nguyen The Luc said that the association is working hard to fulfil its targets of building 46 caring facilities, 1,160 charity houses and three rehabilitation centres, as well as granting 2,320 scholarships to AO victims’ children.

Royal documents prove Vietnam’s sea, island sovereignty

Authorities from the central province of Binh Thuan held a ceremony on August 4 to receive original documents that illuminate the protection of the country’s sovereignty over seas and islands in the past.

The materials consist of two royal ordinances and five papers, written in Han-Nom (Vietnamese ideographic script).

They were granted to Le Van Cham and Le Non by the feudal Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), assigning them to command naval teams to safeguard the waters from Binh Thuan to Khanh Hoa province.

The documents were then preserved by Le Nhu, the fifth generation of the two men, in Tuy Phong district.

They hold significant historical, cultural, and scientific values, according to Vice Chairman of the Binh Thuan People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tam.

They serve as a piece of evidence proving that the Nguyen Dynasty gave due attention to setting up naval teams and defending the country’s sovereign waters.

Local authorities granted a certificate of merit to Le Nhu in recognition of his contributions to preserving the archives which remain nearly unchanged over the past 170 years.

PM asks for plans to bring home workers from Libya

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 4 urged the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) to urgently make plans to bring home all Vietnamese workers from Libya before the situation becomes worse.

At first, the ministry needs to promptly take 281 people working in the two areas of hostilities, the capital Tripoli and Bengazi city, to Vietnam while halting the sending of Vietnamese workers to Libya.

The Foreign Ministry and Vietnamese representative agencies in Libya were required to keep a close watch on the situation and actively work with the MOLISA to take measures to ensure the safety of Vietnamese citizens in Libya.

At the same time, PM Dung also gave the nod to the use of the Overseas Labour Support Fund to buy flight tickets for Vietnamese workers in case that their employers cannot afford to pay.

Vietnam on high alert as Ebola outbreak worsens

To cope with the tragic Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has directed border gates and airports to strictly monitor travellers, especially those coming from infected areas for any symptoms of the disease.

Ebola – passed on through contact with blood or bodily fluids of the infected, has no cure and a fatality rate of up to 90 percent, according to the MoH.

The MoH has also beefed up supervision over the community and medical stations in an effort to timely detect infected cases, if any, and to insure infected people are isolated and samples are collected for appropriate testing.

Symptoms to be on the alert for include fever, weakness, muscular pain, headaches and sore throat.

Nigeria declared the first infected case of Ebola virus on July 29 in a traveller en route by air from Togo and Ghaha to Lagos, Nigeria. Nations including Ghana, Nigeria and Togo have co-ordinated closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement plans to cope with the dire consequences of the epidemic.

Raw snails pose health risk

The Ministry of Health's Department of Preventive Medicine issued a warning to consumers on Thursday not to eat snails, especially raw snails, or use them as medicine.

Hospitals and medical stations in HCM City and the central city of Da Nang recently saw an influx of patients who became sick after eating snails contaminated with the larva of a worm called Angiostrongylus cantonensis, including some fatalities.

Eating raw snails contaminated with the worm can cause encephalitis and meningitis. There is no remedy for the latter, according to the MoH.

Those experiencing unusual symptoms after eating raw snails, shrimp or crab, including high temperature, headache and nausea, should go to a medical station immediately.

Patients in serious condition can experience convulsions and paralysis, talk nonsense and lose their footing and memory. The disease lasts from days to months and can be fatal in some cases.

Viet Nam sees about 70-100 cases of Angiostrongylus cantonensis contamination per year, according to the MoH.

Last month, a nine-year-old boy in HCM City's District 8 was brought to the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases with a serious headache and vomiting after eating snails he caught and grilled.

Two other men living in Go Vap District were also hospitalised after having raw snails with alcohol. One of them died.

Petrol pumps threaten road safety

The Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam has asked road management units and departments of transportation to conduct inspections of petrol pumps along national highways to ensure traffic safety.

Reports from the directorate showed that a large number of petrol pumps located on the national highways were a threat to traffic safety.

The danger to traffic was from the locations and structures of the petrol pumps. They were found to block the view, or their entries and exits did not comply with regulated standards.

Other problems were lack of warning signs or permissions of the Ministry of Transport allowing the petrol pumps to connect to the highways.

Local departments of transportation were asked to report to the municipal People's Committees on the sub-highways that were not yet connected to the national highways. The departments also have to inspect and update the petrol pump in the areas to identify the exact locations of the pumps on the sub-highways.

Owners of petrol pumps that were permitted to connect to the highways have to submit files to local authorities on the engineering designs and methods of pumps to ensure traffic safety at entrances and exits. Only petrol pumps that receive approvals from the authorities are allowed to construct and operate.

With regard to the petrol pumps that have been operating without consent of the Ministry of Transport, the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam asked their owners to apply methods for traffic safety at entrance and exit gates, including signs, speed humps and painted road marks.

All costs will have to be borne by the pump owners.

The Departments of Transportation will consider qualified petrol pumps in their plans while connecting pumps to the highways.

Petrol pumps that are not included in the plans by June 6th, 2015, will be asked to shut down.

Suspension bridges built for flood season

The transport ministry has asked relevant units to build 83 suspension bridges in some areas to help local residents cope with floods and rains during the monsoon season this month.

The bridges were expected to be put into operation after one month of construction, said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong at a meeting with relevant units, including designers, construction consultants and contractors last week.

This is part of the ministry's VND931billion (US$44 million) plan to build 186 suspension bridges in 28 cities and provinces in the northern, central and Central Highland regions. It was approved by the Prime Minister in May this year.

Outlined by the Ministry of Transport, the scheme aims to help inhabitants in mountainous and far-flung areas to improve their living standards and mitigate the risks of traffic accidents, especially during floods.

The plan is also to deal with 40 per cent of over 1,940 suspension bridges across the country in need of urgent repairs or reconstruction, according to the ministry.

A representative from the Directorate for Road of Viet Nam reported that all procedures relating to the construction project were completed and preparations were being made for work to begin at the construction sites.

The Transport Engineering Design Inc. reported that designs for 186 bridges were being completed. Land clearances were also being taken.

The construction of a number of bridges has already begun in the northern provinces of Yen Bai, Ha Nam, Bac Can and central Nghe An province.

Embassy in Egypt ready to welcome Vietnamese evacuees from Libya

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt is ready to welcome Vietnamese guest workers who have to evacuate from Libya due to escalating conflicts.

On August 4, a working group went to Salloum border gate about 700km to the northwest of Cairo to assist in entry procedures for 28 Vietnamese workers from Benghazi city, where clashes are worsening.

Ambassador Dao Thanh Chung said that this is the first group of evacuees transiting via Egypt. They will be provided with accommodations until they fly back home.

Earlier, the embassy held working sessions with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s Consular Services Department on measures to facilitate the evacuation of Vietnamese workers from Libya. The Egyptian side agreed to extend the transit time from 12 hours to 72 hours for Vietnamese labourers.

The Republic of Korea’s Hyundai AMCO Co. Ltd., which employs 682 Vietnamese workers at its project in the eastern city of Al-Beida, has hired aircraft to bring the workers to Egypt. The first 150 Vietnamese workers will be airlifted to Cairo on August 5.

Meanwhile, foreman Bui Sy Phong at the Al-Khalij power plant, the northern coastal province of Sirte, said more than 130 Vietnamese along with their RoK and Philippine worker fellows here will be taken to Istanbul, Turkey, by aircraft on August 9 and 10, from where they will fly back to their home country.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Libya Dao Duy Tien said the embassy is exerting every effort to send the Vietnamese back home as soon as possible, particularly those working in Tripoli and Benghazi cities.

Some 1,050 of the total 1,550 Vietnamese guest workers in the North African country are scheduled to evacuate in the next several days.

Southwestern region needs more housing policy for the poor

The Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region has proposed that the Government continue implementing housing policies targeting the poor as over 65,700 households in the region have pressing demand for home.

The proposal was made during a working session between the committee and a delegation from the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs led by deputy head Dinh Van Cuong in Can Tho city on August 4 on the implementation of social policies and unplanned migration in Mekong Delta.

According to the steering committee, the region has seen remarkable progress in poverty reduction, education, vocational training and healthcare. The living conditions of locals, especially Khmer and Cham ethnic minority groups, have been improved.

More than 331,000 jobs are created each year, and 87 percent of rural population has now been provided with clean water. General hospitals at district and inter-district levels are upgraded, while 71 percent of local clinics have doctors with a rate of 5.7 doctors per 10,000 people.

Regarding migration issue, Duong Quoc Xuan, deputy head of the steering committee, said industrial development of Ho Chi Minh City and southeastern provinces has caused a major flow of labourers to industrial areas. However, more study is needed to make accurate assessment of the situation in order to map out solutions to the issue.

The Commission for Economic Affairs suggested providing support for the poor through health insurance cards, vocational training and labour export besides the implementation of Party, State policies and programmes for the ethnic community.-   

New schools built for poor children in central, southern regions

Prudential Vietnam has said it will fund about 11 billion VND (500,000 USD) to build 10 kindergartens and primary schools for poor children in the central and southern provinces in 2014.

The beneficiaries are from Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau where learning conditions are very poor.

Meanwhile, the Cargill Cares foundation of the Cargill Vietnam Ltd. Co. under the US-based Cargill Corporation collected 4.5 billion VND (211,500 USD) from a single charity event on August 2 for its building of schools in far-flung areas nationwide.

Established in 1996, the Cargill Cares Foundation has so far gathered 66 billion VND (3.1 million USD), supporting the construction of 67 schools in rural and remote areas across the country. The foundation is striving to accomplish its goal of building 75 schools nationwide by 2015.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, there are more than 200,000 children in Vietnam each year forced to quit school. One of the key reasons is that they live too far away from school, with many from remote and mountainous areas having to walk around 5-10 km or even further to reach their school.   

Stationery market fares well to hail upcoming school season

The stationery market is on the go again as a new academic season is just one month away, with a range of supplies on offer.

Since early May, bookstores and supermarkets have stocked up textbooks, reference materials, and stationery of various kinds.

The demand soared nearly 50 percent in July from a month earlier, and is forecast to climb up throughout the month of August, said a representative from Fahasa publishing company.

Such popular made-in-Vietnam brands as Hong Ha, Hai Tien, Thien Long and Ben Nghe are selling well as they are made environmentally friendly.

Between May 10 and August 31, a chain of Phuong Nam bookstores nationwide will offer a 10 percent discount for all textbooks and notebooks.

It also cuts prices of best-seller books and study tools by 20-50 percent.

Fahasa, in a similar move, is selling essential items at 10-17 percent off.

Hong Ha stationery has partnered with the Book and School Equipment company to offer quality and affordable products.-The stationery market is on the go again as a new academic season is just one month away, with a range of supplies on offer.-

Mekong farmers switch to lucrative alternatives

A switch to growing high-value crops on low-yield rice fields has paid dividends for farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Huynh Van Hau of Vinh Long Province's Long Ho District harvested 2ha of soybean this summer-autumn and earned profits of nearly VND40 million (US$1,900).

He was earlier growing rice on the field but productivity had been low.

"In previous years the price of rice was volatile and my family earned just a few million dong per crop from a hectare of rice," he said.

Vo Phuoc Bao of Tra On District in the same province has been growing waxy corn on his 1ha of land since 2012 because rice yields were too low.

He earned a profit of VND45 million ($2,100) for each corn crop, two times higher than rice.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development targets a switch to high-value crops on 112,000ha of low-yielding rice fields in the Delta in 2013-15.

To encourage this process, the Government has decided to provide a subsidy of VND2 million ($95) per hectare to farmers who do this.

Last year more than 87,000ha were converted, according to the ministry's Plant Cultivation Department.

Dong Thap has led the region in the process, converting 31,000ha of rice fields, followed by Soc Trang Province with 19,800ha and Tra Vinh Province with 12,000ha.

Farmers now growing other crops like corn, soybean, sesame, red chilli, lotus, and vegetables earn profits of VND15-46 million ($714 -2,190) per hectare, according to the Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The profits from low-yielding rice fields are less than a quarter of this, it said.

In Dong Thap, An Giang, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, and Long An, replacing rice with corn is yielding profits 30-100 per cent higher, according to local officials.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of the Long An Agriculture Extension Centre, said the province is determined that corn, sesame, and peanut would be the three major crops replacing rice on unsuitable fields.

Of the three, corn has been identified as the most important crop, he added.

Nguyen Huu An, head of the An Giang Sub-department of Plant Protection, said it is not difficult to persuade rice famers to switch to corn and sesame since they have experience in growing them too.

But the biggest concern is finding outlets for these crops after harvest since steady co-operation between farmers and buyers has yet to be established, he said.

To make the conversion effective, the ministry has urged delta provinces to draw up comprehensive plans for what crops will be planted where by region and year.

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