Hau Giang, RoK foundation work to apply high tech in agriculture

A delegation of the Saemaul Globalisation Foundation visits an okra farm in Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province, in March 2018 (Photo: baohaugiang.com.vn)

The People’s Committee of Hau Giang province had a working session with the Saemaul Globalisation Foundation (SGF) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on April 17 to discuss the piloting of high technologies and techniques in agricultural production in the Mekong Delta locality.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Canh Tuyen said Hau Giang appreciates the SGF’s proposal of investing in clean agricultural product farms, which matches the province’s promotion of clean farming and agricultural restructuring.

Basing on the SGF’s proposal, local authorities will encourage residents in the places where the organisation plans to build such farms to practice farming according to standards.

Kwak Busung, SGF Chief Representative in Vietnam, said in the first phase, they will cultivate new rice varieties in pilot areas and then train local farmers on farming techniques. Meanwhile, greenhouses will be built and high technologies will be applied to grow clean vegetables and other crops.

He said the model has been successful in many places. However, it has to generate high profits for farmers so as to gain their trust. The area under this model should only be expanded after local residents realise its effectiveness.

The SGF wants to work more with Hau Giang to meet production standards set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, he added.

High technologies and techniques are set to be applied on 10 hectares of farmland in Long My and Phung Hiep districts, where a new village project is also piloted.

The new village project has been implemented in Long My and Phung Hiep for five years during which, the SGF assisted the two districts in building two cultural centres, setting up two cooperatives, providing farming tools for agricultural cooperatives, and piloting the cultivation of one hectare of high-quality rice.

Tra Vinh strengthens IT application to improve competitiveness

People are waiting for procession of administrative procedures. 

Chairman of the People’s Committee of the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh Dong Van Lam has directed provincial departments, sectors and localities to strengthen the application of information technology in improving provincial competiveness index (PCI). 

He asked to update information in the province’s portal, with focus on legal documents, administrative procedures, tax, business registration, investment, industrial parks, bidding, budget and statistics.

At the same time, it is necessary to enhance the application of IT and one-stop-shop software as well as the provision of online public services, he urged.

Lam cited statistics of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2017 as saying that Tra Vinh ranked 37 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide in term of PCI, five steps higher than that in 2016. Particularly, indicators in transparency, time cost, unofficial cost, dynamism, equal competitiveness, and labour training were improved, he noted, adding that its unofficial cost indicator topped the country.

Lam said that although the province’s market penetration indicator rose 36 positions with 8.09 points, the implementation of online one-stop-shop and public services has yet to be effective.

Meanwhile, the project of applying IT in administrative reform has been behind schedule, leading to a lack of information and data sharing among agencies.

The provincial leader also requested provincial departments and agencies to reduce business registration time and higher ratio of businesses processing their registration through new methods, along with the listing of business registration procedures in the public.

HCM City mulls improvements to grassroots healthcare system

The HCM City Department of Health plans to improve the quality of all grassroots-level health stations in the city to provide family medicine to reduce the overcrowding at hospitals. — Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

The HCM City Department of Health plans to improve the quality of all grassroots-level health stations in the city to provide family medicine to reduce the overcrowding at hospitals.

In Việt Nam family medicine includes efficient first aid services and examination and treatment.

They also are required to continue with their preventive health activities.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Dr Nguyễn Hữu Hưng, the department’s deputy head, said health stations had been focusing more on preventive health rather than examination and treatment, but they should now improve the latter aspect.

People with disease have a psychology of prefering to go to hospitals than health stations, according to Hưng.

Besides, people with health insurance can go to any district-level hospital under a regulation that took effect in 2016.

“Private general clinics have sprung up throughout the city, leading to intense competition among health stations to attract patients.”

According to Dr Tăng Chí Thượng, another deputy head of the department, while few patients visit health stations, most hospitals, even district-level ones, suffer from overcrowding.

Once health stations begin to draw some of the patients going to hospitals, they would help reduce the overcrowding, he said.

He instructed every district-level hospital in the city to set up a general health clinic on a pilot basis.

Nguyễn Thị Thu, city People’s Committee vice chairwoman, has called for expanding this model since it has become very popular in some wards in Thủ Đức and Tân Phú districts, where it has been piloted for two years.

Dr Nguyễn Minh Quân, director of the Thủ Đức District Hospital which set up general health clinics in some local wards, said "they are convenient for locals and offer basic tests and treatment".

“They get more and more residents patients,100 to 150 patients every day.”

A health station official in Tân Quý Ward in Tân Phú District said his general clinic too was very popular just like the ones in Thủ Đức.

All health stations should sign up with the Việt Nam Social Security and provide basic drugs to patients like district-level hospitals do to achieve success, he said.

Besides, they should have at least two doctors, he added.

According to Thượng the general clinics, which treat a variety of ailments, are merely an outpost of district-level hospitals and can help increase the latter’s revenues.

Health stations should focus on treating non-communicable diseases, he said.

“But it is to be expected that the number of patients coming to these stations will be less than those visiting the general clinics.”

He was referring to the fact that the public trusts the clinics more than the stations since they are run by district hospitals.

Conference seeks joint efforts in supporting drug addicts to access treatment

Psychological support and consultations for drug addicts can help control HIV/AIDS by connecting drug addicts to healthcare services as well as ARV treatment. 

A conference was held in Hà Nội on Monday to discuss a model to provide psychological support and consultations for drug addicts before the court hands out decisions on compulsory detoxification methods to them. 

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyễn Thị Hà said that detoxification and rehabilitation for drug addicts have been implemented synchronously across the country, while legal documents for the work have been completed. 

Many modern models from around the world have also been applied in Việt Nam, she added. 

She noted that as of 2017, Việt Nam had over 220,000 drug addicts from all walks of life and at different ages, including 100,000 receiving treatment. 

However, the number of synthetic drug addicts continued rising requiring new and more effective treatment methods, she stressed. 

Ha suggested that participants discuss possible difficulties and advantages as the model is piloted in Hà Nội and HCM City.

Vũ Huy Hoàng from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SANHSA) held that the model can help improve treatment service quality for drug addicts while helping control HIV/AIDS by connecting drug addicts to healthcare services as well as ARV treatment. 

The model aims to strengthen coordination among justice, healthcare, social agencies as well as the community in assisting drug addicts in accessing and strictly following healthcare, social and judicial services in the community, thus reducing the risk of relapse.

Farmers taught safe use of plant protection chemicals, environmental protection

Volunteers collect discarded plant protection chemicals packaging in Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Province’s Châu Đức District. 

Hundreds of thousands of farmers in the 22 provinces and cities from the south-central province of Bình Thuận to the southernmost province of Cà Mau have been provided guidance in the safe use of plant protection chemicals through a programme begun in 2012.

“Together with farmers in protecting the environment”, carried out by the An Giang Plant Protection Company (now the Lộc Trời Group) and the Plant Protection Department, has provided training to 626,000 farmers and nearly 5,000 students in safely using the chemicals and collecting and destroying their used packages and bottles.

The farmers have also been taught about various pests and methods to control them.

The programme has established 149 model farms with a total area of 8,500ha for farmers to visit and study. They produce rice, dragon fruit, green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruits, mango, milk apple, longan, sweet potato, and other crops.

Farmers have been taught to grow flowers around paddy fields to protect their rice plants by attracting insects, which are natural enemies of brown plant hoppers.

The 22 provinces and cities have built 700 containers to contain hazardous wastes and collected 38.5 tonnes of packaging and bottles left after the plant protection chemicals were used.

The programme has attracted the participation of 18 companies that trade these chemicals.

Speaking at a seminar held to review the programme in Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu last week, Lê Văn Thiệt, deputy head of the Plant Protection Department, said the agriculture ministry has ordered competent agencies to ensure the programme is implemented well.   

To expand the programme and publicise it, his department would encourage more agricultural inputs trading companies to co-operate with competent agencies, he said.

Besides protecting the environment, the programme has helped farmers reduce costs by reducing the use of plant protection chemicals and produce quality agricultural products.

Đặng Mạnh Khương, secretary of the programme, said workers are hired to spray pesticides to protect crops, but they fail to protect the environment or themselves.

So the programme has set up 10 clubs for 100 people who spray pesticides in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces of Long An, Đồng Tháp, An Giang, and Bạc Liêu. 

They have been instructed in safe use of pesticides and provided with protective gear to safeguard their health, he said.

The programme has also given them regular health checks.

It has raised farmers’ awareness of environmental protection, according to the department.

It has helped change farmers’ habit of, after using plant protection chemicals, throwing their empty packaging and bottles in fields and canals, which severely pollute the environment and water resources.

Thanh Hóa plans to dredge sand sediment along Lạch Bạng Sea Port

The encroaching sand sediments along Lạch Bạng Sea Port in central Thanh Hóa Province has been blocking vessels approaching the port. 

Thanh Hóa Province’s People’s Committee has approved the plan to dredge sand sediments along the entrance and storm sheltering area of Lạch Bạng Sea Port this year.

The committee made the decision after it was found that encroaching sand sediments along the port in Tĩnh Gia District was blocking several cargo ships and fishing vessels approaching the port.

The province has assigned the Management Board of Thanh Hóa Agricultural and Rural Development Construction Investment Projects as investor in the project.

As planned, the board will dredge some 1.2km of sand sediments along the sea port, starting from Hải Thanh Commune to Hải Bình Commune. The project will cost some VNĐ10 billion (US$439,500), which will be provided from the provincial fund.

The committee has assigned the management board to implement the next steps for the project.

Earlier, Vietnam News Agency reported on the severe sand sedimentation along Lạch Bạng Sea Port, hampering the docking of vessels, especially those with a capacity of more than 400CV.

The sand sedimentation along the port also adversely affected the economic development of the sea port in the two communes of Hải Thanh and Hải Bình. Hundreds of ships were laid still in recent days, and seafood processing factories had to close owing to lack of raw materials for production activities. It rendered thousands of workers unemployed.

Lạch Bạng Sea Port is the biggest point for docking and fisheries trading in Thanh Hoá Province. Normally, the port can serve up to 800 vessels annually, but in the past few years, only some 500 ships have been able to enter the port each year.

In 2016, the total amount of goods transported to the port was 246,000 tonnes.

HCM City proposes road, railway to Cat Lai

HCM City’s Department of Planning and Architecture has proposed to the government to open a road or railway route dedicated to container trucks entering Cát Lái Port.

This is to avoid these vehicles from using urban roads for transporting goods and leading to traffic congestion.

Previously, the government had approved a plan to establish a rail route to Cát Lái Port to transport goods. But the plan was abolished in 2013.

Late last year, HCM City had once again suggested to the Ministry of Transport to re-consider the construction of railway lines into ports in the city, especially into Cát Lái Port, to ease traffic in those areas.

Currently, all trucks transporting goods to and from Cát Lái Port run from Mai Chí Thọ Street to Mỹ Thủy intersection and Cát Lái Port.

Nguyễn Thanh Toàn, deputy director of the city’s department, said the incidence of trucks and container trucks using urban roads to transport goods in and out of Cát Lái Port was unavoidable.

He, however, said that normally, a port must use a railway route or road dedicated to transporting goods.

He proposed to re-design the capacity of the port and re-plan the railway route dedicated to transporting cargo to Cát Lái Port.

Earlier, Bùi Xuân Cường, director of the city’s Department of Transport, had said the department would accelerate the construction and operation of two new bridges in Cát Lái area in April-May this year.

He also confirmed that after repairing the D1 and D2 routes in the third quarter of this year, container trucks would be allowed to operate on those routes to reduce the overloading on Mai Chí Thọ and Đồng Văn Cống streets.

Cát Lái Port always witnesses heavy traffic congestion during peak hours, when vehicles can take up to six hours to cross the 8km road.

According to the plan of HCM City’s Department of Transport, some 36 million tonnes of cargo are expected to pass through Cát Lái Port every year.

But in 2016, the cargo volume exceeded the plan by 53 million tonnes. It reached 27.2 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2017. On an average, some 17,000 trucks move in and out of Cát Lái Port every day. This number can reach between 20,000 and 22,000 per day during peak times.

More soft loans needed to support people with disabilities

Sketches on central - Central Highlands battlefield exhibited

An exhibition featuring historic sketches opened in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, on April 17.

On display are 80 historic sketches, including 40 works on the central - Central Highlands battlefield drawn by 16 artists.

The exhibits were selected from more than 3,000 drawings sketched during the wartime, which were presented to the Dak Lak Province Museum by the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, according to the organising board,

The exhibition gives the public an insight into the life of people and soldiers at that time, thus helping inspire the national patriotism. It also helps visitors better understand the art.

The exhibition, jointly organised by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, will remain open to visitors until the end of September.

Quang Tri joins national efforts to combat illegal fishing

The central coastal province of Quang Tri has enhanced surveillance of offshore fishing vessels as part of efforts to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, especially after the European Commission (EC) issued a  “yellow card” warning to the country’s fishery sector.

According to the provincial department of fisheries, offshore fishing vessels are required to report their exact positions and contact with the station of fishing vessel information management. 

With boats equipped with fisheries surveillance system called Movimar, they must turn on the machine around the clock so that relevant authorities can keep close track on their positions.

Communication campaigns have been step up to raise public awareness of the strict punishment and consequences of IUU fishing, including economic and assess losses and Vietnamese fishermen’s prestige.

In the past time, Quang Tri organised four training courses for over 200 fishermen, especially captains and ship owners, in Vinh Linh, Gio Linh and Trieu Phong districts.

The measures have brought in positive results as ship owners respect current regulations on fishing certificates, food safety certificates while fishing on the country’s territorial waters.

Changing behaviors key to protecting environment sustainably

The “7 Day Challenge” campaign, an initiative from Sweden, has arrived in Vietnam. It encourages the participants to eat, move and live without harming the environment.

“Since I came some years ago, I met so many young Vietnamese who think very much about security and safety in daily life. It’s about air safety, water safety, food safety - what does it come from? Of course, traffic safety,” Pereric Hogberg, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam told Vietnam News Agency on the launch of the campaign.

The event was organised by the United Nations, the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam and the Live & Learn Environmental Education Centre. It has three periods, starting on April 10, April 17 or April 24 and lasts for a week. It was previously held in Kenya, Brazil, India and Indonesia.

The campaign’s hashtag #7_Ngay_Thach_Thuc or #7DayChallengeVN has drawn much interest of people who want to challenge themselves to achieve a smarter life.

Nguyen Viet Lan shared on the hashtag that her new way of travelling to work is bus rapid transit. “I choose this because air pollution continues to cause severe health problems for people in Hanoi. I believe move smart can help reduce this phenomenon.”

The Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID) and the Vietnam Live and Learn Centre for Environment and Community reported earlier this year that alarming pollution readings were recorded in Hanoi in 2017.

In 2017, Hanoi had 257 days when the Air Quality Index exceeded the safe limit set by the WHO while statistics from the US Embassy in Hanoi revealed that the atmospheric quality in the city was much lower than India’s New Delhi and Mumbai.

The country was reported to spend about 780 million USD annually on public health costs caused by air pollution.

Lan also shared she changed her habit of using single-use bags.

“This morning I brought some reusable bags with me and tried to refuse plastic bags when buying food, except for fish, as it cannot be put together with other food, Lan said. “[I] will remember to bring a reusable box for fish next time.”
 
Using reusable bags is one way to reduce plastic pollution (Source: Nguyen Viet Lan, a participator of the campaign)

The use of plastic bags remains a problem in Vietnam as there is a lack of information about the importance of environmentally-friendly bags. An Ocean Conservancy report in 2015 found that Vietnam together with China, Indonesia, the Philippines amd Thailand are responsible for up to 60 percent of the plastic trash flowing into the seas.

Linh Hai Nguyen, another responding to hashtag #7_Ngay_Thach_Thuc or #7DayChallengeVN, said she will not use plastic straws and single-use items, but re-usable shopping bags and eco-friendly products. 
 
“Such small things are things that the Earth is requiring,” Linh shared with the online community.
 
Behavior changes coming from small things by individuals can create huge benefits, said Hogberg.

“We have ideas, we have different initiatives. But most of all, it has to come from Vietnam, it comes from someone else. It comes from how we constantly innovate, renovate ourselves, in a way of finding ways of changing to adjust to become a more sustainable society,” said the Ambassador.

The seven-day Challenge – Eat, Move, and Live Sustainably also aimed to respond to the Earth Day 2018 (April 22) themed “End Plastic Pollution”. 

During the challenge, participants could eat vegan or choose locally-grown produce, travel by bicycles or go walking instead of riding vehicles with fossil fuel, or seek ways to save energy and reduce waste at home.

Tree planting model benefits local people in Tuyen Quang

Planting trees can both combat global warming and increase incomes of citizens. The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang has initiated a cooperative tree planting model, where paper companies work with local people to benefit both parties.

During the 2017 forestation season, Vu Van Xuan, from Tan Bien 2 village, Tien Bo commune, Yen Son district, TuyenQuang province has received more than 20,000 acacia trees from An Hoa Paper Corporation, enough to cover nine hectares. After a year of applying scientific methods, his acacia trees are now growing stronger than ever.

Vu Van Xuan, a resident in Tien Bo commune, Yen Son district, Tuyen Quang province told reporters: "Technical officers from An Hoa Paper Corporation have helped us tremendously in tree planting methods and provided seedling without any strings attached. We are thrilled to not have to pay huge sums of money for the seedlings, and the administrative procedures are quick thanks to the help of competent agencies."

After two years of implementation, the number of households enrolled in the program has reached 1,300 with forestation area up to 3,250 hectares. Other than providing seedlings, the company also helps out with expenses, and sends technical officers to moblise people planting trees for paper production.

Vu Thi Nhung, Director of An Hoa Paper Corporation said: "We also encourage local people to plant more trees and sell the wood pulp to the company". Besides providing seedlings, the wood pulp is also paid in cash so that local farmers have incentive to plant more trees, she added.

AnHoa Paper Corporation is one of five firms following the cooperatives forestation model with local farmers to support them in tree planting. From providing seedlings to purchasing the end products, this model has proven to be very effective in improving the livelihoods of local people.

According to Trieu Dang Khoa, Deputy Head of Tuyen Quang Forest Protection Department, connecting local people with paper companies has brought tremendous benefits to both parties. The whole point of this model is to raise the forestation area and increase the finances and the livelihoods of local people, said Khoa.

This is a sustainable way to promote the cooperative forestation model. It has created incentives for both locals and the companies which participate in the programme. Paper companies can purchase high quality wood pulps and local farmers can improve their income, and this acts as a way to protect the environment.

Programme honours outstanding people with disabilities

An art and exchange programme was held in Hanoi on April 16 to honour people with disabilities who manage to overcome their difficulties and become successful.

The event, themed “One heart – One world,” was also a chance to show gratitude to those who have worked with the Association in Support of Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans in assisting the disabled and orphans.

Participants at the event had opportunities to exchange with outstanding people with disabilities who own firms that create jobs for many others. 

Among them was Vo Van Son, born in 1984 and from Bo Trach district of the central province of Quang Binh. He is director of Duc Son company specialising in fishery logistics services with annual revenue of up to 20 billion VND and a profit of about 500 million VND. His firm employs 10 people whose income is 7 million VND per month each.

Visitors also learnt about Tran Kim Viet, born in 1990 in the central province of Ha Tinh. He set up Viet incubation company in 2014. After four years, his firm received investment of 1 billion VND, becoming the largest incubator of aquilaria tree in Ha Tinh, providing 10,000 trees to customers in and outside the country.

After 15 editions, the “One heart – One world” programme has become one of major activities of the Association in Support of Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans to strengthen solidarity and call for support for people with disabilities and orphans across the country.

During the programme, the organising board raised 20 billion VND for people with disabilities and orphans to help them improve their living quality and integrate into society.

The event was part of activities to mark the Vietnam Day for People with Disabilities (April 18).

That’s not my number(s)

Many "trash" SIM cards were used to send spam texts and fraud messages before being discarded with virtually no way to track the perpetrators.

A recent Government decision that requires mobile phone users to supply service providers with personal information has led to some grumbling over the hassle, but also given some people a nasty surprise as they learn that their ID cards were used to register several numbers with different service providers.

“I’m not ok with that at all. Not only it’s a serious breach of my privacy when my information was stolen and used without my consent, it’s also a security risk. What if someone used those numbers, which were under my name, to blackmail people or make death threats or to swindle? Would I be in trouble with the law, then?” said a very unhappy customer after he learned that his ID was used to register three different mobile phone numbers.

His worries are far from groundless. There are an absurd number of “trash” SIM cards in the country. An inspection carried out by service providers earlier this year revealed some 23 million, many of which were used to send spam texts and fraud messages before being discarded with virtually no way to track the perpetrators.

Further inspection of service providers’ customer database also led to less than reassuring revelations about how easy it is to activate a number. For instance, one single ID was found to have been used to activate more than 18,000 numbers.  It is hard to believe that it was done without the provider’s knowledge for such an action would raise a red flag in any database management system.

Mobile phone users in Việt Nam will have some time to submit their personal information again if they wish to keep their numbers. Among the many rules, they will be asked to send in a portrait photo. Hopefully this will come as a silver lining amid the bureaucratic burden for the many selfie-lovers out there. Finally, an actual use for years of selfies.

Rent-an-AC business in bloom

There are many rent-an-AC businesses in town. Most will charge around $25 per month while some may charge well over $40 for newer models and on-site services and repairs.

Summer is fast-approaching and before long the tropical heat will be in full swing.

It is a busy time for stores that sell air conditioners as people are gearing up for another hot summer. They are, however, quite pricey as even a basic model can set you back at least US$300.

Thinking about getting an air conditioner but worried about the high cost? Luckily, you can now rent an AC instead of buying one.

“It just makes sense. I don’t want to pay in full for something I will probably use for only two, three months a year. After the hottest months, we will just switch back to using fans to save on electricity,” said Trần Quốc Huy, a HCM City resident who just signed a contract on a two month rent of 2 AC units for his house.

There are many rent-an-AC businesses in the city. Most will charge about $25 per month while some may charge more than $40 for newer models and on-site services and repairs. Installation is free but renters are often asked to put down a deposit, which will be returned at the end of the rental period.

“We have a little boy over three years-old. He sleeps much better through the night with the AC on. We used rent-an-AC last year for three months. It costs us a bit more than $90, a fraction of the price for a new unit,” said Trần Kim Nguyên, a mother from District 4 in HCM City, “We decided we would go with it this year, too.”

Should you find it’s time to replace that old and noisy AC unit on the wall, maybe take a moment to think whether it is better to rent one or to buy one. You won’t have to clean them often, either. That must count as a plus for the rent-an-AC businesses, right?