Farmers earn high profits from organic cocoa cultivation techniques

The use of advanced farming techniques has resulted in high profits for organic cocoa farmers in the southern province of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu.

Trương Ngọc Lâm, who intercrops cocoa and pepper, durian and mangosteen on a 0.9ha orchard in Châu Đức District’s Xà Bang Commune, has harvested 2.5 tonnes of dried cocoa beans annually in recent years.

Lâm, a member of the Xà Bang Agricultural Services and Trade Co-operative, has earned VNĐ60,000 (US$2.6) a kilo for cocoa beans, earning a profit of VNĐ100 million ($4,280) a year.

Farmers of cocoa trees, which require less tending than other plants, have had stable outlets and high selling prices in recent years, according to Lâm.

“All cocoa beans of our co-operative’s members are guaranteed outlets by a processing company,” he said.

The co-operative has 20 members who grow a total of 30ha of organic cocoa.

Trịnh Văn Thành, director of the co-operative, said farmers follow UTZ standards, including irrigation, fertilisation, and note-taking during the planting process.

In Xà Bang Commune, the Châu Đức Organic Cocoa Co-operative, established last year, has 30 members planting a total of 70ha of organic cocoa.  

The co-operative members earn a profit of VNĐ100 million per ha a year.

Nguyễn Ngọc Linh, chairman of the Châu Đức District Farmers Association, said the district had identified cocoa as one of its key plants.

The district, which produces cocoa with international standards, has also invested in cocoa processing to increase value, which has resulted in better sales to processing companies.

Processors make many kinds of products. Thành Đạt T-S-M Chocolate Co., Ltd in Xà Bang Commune, for instance, has produced cocoa power, cocoa butter, cacao liquor and chocolate products. The company’s products have been exported to the Netherlands and the US.

It also exports about 29 tonnes of cocoa nibs and cocoa mass a month to South Korea and Japan.

In previous years, many cocoa farmers in the province had switched to other plants like pepper. However, stable outlets for cocoa in recent years have led to higher incomes for farmers.

Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, which is one of the country’s largest cocoa producers, has about 1,200ha of cocoa, mostly in Châu Đức, Xuyên Mộc and Tân Thành districts where the soil and weather conditions are favourable for planting cocoa. Of the figure, an annual yield of 300 tonnes are produced on 500ha.

The province’s cocoa trees are mostly TD3, TD6 and TD9 varieties which produce a high yield of three tonnes per ha.

About 90 per cent of the province’s cocoa are intercropped with other trees like cashew and grapefruit.   

Compared to other localities, cocoa grown in the province has a higher quality, according to experts. 

HCM City Innovation and Startup Week launched

The 2018 Ho Chi Minh City Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Week (WHISE 2018), the city’s biggest startup event of the year, was launched on October 15, with the aim of promoting innovation and startups in the city.

A conference on HCMGIS PLATFORMS - GIS application platform for HCM City and a launching ceremony of a contest to seek HCMGIS solutions and products 2018 kicked off the week which lasts through October 19. 

The annual event was jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Finnish Embassy in Vietnam.

At the conference, the city’s Department of Science and Technology announced a programme and plan to carry out HCMGIS from now to 2020 with the introduction of some outstanding GIS applications.

Nguyen Khac Thanh, Deputy Director of the department, stressed the role of GIS in smart city building, including the construction of a database centre, saying that the department is willing to cooperate with enterprises to develop HCMGIS applications.

Also on the occasion, the department launched a contest to seek GIS solutions and products as well as related technologies to solve the city’s reality towards building the southern hub into the country’s smart and innovative urban centre.

The same day, a workshop on communication adapts Industry 4.0 was held.

Within the WHISE 2018 framework, a series of seminars, a technology exhibition and a technology, equipment and environment solutions will be held.

Furthermore, the final rounds and award ceremony of “IOT solutions for Smart Cities”, “innovation in high-tech agricultural production”, the Creative Idea Contest (CIC) 2018 and the Innovative Startups in Tourism contests will also be held.

Sport tournament connects overseas Vietnamese in Republic of Korea

The first Gwangju – Jeonnam sport tournament took place in Gwangju city, the Republic of Korea (RoK) last weekend, attracting nearly 1,000 Vietnamese expatriates living in the area.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, president of the association of overseas Vietnamese in the Gwangju – Jeonnam region Nguyen Viet Phong said the event aims at creating a healthy playground for and building solidarity among the expat community. 

Participants can meet up and together participate in various sports, including football, tug of war, relay race, and arm wrestling competitions, he added.

First Secretary of the Embassy of Vietnam in the RoK Cao Minh Duc expressed his hope that more communal activities will be held to cement the community of overseas Vietnamese in Gwangju – Jeonnam.

As part of the event, individuals with outstanding achievement in working and studying as well as significant contributions to the community in the region were honoured.

Currently, more than 150,000 Vietnamese people are living and working in the RoK, with one third being guest workers. The number is increasing fast together with strong development of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the RoK, particularly in people-to-people diplomacy.

Gathering celebrates German National Day in Hanoi

Chairman of the VGFA Nguyen Chi Dung and German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian Berger (centre, from right) take a photo with musical performers at the gathering (Photo: dangcongsan.vn)

The Vietnam – Germany Friendship Association (VGFA) held a get-together in Hanoi on October 11 to mark the 28th anniversary of German National Day (October 3).

Speaking at the event, Minister of Planning and Investment and Chairman of the VGFA Nguyen Chi Dung said it is an annual activity to allow members to meet and seek partnerships.

Dung noted today’s fruitful Vietnam – Germany ties are based on the firm foundation of traditional and multifaceted relations. 

He pointed to a key connection between the two nations, namely the more than 100,000 German-speaking Vietnamese in Vietnam and nearly 130,000 Vietnamese living in Germany.

The official said the VGFA has worked to improve its performance to diversify people-to-people activities and pledged to contribute more to Vietnam – Germany relations.

These ties have great potential to thrive further, particularly in economy, trade and investment, he added.

Germany is the biggest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe. 

This year so far, Vietnam – Germany trade has hit about 3.5 billion USD. German-invested projects in Vietnam have amounted to 286, with total registered capital surpassing 1.4 billion USD.

German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian Berger said his embassy will continue supporting the operation of the VGFA in conducting people-to-people exchanges, thus enhancing bilateral relations.

Applications for 2019 Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program open

The US Mission to Vietnam is seeking candidates for the 2019 Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP).

Students in Grades 10 and 11 at Vietnamese high schools who demonstrate leadership through academic work, community involvement and extracurricular activities, and proficiency in English are invited to apply for the program. Up to five scholarships are available for Vietnamese students.

The application deadline is 11:59pm on Sunday, December 9.

Funded by the US Department of State, SEAYLP is an exchange program to advance the strategic goals of fostering civil society and good governance and cultivating a more cohesive ASEAN community identity by engaging promising young leaders.

SEAYLP brings together high school students from the ten ASEAN member countries for a three-week US-based exchange program focused on leadership and youth development, to explore shared challenges faced by the US and ASEAN member countries.

These challenges are explored through the three pillars of the ASEAN community: political and security cooperation, economic skills-building (through the exchange’s project development), and socio-cultural leadership (through hands-on activities, workshops, seminars, and site visits to foster greater communication).

The exchange will take place in April 2019 at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Participants are required to implement follow-on projects that serve the needs of their communities in the months that follow their return home.

Participant costs for program administration, international and domestic travel, housing, and food are covered by the US Department of State.

Vinh Airport to receive $13.2 million upgrade

A corner of Vinh International Airport in the central province of Nghệ An.

Vinh International Airport in the central province of Nghệ An is set to receive a VNĐ3 trillion (US$13.2 million) upgrade, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and People’s Committee of Nghệ An announced on Wednesday.

The project will include a second terminal covering 16,500sq.m and designed to serve five million passengers per year with total investment capital of VNĐ1.68 trillion.

An apron in front of the terminal with the capacity for nine planes will also be built at an estimated cost of VNĐ1 trillion, while the conveyor, elevator and existing apron will all be upgraded.

Work is expected to start by the end of the second quarter of 2019 and be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020.

Chairman of Nghệ An People’s Committee Thái Thanh Quý said that Vinh International Airport had seven routes, including two international flights.

He said the airport received about 34 flights a day. In the first nine months of 2018, it welcomed around 1.44 million passengers.

“The airport is overloaded, so it’s difficult to meet the demand for international routes, especially during the peak periods. The provincial authorities have requested the relevant sectors and departments to complete site clearance before October 30 this year.

“We have also asked the ACV to speed up procedures and approve a detailed construction plan by December this year,” Quý said.

Vinh Airport plays an important role in the development of the North Central region, of which Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces have high demand for travel, tourism and investment attraction.

Embassy Education officially launched in Vietnam

Bui Vu Thanh (Thanh Bui) - founder of Embassy Education Group, Dr. Nguyen Thi Quynh Lam – president of Embassy Education Group, and their international partners pose for a group photo at the launch ceremony of the group - PHOTO: COURTESY OF EMBASSY EDUCATION

Embassy Education Group was officially launched in Vietnam at a press conference on October 10. The event also marked its strategic collaboration with educational partners from across the globe, which include Reggio Children (Italy), Harvard Graduate School of Education - Project Zero (U.S.), University of Turku - a member of Finland University (Finland), and 180 Studio (U.S.).

Following its official launch, Embassy Education in collaboration with some of the top educational institutions, educators, researchers and practitioners from around the globe will address the future of learning and the need to re-imagine learning in the 21st century at the two-day Seed & Spark Summit on October 11 and 12 at the Novotel Saigon Centre.

This event is part of a series of educational activities to be conducted by the Embassy Education Group to bring updates in the world of education to Vietnam. Through the planting of seeds and the lighting of sparks, Embassy Education hopes to equip the young generation to become the future ambassadors for life, who preserve their local values, continue to be proud of their Vietnamese identity and assert themselves as true global citizens.

Embassy Education Group provides a continuum of learning, through an integrated learning experience that guides young people, from preschool all the way through high school and beyond, on how to pursue lives of fulfillment and purpose.

Sharing his vision for the establishment of Embassy Education, Bui Vu Thanh, founder of the group, said: "The world will continue to change, and we don't know what the future will look like, but if we equip our children with strong core values: respect, integrity, understanding and responsibility, I believe that this will build ambassadors for the country, who are also true global citizens."

The Embassy Education Group consists of Little Embassy (Little Em’s), the first and only network of official Reggio Children Preschools in Vietnam providing early childhood education for children aged 2 to 6 years old; and Royal Embassy Academy, a network of K-12 Academies offering the full International Baccalaureate (IB) program that is arts and sports integrated. Other key stakeholders are Global Embassy, a group providing consultation, guidance and support services with qualified and experienced practitioners, for students and parents, helping them to find the right fit and what’s best for them, including international schools, universities and vocational opportunities; and Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy (SMPAA), Vietnam’s leading music and performing arts academy providing international music and performing arts curricula.

Professor Claudia Giudici, president of Reggio Children, said: "Creativity is a quality of thought that belongs to all children - the future ambassadors of the country. Our role is to create conditions and environments where creativity is awakened and nurtured.”

The conditions and the environments that Professor Claudia Giudici mentions have a strong focus on Creative Education through the Reggio Emilia Approach, which helps to develop the potentials of each individual child. This is also one of the important aspects that Embassy Education will focus on, equipping young Vietnamese children with the conditions, environments and core values, that build on their strengths and inspire each student to discover their unique voice, potential, future path and above all, developing them to become the best version of themselves.

Harvard Project Zero (PZ), another of Embassy Education’s key partners, has also been a cornerstone in the development of the Embassy Education Vision and Mission. Harvard Project Zero has selected Embassy Education to become part of an official research project titled “Global Competencies”.
Activities respond to Day for the Poor

Various activities will be held across the country in response to the Day for the Poor in Vietnam (October 17) and an action month for the poor.

Accordingly, an action month calling for the joint efforts of the entire country to support the poor will be launched in Hanoi on October 17 by the Vietnam Father Front Central Committee.

Agencies, organisations, and individuals at home and abroad, who have provided significant support for the poor and the disadvantaged in their residential areas, will be honoured at the launch ceremony.

A range of activities will be held during the action month to honour exemplary districts, communes, and households who have recorded positive performances in poverty reduction, as well as encouraging further support from businesses, agencies, and individuals in order to help the poor.

The Ministry of Information and Communications will launch a text messaging campaign, in which people can send a text message to the National Humanity Portal at 1400 to donate 20,000 VND to the poor.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs will coordinate with ministries and sectors to organise a conference honouring outstanding localities and examples of poverty reduction for the 2016-2020 period, and an awards ceremony to grant press awards on the poverty reduction efforts.

More than 50 trillion VND (nearly 2.15 billion USD) was donated to the National Fund for the Poor and social welfare programmes in localities nationwide from December 2000 to September 2018.

The money has been used to build and repair nearly 1.5 million houses for poor households across the country and to implement thousands of projects and social welfare programmes targeting the poor.

EU-supported justice, legal empowerment programme launched

The EU justice and legal empowement programme in Vietnam was launched on October 12 (Photo: daibieunhandan.vn)

A programme for justice and legal empowerment in Vietnam supported by the European Union (EU) was launched in Hanoi on October 12.

The launching ceremony was attended by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Ambassador Bruno Angelet – head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative to Vietnam Kamal Malhotra, officials of the Vietnamese Government, and representatives of UN agencies taking part in the prorgamme.

The programme aims to enhance the building of the socialist rule of law through a more reliable and accessible judicial system. It targets vulnerable groups, especially women, children, ethnic minority people and low-income earners, to help them deal with difficulties in using public services in the judicial system to exercise their legitimate rights under legal regulations.

It features two components with the first to be implemented by the programme managing board of the Ministry of Justice in coordination with the UNDP, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). This focuses on providing technical support to and enhancing the capacity of some agencies and organisations of the Vietnamese Government.

The second will assist the organisations founded and operating legally under Vietnam’s law to carry out activities supporting Vietnamese citizens’ access to justice.

Participants in the programme include representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association, the Vietnam Bar Federation, and some localities.

The programme will be carried out from 2018 through 2020.

National congress of Vietnamese Catholics opens in Hanoi

At the congress 

The seventh national congress of Vietnamese Catholics building and protecting the homeland for the 2018-2023 tenure opened in Hanoi on October 13. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh sent baskets of flowers to the congress. 

Addressing the event, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man praised the enthusiastic response of Catholics to patriotic movements, and outstanding individuals and residential areas in economic development, poverty reduction and fight against social bad deeds. 

The VFF leader expressed his hope that the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (CSVC) will renew its operation and successfully implement the action programme set for 2018-2023. 

He called on the VFF’s chapters and member organisations, and Catholic associations and dioceses to pay more attention to patriotic movements among Catholics. 

In his remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh affirmed the Party and State’s consistent policy of respecting and ensuring the freedom of belief and religion of all people, creating conditions for religious organisations to operate in accordance with the Constitution and law; and encouraging religious dignitaries and followers to actively contribute to national construction and defence. 

He also urged the CSVC to successfully perform its role of gathering Catholics at home and abroad, while working to ensure legitimate rights and interests of Catholic followers and organisations. 

On this occasion, outstanding Catholic individuals and organisations were honoured for their contributions to patriotic movements and national construction and defence.  

The congress elected the 147-member committee for the 2018-2023 led by Priest Tran Xuan Manh. 

According to the CSVC, over the years, thanks to patriotic movements, many business models of Catholics have shown high economic efficiency. 

The models have mainly focused on shifting the structure of farms and large-scale handicraft production, along with the establishment of businesses, the committee said. 

Charitable and humanitarian activities have also been scaled up, with classes for street children and people with disabilities, care for leprosy and AIDS patients, fundraising for poor people and support for disaster-hit citizens. 

The CSVC has set up a network covering 42 cities and provinces nationwide.

Campaign launched in HCM City to prevent measles, HFM outbreak

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien (purple shirt) inspects measles vaccine injection

 

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has asked hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City to detect, classify and isolate patients with measles, dengue fever or hand-foot-mouth (HFM) disease to avoid cross-contamination.

Tien made the request at the launching ceremony of a campaign in HCM City on October 12 to prevent possible outbreaks during the peak season for these infections. The campaign, jointly kicked off by the Ministry of Health and the municipal People’s Committee, aims to mobilise the entire healthcare system and community.

The minister called on local hospitals to strengthen preventive measures to control the spread of disease. She also asked media to provide information about preventive measures to raise awareness about those diseases among the community.

The campaign is urging everyone to wash their hands regularly with water and soap, disinfect homes, schools and public playgrounds, and get vaccinations against measles.

Authorised agencies should closely monitor the situation in schools and take steps to prevent the spread of dengue fever, Tien said.

With a high population density and many migrant workers, the city has favourable conditions for the development of many infectious diseases.

Hospitals in the city regularly receive many severe cases from neighbouring provinces.

About 40-50 percent of all infections at Pediatrics Hospital 1, Pediatrics Hospital 2, HCM City Pediatrics Hospital and HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases are from neighbouring provinces.

In the first nine months of the year, HFM disease and dengue fever have a significant decrease in the number of cases in the city. The city recorded 3,678 in-patient cases and 14,714 out-patient cases of HFM, with a decrease of 21 percent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the number of dengue fever cases fell 14 percent against the same period last year, with 13,127 in-patient cases and 8,106 out-patient cases.

The city has recorded 143 fever and rash cases, with 46 of those testing positive for measles. Its health sector is expanding the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology for disease surveillance. Currently, measles vaccines are being offered free for children born in 2016 and 2017 in the city.

The city is also offering free measles-rubella combination vaccines for children aged three to five. It is home to 319 medical stations, 13 hospitals and more than 100 vaccination facilities.