Hau River linked by new canal in Tra Vinh Province

The Ministry of Transport and the southern Tra Vinh Province's People's Committee on Wednesday held a ceremony to open the waterway leading to the Hau River, making it navigable for large vessels.

"The waterway is the only one in the country's south-western region that is capable of handling vessels of up to 20,000 tonnes, meeting the demand for the export and import of 22 to 30 million tonnes of goods per year in the Mekong River Delta region," Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said.

He said the opening of the waterway was expected to contribute to reducing transport prices and the traffic pressure on roads.

The construction of the 46.5km waterway started in 2009, but it was suspended in January 2013 due to funds problems.

In early 2014, the work resumed with a total investment of nearly VND9.8 trillion (US$435.5 million).

During the first phase, dredging work and the building of breakwaters and ferry were completed.

The construction of sea walls, roads connecting the residents along the waterway and the barge port will continue in the second phase in 2016.

On the same day, the transport ministry organised a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of upgrading four sections of National Highway 60, which connects Rach Mieu and Co Chien bridges in the southern Ben Tre Province.

The road is being built under a BOT (build-operate-transfer) model for a total investment of more than VND1.8 trillion ($80 million).

The first section will be 24m wide, consisting of six vehicle lanes, while the rest will be 12m wide with two vehicle lanes.

The investor will use the toll station on Rach Mieu Bridge to collect toll for 24 years to recover its capital.

Labour Ministry drafts rules for senior citizens

Senior citizen workers – men 60 and older and women 55 and older – can continue working in difficult, harmful or dangerous conditions for five years maximum, the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs proposed in a draft decree that aims to solidify the Law on Occupational Safety and Health.

Under the draft, in order to continue working, the workers must obtain health records issued by lawful agencies proving that they are healthy enough to stay on at their jobs.

In addition, they must have working experience of at least 15 years, including at least 10 years doing difficult, harmful and dangerous jobs. In some cases, skilled senior citizen workers are granted the title "artisans" by the Government and must pass a test before signing the labour contract, which allows them to continue working longer.

A Ministry of Labour list of occupations classified as difficult, harmful and dangerous includes more than 2,000 vocations in the fields of mining, chemicals, construction and food processing as well as workplaces with harsh outdoor conditions or high exposure to chemicals, dirt and pollution.

Employers who wish to hire senior citizens in these positions must submit proposals to the ministry that oversees their business. The proposal must include the job title, job description, working conditions, and the goal and impacts of the employment.

Employers must offer regular health checks to senior citizen employees, at least twice a year.

They also must assign at least one younger worker to work with the senior citizen worker.

Lawyer Le Van Dai from the Ha Noi Bar Association told chinhphu.vn that according to the Labour Code from 2012 and a Governmental decree, employers can extend labour contracts or sign a new one with senior citizens when the employees have proved their health eligibility through legal agencies. Otherwise, they must terminate the labour contracts.

In the event that they sign a new labour contract, the retired senior citizen will receive retirement pension, salary, allowance and other policies regulated in the contract, he said.

The employer will pay the workers not only a salary, but also a sum equal to their premium for social, health and unemployment insurance.

Sugercane cutters lead a hard life

Along the section of the East Truong Son highway that crosses the central highland Gia Lai Province, hundreds of makeshift shacks were being pitched on both sides of the road.

The shelters were inhabited by thousands of people who left their native villages from Binh Dinh and Phu Yen central provinces to work as employees on sugarcane farms.

At night, in a shack pitched in the middle of a sugarcane field in An Trung Commune, Gia Lai Province, 13 employees were asleep on a hammock.

Only a 35-year-old woman was still awake and trying to phone her child living in her native village of Binh Dinh Province's An Nhon Township.

"My husband and I have left my village for two months," Nguyen Thi Le Thu said. "Our only son, age eight, moved to stay with his grandmother."

Pham Ngoc Minh, Thu's husband, said that in early October, An Nhon villagers packed their bags with old cloths and sharpened machetes, then took a bus to the Central Highlands area.

For shelter, these sugarcane cutters had to tidy up an unused cow pen. The smell of sweat and manure filled their shelter.

"We are luckier than others," Minh said. "Many workers are spending the night sleeping on hammocks outdoors."

At noon in another makeshift tent, four women avoided the hot sunshine by wearing veils as they cook rice for the villagers in Phu Yen Province's Hoa Dinh Dong Commune.

The 3m-high temporary tents constructed from wood and covered with tarpaulin were pitched close to sugarcane gardens, and they provide shelter to hundreds of people for three or four months.Each tent has 15 to 20 hammocks.

"It's okay. It is only for sleeping at night," a male employee said.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet said, "We ate only dried fish and instant noodles to save money to shop for baby clothes during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year)."

By noon, hundreds of sugarcane cutters were working hard in the field.

A pregnant woman smiled under the scorching sun, explaining that the difficult labour was not the problem – it was the harsh sun and dry weather that made it nearly unbearable.

Most labourers in the cane fields were dealing with difficult circumstances. In their native village, some have no cultivation land and others are homeless.

Cane cutters agreed that the sick, elderly and pregnant women should stick to housework, while only men will work in the fields at noon and pile cane onto trucks in the evening.

Cane cutters' work was arranged according to a daily schedule: breakfast is served with a bowl of rice and dried fish, and then they work on the fields and have lunch there, heading home only at nightfall.

The cost of labour was VND180,000-200,000 ($9) per tonne of cane, and a healthy employee can cut at least two tonnes of cane per day, earning $18.

Nguyen Thi Chin, 63, left her native village in Phu Yen Province's An Ninh Tay Commune with her 24 year-old son.

"We haven't saved enough money for Tet , so we will work and come home two days before Lunar New Year's first day," she said.

In the evening, cane cutters sit together under kerosene lamps.

A man who spoke suddenly in a husky voice said, "If we had cultivation land at home, no one would work away from home. Children have grown up without their parents' care. They neglect their studies, have no stable jobs, and then they follow their parents to leave home for employment. It's a vicious circle of poverty."

Gift-giving activities ahead of Lunar New Year festival

A delegation of the Steering Committee for the Northwestern Region, led by its deputy head Hoang Thi Hanh, visited and presented 200 gifts to the poor and border guard soldiers in the northern province of Ha Giang on January 21.

Each gift worth 500,000 VND (22.7 USD) was granted to ethnic minority families living in need in Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi districts.

An aid worth 5 million VND (227 USD) was also given to each district’s authorities in preparation for the approaching Lunar New Year festival.

Also the same day, the Central Committee of the Red Cross Society (RCS) also handed over gifts totaling 25 million VND (1,130 USD) to 50 poor households in Ninh Hai district, the central province of Ninh Thuan.

It also coordinated with the provincial RCS chapter to hand over four kindergartens doubled as disaster-proof community houses, which were built at a cost of nearly 2.8 billion VND (127,000 USD), to Ninh Hai and Thuan Bac district authorities.

Vice President of the Vietnam Association of the Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) Nguyen The Luc also visited and offered financial assistance to 10 families of AO victims in the southern province of Soc Trang, each worth 10 million VND, as capital to develop household-based production.

The provincial VAVA chapter took the occasion to offer free health check-ups and medicines to over 1,300 people. As many as 400 portions of gifts, each worth 350,000 VND, reached the hands of AO/dioxin victims and the disabled.

On January 20-21, authorities of the southern province of Hau Giang gifted 300,000 VND to each poor household in the locality.

Gift-giving activities also took place in the southern province of Binh Phuoc and the northern province of Bac Giang.

Vietinbank signs social housing credit deal

The Vietnam Industrial Bank (Vietinbank) has agreed to provide funding worth 900 billion VND (40.18 million USD) for the Vesta social housing project in Hanoi.

The deal was signed between the bank and the Hai Phat Investment Joint Stock Company – the project investor in Hanoi on January 21.

The Vesta social housing project, also known as the Phu Lam residential project, will be built on a 4.5 hectare site in Ha Dong district.

The project, worth 2.3 trillion VND (102.68 million USD) will offer 1,902 apartments ranging between 48-69 square metres.

Customers who buy apartments in the project will also have access to other modern facilities in the complex as well as the Government’s 30-trillion-VND (1.34 billion USD) low-interest rate credit package.

Buddhism contributes to HIV/AIDS prevention

The implementation of the Buddhist Leadership Initiative on preventing and combating HIV/AIDS at pagodas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City was reviewed at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on January 21.

The programme began in 2002 with a view to reducing the discrimination against people living with the HIV/AIDS, especially children, while increasing community-based support for families having HIV/AIDS affected members.

The project has been operating in Ho Chi Minh City , Hanoi , Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang , and Tra Vinh.

Head of the VFF Central Committee’s Department of Religious Affairs Nguyen Van Thanh said the project has helped thousands of HIV-infected people access to community-based assistance services.

Pagodas in the localities where the programme operates, have also increased awareness-raising campaigns among people living with HIV/AIDS and popularised preventive measures.

Those such as Phap Van, Bo De ( Hanoi ); Ky Quang, Dieu Giac, Linh Son, Quang Tho ( Ho Chi Minh City ) have established a network of volunteers to help HIV people.

Le Hong Loan, a UNICEF representative said the engagement of Buddhist associations in the HIV/AIDS prevention has been significant in mitigating HIV/AIDS effects in Vietnam .

During the conference, participants also discussed effective measures to seek financial resources for the expansion of the project.

The Buddhist leadership Initiative is a cooperative programme between the United Nations’ Children Fund (UNICEF) and five Asian governments to promote the role played by religious leaders in their community’s response to HIV prevention.

Waste treatment plant built in Ben Tre

Construction of a waste treatment plant using bio-technology was started in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on January 21.

Built on a 5-ha area in Huu Dinh Commune, Chau Thanh District at a cost of 200 billion VND (8.8 million USD), the plant will be capable of processing 200 tonnes of waste a day to turn out bio-fertilizer.

The plant is scheduled to be completed in 18 months.

This will be the first modern waste treatment facility in Ben Tre province. Most wastes discharged in Ben Tre city and surrounding areas are dumped in a 6-hectare landfill in the city’s Phu Hung Commune. The landfill has become seriously overloaded, causing environmental pollution.

50 years of Ukraine – Vietnam Friendship Association marked in Kiev

The Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine hosted a get-together in Kiev capital on January 19 to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of the Ukraine – Vietnam Friendship Association.

The function was attended by the association’s Chairman A.V. Slapak – head of the advisory group to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, and Iu. I. Kovalev – First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade and head of the Ukrainian sub-committee of the Vietnam – Ukraine inter-governmental committee on economic – trade and scientific – technical cooperation.

In his speech, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Minh Tri highly valued the association’s great contributions to the two countries’ amity and cooperation over the past five decades.

The Soviet Union – Vietnam Friendship Association’s Ukraine chapter, which is now the Ukraine – Vietnam Friendship Association, was founded on January 19, 1966. The association since then has marshaled the Ukrainian people’s whole-hearted and effective support of Vietnam’s national protection struggles and post-war reconstruction, he noted.

In recent years, it has diversified activities to foster the traditional friendship and win-win cooperation between the nations in all realms, he said, wishing that the association will reap more achievements for the sake of the two nations.

At the get-together, Chairman Slapak reviewed the 50-year history of the association and highlighted the Ukrainian people’s sentiment towards their Vietnamese peers.

He added the association is planning several activities in 2016 to popularise the image of Vietnam and late President Ho Chi Minh in Ukraine so as to boost bilateral economic, trade and cultural relations.

Other Ukrainian participants also appreciated the association’s efforts and expressed their willingness to work with the association to reinforce the time-honoured friendship and all-round partnership between the two countries.

Seaweed project funded to improve local livelihood

The Global Environment Facility agreed to fund a project on effectively managing and sustainably exploiting sargassum in Nha Trang City of central Khanh Hoa province in an effort to improve female locals’ livelihood.

The project will be implemented by the Women’s Union in Vinh Nguyen commune in the city from January onwards at an estimated cost of 1.3 billion VND (58,000 USD).

It is intended to adopt community-led responses to climate change and enhance the biodiversity conservation in the buffer zones of the marine protected area of Nha Trang Bay.

Some 14.5 hectares of sargassum growing areas will be developed in Bai Ran – Hon Tre alongside other 9 hectares in southern coast of Hon Tre island.

The Nha Trang Institute of Technology Research and Application successfully tested the technology of growing sargassum in Nha Trang Bay for commercial purposes in 2014. The technology has been transferred to the local community.

It is estimated that Khanh Hoa is home to approximately 1,170 hectares of natural sargassum, mainly distributed in Nha Phu Lagoon and the bays of Van Phong, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh.

The province is capable of producing more than 7,300 tonnes of dried sargassum per year.

Sargassum, a genus of brown seaweed, is a material for food and pharmaceutical industries.

Tuyen Quang: six suspension bridges put into use

Six suspension bridges have been put into service in flood-prone areas in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang, facilitating local people’s travel and trade exchange with neighbouring regions.

The bridges, two in Chiem Hoa district, two in Son Duong district, one in Yen Son district and one in Phuc Yen district, were built under the Ministry of Construction’s project on building suspension bridges in 28 provinces in the north, central and Central Highlands regions.

The construction received supports from local people as solid bridges have been their dream for a long time. Not only do the bridges change the lives of residents in disadvantaged areas, it also shortens the road to schools for mountainous students.

According to Tran Viet Cuong, an official from the provincial Department of Transport, the construction was completed ahead of schedule thanks to speedy land clearance process.

He added that some 132 existing bridges in the province need repair with estimated cost of 275 billion VND (12.27 million USD).

In a field trip to the province in late 2015, the World Bank (WB)’s Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said that the WB is working with the Vietnamese Government on the second phase of the suspension bridge building project in disadvantaged areas.

The WB will splash out 250 million USD on bridge construction in 50 provinces and cities, including Tuyen Quang, she highlighted.

Some 4,000 bridges are expected to be built during 2015-2017, funded from the WB’s loans.

Statistics from the transport ministry indicate that there are about 1,950 suspension bridges in Vietnam. About 810 operational bridges - roughly 40 percent - have shown signs of erosion and rust. Up to 94 percent of them are located on roads connecting villages and communes.

Hau River navigable for large vessels

The Hau River in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has now become navigable for large vessels.

The Ministry of Transport held a ceremony in the province on January 20 to open the waterway, which is 46.5 km long and worth over 9.7 trillion VND (436.5 million USD).

Deputy Minister Nguyen Nhat said the waterway will be capable of serving vessels of up to 20,000 tonnes and will handle 21-22 million tonnes of goods per year, as well as 450,000-500,000 TEU container ships per annum, through to 2020.

The construction of the waterway commenced in 2009, but it was put on hold from January 2013. In early 2014, the National Assembly approved to restart the project.

Ministry issues directives on medical services during Tet

The health ministry has asked hospitals and health clinics of cities and provinces to ensure that all patients in emergency cases receive timely treatment during the lunar New Year Festival.

In case of special patients who need to be moved to central specialised hospitals, the hospitals and health clinics in localities must give initial emergency treatment and give full explanation to the patients and their families. All refusals or delay in giving treatment will be strictly dealt with.

The document signed by Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said leaders of hospitals, specialised doctors and doctors associated with hotlines, as well as security guards should be on round-the-clock duty during the holiday. The names of the health staff on duty must be put up on the information board of the hospital.

Hospitals and health clinics have also been asked to prepare for mass food poisoning cases, traffic accidents and epidemics, such as of the A/H7N9 influenza, A/H5N1, Ebola and MER-CoV, besides influenza A (H5N1), dengue fever, measles and rubella infections, as well as diarrhea caused by rotavirus that might happen in the winter-spring period.

These units should prepare plans to store drugs, fluids and chemicals and mobilise hospital beds, emergency vehicles and medical aid to guarantee emergency treatment and isolation of patients as per current regulations.

Health clinics at the grassroots levels in communes and districts must strengthen epidemiological surveillance to prevent the spread of epidemics.

Health staff at international border gates have been asked to closely examine visitors from infected areas, and isolate suspect cases and handle them in a timely manner.

The establishment of mobile teams in preventive health centres in districts will be necessary to handle disease outbreaks.

Hospitals and health clinics must prepare adequate chemical supplies and equipment, especially for diseases such as hand, foot and mouth disease, dengue fever and influenza. The ministry has requested the drug administration to ensure adequate supply of medicines and sustainability of drug prices.

The ministry has also asked health staff to pay attention to patients in hospitals during Tet, especially those from poor and disadvantaged communities.

Forum scheduled to prepare for Paris Agreement implementation

Heads of international development partners will be invited to a high-level policy forum which is slated for March, 2016 to prepare for Vietnam’s implementation of the Paris Agreement 2015, according to Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The National Committee on Climate Change (NCCC) and foreign development partners, will look to carry out the agreement on the target of enhancing global response to the urgent threats of climate change, which was approved by involved parties at the 21 st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21).

Vietnam’s key partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, the UK and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, are ready to support the country in building action plans to implement the deal.

Technical meetings between relevant ministries, partners and experts are scheduled during the policy forum, to increase mutual understanding of the agreement’s impacts on Vietnam.

A joint statement on methods ensuring Vietnam’s readiness to perform the deal will be reached between the NCCC and foreign partners at the forum. It will be a significant basis for Vietnam to build a specific action plan upon, while orienting the implementation of the deal in the years to come.

On December 12, 2015, representatives from 195 nations approved a historical accord in Paris to stop global warning and usher in an energy revolution.

The Paris accord sets a target of limiting warming of the planet to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius. To do so, emissions of greenhouse gases will need to peak “as soon as possible”, followed by rapid reductions.

Developed countries agreed to provide at least 100 billion USD a year from 2020, to help developing countries.

Fire safety during Tet made a priority

There is a high risk of fire and explosions during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, according to the Department of Fire Prevention and Control, Rescue and Salvage.

The warning comes after a series of blazes at markets and apartment buildings nationwide over the past year including serious blasts at Phu Ly Market in northern Ha Nam Province, Cau Ong Lanh Market in HCM City's District 1, Ha Noi-based Quang Minh industrial park and block CT4A of Xa La apartment buildings in Ha Noi's Ha Dong District.

According to the department, the incidents were caused by low levels of humidity which makes materials dry and makes them a fire hazard.

In addition, traders burned votive paper at markets, which is also a fire risk.

Ha Noi is home to many big markets. The municipal People's Committee has directed the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department to check fire prevention measures of all markets in the city.

The department will co-operate with local people's committees to suspend the operation of markets where fire safety is not ensured.

To Xuan Thieu, deputy director of the city's Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department, said that locals and enterprises must raise their fire safety awareness.

He said that owners of production bases and investors and management boards of apartment quarters must maintain fire prevention measures and equipment regularly.

To prepare for Tet, HCM City's Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department have launched a hotline at (08)-39200996.

The city also published personal telephone numbers of two deputy directors of the department as well as 30 heads and deputy heads of units under the department.

Statistics from the Department of Fire Prevention and Control, Rescue and Salvage showed that last year, there were nearly 2,800 blazes across the country, killing 62 people and injuring 264 people. Total damaged property was up to VND1.5billion (US$66,700).

Meanwhile, in HCM City, the municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Police Department also plans to conduct more fire-safety inspections at enterprises this year.

"For the upcoming Lunar New Year, the department strongly recommends that every resident, organisation and enterprise become more vigilant about fire threats," the department's director Colonel Le Tan Buu said.

About 1,650 accidents occurred last year because of fires, explosions and rescue events in HCM City, with eight deaths and 46 injuries.

Firefighters rescued 117 people and discovered the bodies of 53 people who had died during the accidents.

Electrical faults were the main cause for 83 per cent of residential fires, which represented 50 per cent of all fires.

"The number of big fires was small. Ninety-five per cent of property losses were private residential fires," Colonel Buu said.

Last year, the department organised 2,200 firefighting and prevention training courses for nearly 65,000 people, and assisted local authorities to set up more 461 local fire fighting and prevention teams with 8,000 members.

The department also conducted fire-prevention investigations at nearly 80,000 organisations, enterprises, apartments and residential areas. They found that half of them were in danger of explosions or fires.

Inspectors found over 9,550 violations and handed out 8,345 fines totalling VND10 billion (US$460,000). Four of the inspected locations were permanently closed, seven were suspended and 33 were given warnings.

HCMC customs reaches targets

The HCM City customs department collected taxes worth nearly VND94 trillion (US$4.25 billion) last year, a 5 per cent year-on-year increase, accounting for 36 per cent of the entire country-wide revenue.

"Last year 48 per cent of imports came from nations having free trade agreements with Viet Nam, and they enjoyed very low taxes," Le Duc Loi, deputy head of the city customs department, said while delivering the yearly report at a meeting on Friday.

"Tax on petrol reduced sharply and with much evasion, tax collection dropped.

"Thanks to the doubling of imports of cars with fewer than nine seats, customs could collect VND17.6 trillion ($800 million) comparing with VND8.5 trillion ($380 million) in 2014, and that helped customs achieve the year's plan."

In 2015 the customs department achieved another important goal of recovering VND750 ($34 million) in long-term tax debts, 116.5 per cent of the amount targeted.

In modernising customs procedures, an e-manifest for ships carrying import and export goods has replaced the multiple procedures in place earlier.

In HCM City there are 52 shipping companies and 489 agents registered to file e-manifests.

Air and road transport will switch over to it in future.

Last year customs officials discovered nearly 2,300 cases of smuggling involving goods worth VND221 billion besides confiscating 43.5kg cocaine and 18kg of other drugs.

They checked 20,700 containers, achieving 116 per cent of the target.

"Limited human resources, sophisticated smuggling methods, and frauds committed with the connivance of customs officials are weaknesses," Loi said.

This year the department hopes to collect taxes worth VND102.5 trillion ($4.65 billion), a year-on-year increase of 9.1 per cent, combat smuggling and trade fraud, improve personnel management, review and publicly announce customs procedures, and strengthen use of IT.

Cities, consumers choose safe food outlets as Tet approaches

As Tet (Lunar New Year) and the season of family meals approaches, meat and vegetables with clear origin belonging to safe food chains have been wise choices of many consumers in big cities.

HCM City has put food safety on the agenda by launching a safe food chain project.

Safe food chains feature strict adherence with food safety and hygiene regulations from the farm to the dining table.

Nearly 300 outlets selling meat, chicken eggs, vegetables and fruits meeting Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (Viet GAP) standards have been erected at supermarkets and food stores around the city. The move is aimed to eliminate the provision of contaminated food, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

Viet GAP standards are based on four criteria: disease control, environmental protection, social welfare, and traceability, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Head of the city's Veterinary Department Phan Xuan Thao affirmed that poultry and cattle in the safety food chains must not be fed with banned agricultural substances and must be slaughtered at facilities with hygiene certificates. These certificate are valid for one year.

Sai Gon Aquatic Product Trading JSC is one enterprise part of safe food chains in HCM City. The company is expected to provide large volume of aquaculture products to Southern markets during the holiday. The companies fish products are distributed in domestic markets and exported to the European Union (EU) or South Korea.

Ta Thi Le Thu, deputy head of technique and quality management department at the company said fish farming must follow strict regulations, especially in regards to the amount of antibiotics in aquaculture.

Fish breeding selection must also be quarantined by veterinarians.

Twice every month, technicians check fish quality to ensure the level of antibiotics does not exceed the allowed level. The fish are only eligible for processing and distribution after being tested, she said.

This year, in the run up to the biggest festival of the year, the number of consumers choosing clean and safe food has surged compared to last year, Nguyen Tien Hung, director of Big Green Company, a "green" food provider told Tri Thuc Tre (Young Intellectual) online newspaper.

To meet consumer demand during Tet, his company has prepared more than 1,000 green-skin grapefruits, 1,000 Dien grapefruits and tonnes of Hoa Loc mangoes, in addition to traditional products such as chicken, fish and fruits, he said.

Pigs raised with biotech

To assure supply of safe food for residents in Ha Noi, the city has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and agricultural departments of 20 other provinces and cities across the country.

The plan focuses food supplied from suburban areas to diversify supply sources.

Organically raised pigs are one example of diversified supply.

Ngo Xuan Cuong, a farmer from Cam Dinh Commune of Ha Noi's Phuc Tho District, breeds as many as 1,500 pigs. His pigs only eat bananas, corn and other vegetables which are cultivated in an area of more than 100 hectares around his farm.

He said the rearing process for the pigs had been recorded since the pigs were small until they were sold.

Upon inspections, Tran Thanh Mau, head of the district's veterinary station confirmed that the pig cages and slaughter area in Cuong's farm were separated from other areas.

Mau said that the farm had been certified for hygienic breeding, slaughtering and processing.

Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality of Viet Nam also granted a code to these biotech pork products to distinguish them from other products in the market.

Cuong said that 500 pigs which weigh 40kg each were ready to be sold to the city market for Tet festival.

In a recent meeting with Ha Noi authorities, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam highlighted the necessity of co-operation among local authorities, enterprises and farmers to develop safe food chains, especially during the action month for food safety and hygiene which lasts until February.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri