Conversations on Vietnam Development
October 24, 2017
Tri Nguyen, CEO of MimosaTEK, was born and raised in Dalat, a city in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, where the land is mountainous and fertile. He grew up surrounded by local farmers who planted a rich variety of products — from bell peppers and flowers to coffee and bananas. Tri moved to Ho Chi Minh City to work in the information technology sector as a young man, but when the opportunity came, he decided to return to his roots and start a strawberry farm with his friends in Dalat.
Tri turned to the local farmers to learn everything he could about growing strawberries. But he kept hearing something that didn’t seem right: The farmers instructed him to irrigate until water dripped out of the soil when he picked it up in his hands.
Tri did some research that confirmed his instincts: The farmers didn’t need to be using that much water. But when he told his neighbors, they insisted on continuing to overwater their crops. It was how they were taught and how they had farmed all their lives.
“I realized then that the farmers based their decisions on experiences instead of scientific data,” says Tri.
Smallholder and family farmers in Dalat water their crops based on what they see and feel. They don’t consult data on the weather or rainfall because they were never taught to do so. This is leading to excessive irrigation, which can stunt growth or kill crops, and deplete limited groundwater. Furthermore, Vietnam is still recovering from its strongest-ever drought, and every drop counts. Many of Dalat’s farmers are already suffering from water shortages. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam’s Homegrown System for Saving Water”
NN 16/11/2017, 14:30 (GMT+7) Xuất nhập khẩu, công nghiệp, các khu kinh tế, đô thị được tầu tư phát triển rầm rộ nhưng Lạng Sơn cũng là một trong số các tỉnh thường xuyên phải xin Chính phủ gạo cứu đói cho nhân dân…
Theo thống kê, 9 tháng của năm 2017, tổng thu ngân sách nội địa trên địa bàn tỉnh Lạng Sơn đạt gần 1.700 tỷ đồng và tỉnh này cũng đã tham gia nhóm các địa phương thu ngân sách nghìn tỷ từ nhiều năm trước. Xuất nhập khẩu, công nghiệp, các khu kinh tế, đô thị được tầu tư phát triển rầm rộ nhưng Lạng Sơn cũng là một trong số các tỉnh thường xuyên phải xin Chính phủ gạo cứu đói cho nhân dân. Vì sao lại có bức tranh đối lập như thế ở tỉnh biên giới này? Tiếp tục đọc “‘Đến hẹn’ lại xin gạo cứu đói – Góc khuất nông thôn xứ lạng”
Đoàn Xuân Kiên dongtac.hncity.org
Thứ Tư 14, Tháng Mười Một 2007
1. Chữ viết ra đời rất muộn màng so với tiếng nói của một dân tộc. Con người đã truyền thông với nhau bằng tiếng nói từ khi họ kết tập với nhau thành những tập đoàn chung sống. Nhưng chỉ là từ khi một thứ tiếng nói đã được sử dụng thật thuần thục, sản sinh ra nhu cầu ghi lại những ý tưởng lời nói của mình, khi ấy chữ viết mới thật sự ra đời. Thật ra, khó có thể nói là chữ viết đã ra đời “nhất thành bất biến“ như chúng ta thấy ngày nay. Lịch sử chữ viết đã trải qua bao phen biến đổi, từ hình thức thắt nút dây như đã được ghi nhận trong một câu ở Kinh Dịch: “Thượng cổ kết thằng nhi trị…” đến sâu chuỗi vỏ sò có màu sắc khác nhau như người da đỏ Iroquois, đều là những hình thức kí hiệu để ghi lại ý tưởng người xưa muốn truyền đạt cho nhau, hoặc đơn giản là để ghi dấu lại cho nhớ. Những hình thức đó đều là những dạng mở đầu do con người mò mẫm mà có được. Những hình thức chữ viết bằng đồ vật như vừa nói ở trên là những gì sơ khai nhất của chữ viết (Hình 1: chữ viết kết bằng dây thừng của người Chăm trong khu vực văn hoá Đông Sơn [1]). Tiến lên một bước nữa là hình thức chữ viết bằng hình vẽ mà ta còn có thể thấy trong các văn bản cổ trên đá của người cổ Ai cập từ hơn 4000 năm trước, hoặc là những vẽ trên đồ vật bằng đất nung của người Sumer cũng khoảng thời kì hơn 3000 năm trước (Hình 2: Chữ viết bằng hình vẽ của người Ai Cập cổ).
Tiếp tục đọc “Chữ Quốc Ngữ qua những biển dâu”
VietNamNet Bridge – Enjoy vegetarian dishes on any day of the month to maintain a healthy body and soul.
1. Loving Hut Restaurants
– Loving Hut World Vegetarian, number 192/4, Quan Thanh street, Ba Đinh district, phone: 0462737 403. Tiếp tục đọc “25 vegetarian restaurants in Hanoi”
Prime Minister has recently approved a program on development of tourism infrastructure in the period 2016 – 2020 to help the tourism industry become a key economic sector.
Under Decision 1861/QĐ-TTg, the VND30 trillion (US$1.32 billion) program will focus on building and upgrading tourism and transport infrastructure at provinces with key tourist destinations listed in the “Strategy on Vietnam’s tourism development until 2020, vision to 2030” approved by the Government.
The program will give priority to poor provinces, whose budget cannot afford the investment. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam to spend US$1.32 billion for tourism infrastructure till 2020”
VietNamNet Bridge – The number of tourists to the Mekong Delta has increased significantly as many tourism programmes have been successful over the last year, according to provincial authorities.
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| The number of tourists to the Mekong Delta has increased, but more and better tourism products are expected to further promote tourism in the area. — VNA/ VNS Photo |
Many attractions in the Mekong Delta have maintained their high traffic since the beginning of the year.
The Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in Dong Thap Province reported that the province welcomed 110,000 arrivals in October, up 25 per cent year-on-year. This brought the number of arrivals to 2.5 million in the first 10 months, up 24 per cent year-on-year. Tiếp tục đọc “Mekong Delta to improve tourism services”
Ben Tre has enormous potentials in not only agriculture but also tourism. Making full use of the favourable ecosystem, Ben Tre tourism has been developing in a more professional and sustainable manner, making it the local spearhead economic sector.
Ben Tre – home to small islets amid wide rivers of Tien, Co Chien and Ham Luong – is renowned for its rich historic values and orchards, especially coconuts.
Thai Thanh Huyen, a visitor to Ben Tre expressed her delight when visiting the province, saying that she has been familiar with Ben Tre province through various songs. She wants my kids to know more about the locality as a home to coconut candy and large rivers, she added. Tiếp tục đọc “Coconut fairyland strives to attract tourists”
DW_The European Union is deciding about the future of glyphosate — a controversial herbicide that may be linked with cancer. DW offers an overview on the most important points of the debate.
Despite warnings over potential risks to human health and the environment, farmers around the world are dependent on chemical giant Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Active ingredient: glyphosate.
In June 2016, European Union member states delayed a final decision on renewal for the weed killer, instead extending the license for 18 months. In October and November 2017, the European Commission again pushed back a vote on the issue.
The European Commission must make a decision, as the current license is due to expire on December 15. Although the European Commission on Food Safety had been pushing for a 10-year renewal of the license for glyphosate, this has been pedaled back to a five-year renewal. Tiếp tục đọc “Glyphosate: The key points in an endless debate”
* Vietnam’s second refinery has started importing crude
* Imports jump as country’s crude production stalls
* Kuwait, Brunei and Azerbaijan supplying Vietnam with crude
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s crude oil imports will soar to record highs in August as the country ramps up fuel refining at a time when local crude output is dwindling.
August will mark the first month on record in which Vietnam is a net importer of crude oil, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon, with the trend set to continue in coming months as the Southeast Asian nation’s refinery capacity grows.
The surge in overseas orders comes as Vietnam’s 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) Nghi Son refinery, its second such facility, prepares to produce liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, mainly for the domestic market, likely starting later this year or in early 2018.
With local oil production stalling, traders said the country of over 90 million people and 6-percent annual economic growth would gradually increase its crude imports.
“We expect to send bigger and more frequent volumes of crude to Vietnam in the future. Vietnam is one of the key new centres of oil demand growth, and we wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity,” said a senior oil trading manager. He asked not to be identified as he was not allowed to discuss trading strategies.
Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that Vietnam will import around 100,000 bpd of crude in August, on three tankers, versus exports of 70,000 bpd. September tanker imports are scheduled at similar levels.
Vietnam’s orders are still small compared with Asian’s top buyers, China and India, which import around 8 million and 4 million bpd of crude per day respectively.
“But in an environment of oversupply, this incremental new demand is very welcome for crude suppliers,” the trading manager said. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam crude oil imports to hit record as refinery gets ready to start”
But state management policies have not changed, making is difficult for digital content firms to do business as they have to both comply with the laws and satisfy requirements set by platform providers.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, director of VTC Intecom, said the development of the digital content industry is hindered by strict regulations. Tiếp tục đọc “Digital content firms meet legal barriers”
Vietnam considers the upgrading of infrastructure as one of its top priorities. An ADB report shows that investment in infrastructure in Vietnam has been 5.7 percent of GDP in recent years, the highest level in SE Asia and second highest in Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “Chinese capital flows to Vietnam’s infrastructure projects”
The FDI capital would exceed the $30 billion threshold by year end
At a meeting with Japanese investors recently, director of the Binh Duong Planning and Investment Department Nguyen Thanh Truc said foreign investors pledged to invest $2.171 billion in the province this year.
Meanwhile, HCMC is leading the country in FDI (foreign direct investment) with total committed capital of $5 billion this year. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam seeks higher-quality FDI: experts”
