Conversations on Vietnam Development
Ký sự của Hoàng Thiên Nga
Bước chân qua cổng trại, lập tức tôi choáng váng bởi mùi dê khai nồng đậm đặc vây quanh. Dè dặt xỏ đôi bao giầy, giẫm lên lớp vôi bột khử trùng, tiến sâu vào trang trại, không ngờ những câu chuyện thú vị được kể giữa hàng nghìn đôi mắt dê to đẹp lấp lánh lại đủ sức thôi miên, khiến chúng tôi mê mải với đàn dê trăm tỉ, quên cả chiều muộn tự lúc nào…
VietNamNet Bridge – Analysts say that Vietnamese catfish exporters are willing to ‘fight to the death’, but they refuse to band together to discuss solutions to settle common problems.
Duong Ngoc Minh, called the Catfish King, chair of Hung Vuong JSC, deputy chair of VASEP (Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers ) and chair of the Fresh Water Fish Committee, was absent at the annual conference of VASEP which took place on August 28 in HCMC.
A VASEP report showed that Minh did not come to all the meetings of the Fresh Water Fish Committee and did not give opinions about solutions to help settle the problems of the catfish industry. The VASEP Office also found it difficult to contact Minh when necessary.
| While rivals have been following well-organized campaigns to fight against Vietnamese catfish, Vietnam has reacted weakly |
At the conference, Truong Thi Le Khanh, chair of Vinh Hoan Seafood JSC, was introduced as the new chair of the Fresh Water Fish Committee.
Khanh recalled the days in 1989, when one importer, receiving the first consignment, admitted that it was the best white-meat fish consignment from anywhere in the world it had received.
After a long period of hot development, Vietnam’s catfish now has a poor reputation and faces trade barriers. Tiếp tục đọc “Catfish exporters need to unite as exports face trade barriers”
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| Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Nguyễn Xuân Cường |
HÀ NỘI — Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Nguyễn Xuân Cường said yesterday efforts to attract investment in agriculture were not yielding sufficient fruit, urging authorities to focus on unbuckling bottlenecks to ease investment.
“We are implementing the restructuring of agricultural production in the direction of chains and concentrated form,” Cường said at a conference held yesterday in Hà Nội.
“In such restructuring, the production’s organisational components include business, cooperative and farmers associations as the backbone and nucleus of the chain. However, their integration is only successful if there are leading enterprises and an appropriate system of enterprise organisations and cooperatives,” said Cường.
Cường said although a Government decree on encouraging enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas became effective in February 2014, fewer than 5,000 enterprises are operating in agro-forestry and fisheries, accounting for less than 1 per cent of enterprises nationwide.
An additional disheartening sign was the 11.3 per cent growth in the number of enterprises that were dissolved during that period, Cường said.
The scale of agricultural enterprises was mostly small, with 50 per cent having less than 10 employees. Many have weak links with farmers and a limited ability to find and access market information.
According to Minister Cường, the capacity for science and technology application of enterprises in agriculture, forestry and fishery was also still low, with 75 per cent of enterprises using machinery fully depreciated. Domestic enterprises, especially small, medium and micro-enterprises were still struggling to replace two to three-generations-old technology.
The mobilisation of external resources for agricultural and rural development was also inadequate, said the minister, adding that social investment in agriculture and rural areas was very low – only about 5.4-5.6 per cent of the total national investment.
Speaking about a revised draft decree on encouraging businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas, which has been submitted to the Government by the MARD and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Cường said during the drafting process, many workshops were held to collect opinions from associations and enterprises, but Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ still required further consultations.
Commenting on the investment environment in agriculture, Dương Văn Trí, from Lộc Trời Group said the promotion of investment in agriculture needed reforms in land and farm policy.
Provincial authorities should be assigned to establish agricultural land brokerage agencies to promote the transfer and sale of land in rural areas, said Trí.
Loans with preferential interest rates should be offered to agricultural investment enterprises, he said, suggesting 4 per cent interest compared to the current State interest of 8 per cent.
Trí also said the agriculture investment decree had not helped mobilise the participation of all economic sectors, while some of regulations were too complicated for investors. — VNS
English: Healthy soil is the real key to feeding the world
Một trong những bí ẩn hiện đại lớn nhất về nông nghiệp cho rằng, nông nghiệp hữu cơ vốn dĩ có tính bền vững. Điều này là khả dĩ, nhưng chưa đủ. Nhìn lại lịch sử, sự xói mòn đất từ các cánh đồng không có hoá chất là một phần nguyên nhân dẫn đến cái kết của Đế chế La Mã và các xã hội cổ đại khác trên thế giới . Những ý kiến khác lại cho rằng, tiềm năng khôi phục đất xấu để nuôi sống thế giới cần sử dụng ít hơn nguyên liệu hóa học nông nghiệp.
Khi tôi bắt đầu một chuyến du khảo 6 tháng tới những cánh đồng khắp nơi trên thế giới để nghiên cứu thêm thông tin cho cuốn sách của mình “Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life,” (Tạm dịch: Trồng một cuộc cách mạng Mang lại sự sống cho đất) những người nông dân tiến bộ mà tôi gặp đã cho thấy, có những phương pháp canh tác tái tạo có thể khôi phục đất nông nghiệp toàn cầu. Ở cả nước phát triển cũng như đang phát triển, những người nông dân này nhanh chóng cải tạo độ phì của đất bị suy thoái, chính điều này đã cho phép họ duy trì sản lượng cao bằng cách sử dụng ít lượng phân bón cũng như thuốc trừ sâu hơn. Tiếp tục đọc “Đất trồng khoẻ mạnh là yếu tố then chốt để nuôi sống thế giới”
VietNamNet Bridge – Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2 want to be exclusive bidders for government-to-government (G2G) rice export contracts, but analysts warn of the dangers of a monopoly.
VietNamNet Bridge – Carnadol is much more valuable than raw cashew oil which can bring profits of at least VND2 million per ton.
Cardanol is a natural phenol obtained from anacardic acid, the main element of cashew nut shell oil. The oil is highly effective against metal corrosion and is used in many industries.
Cashew nuts are one of Vietnam’s important industrial crops. According to the 2013 statistical yearbook, the total output of cashew in Vietnam reached 289,900 tons.
However, after harvesting and processing of cashew nuts, the shells have usually been thrown away. Scientists believe that if the shells can be properly treated, the waste will turn into ‘gold’ and bring high profits. Tiếp tục đọc “Technology turns cashew-nut shells into “gold””
In late June, Luc Ngan litchis were on sale at Tops and Central Food Hall, the food retail chain owned by Central Group, in Bangkok.
Also in the month, Lotte Mart exported consignments of food products, washing liquid and kitchenware from the Choice L brand, worth VND1 billion, to Myanmar. Tiếp tục đọc “Foreign chains a launchpad for Vietnam goods to reach world market”
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| Đồng Tháp Province wants breeding of white-leg shrimp in inland areas curtailed since the saltwater from these farms harm the environment. — VNS Photo sggp.org.vn |
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| Delegates meet at an APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology workshop in Cần Thơ on August 18-19. – VNS Photo Thế Anh |
CẦN THƠ — Agricultural biotechnology is one of the key tools that can improve the yield and quality of agricultural products in a time of climate change, experts said.
The experts were attending an APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) workshop in Cần Thơ on August 18-19.
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy, chair of the HLPDAB, and director general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment, said that Việt Nam, like many other economies, was facing multiple challenges due to climate change, including shrinking agricultural area and land degradation caused by urbanisation and saline intrusion caused by rising sea levels. Tiếp tục đọc “Experts urge use of agricultural biotechnology as response to climate change”
Thứ Hai, 24/7/2017 08:07
Trong bối cảnh thích ứng với biến đổi khí hậu, việc tăng cường sử dụng vật liệu xây dựng không nung (VLXDKN) không những góp phần bảo vệ tài nguyên đất, mà còn có tầm quan trọng đặc biệt trong việc bảo vệ môi trường, giảm phát thải khí CO2.
Hạn chế sử dụng gạch đất sét nung truyền thống trong xây dựng nhằm giảm thải khí nhà kính, bảo vệ môi trường. Ảnh: Phương Hà
Mặc dù vậy, từ năm 2010, Thủ tướng Chính phủ ban hành Quyết định 567/2010 phê duyệt Chương trình phát triển VLXD đến năm 2020 (gọi tắt Chương trình 567) về định hướng sản xuất và sử dụng VLXDKN thay thế gạch đất sét nung, nhưng đến nay việc thực hiện chương trình này vẫn còn rất nhiều mặt hạn chế. Tiếp tục đọc “Khuyến khích phát triển vật liệu xây không nung”
As the U.S. growing season entered its peak this summer, farmers began posting startling pictures on social media: fields of beans, peach orchards and vegetable gardens withering away.
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| John Weiss looks over his crop of soybeans, which he had reported to the state board for showing signs of damage due to the drifting of Monsanto’s pesticide Dicamba, at his farm in Dell, Arkansas, U.S. July 25, 2017. |
The photographs served as early warnings of a crisis that has damaged millions of acres of farmland. New versions of the herbicide dicamba developed by Monsanto and BASF, according to farmers, have drifted across fields to crops unable to withstand it, a charge authorities are investigating. Tiếp tục đọc “Scant oversight, corporate secrecy preceded U.S. weed killer crisis”
SOC TRANG, Vietnam: With a flashy gold watch and a chunky matching ring, Tang Van Cuol looks a far cry from the average Vietnamese farmer as he slings back a shot of rice wine and boasts about his projected earnings.
After years scratching a living growing rice and onions or farming ducks, the 54-year-old says his life was transformed in 2000 – by shrimp.
The Mekong Delta, long renowned as the “rice bowl of Vietnam”, is now also home to a multi-billion-dollar shrimp industry and burgeoning numbers of farmers are building fortunes from the small crustaceans. Tiếp tục đọc “Rice to riches: Vietnam’s shrimp farmers fish for fortunes”
Minh Đức – Chủ Nhật, 23/7/2017, 16:47 (GMT+7)
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(TBKTSG) – Việc sử dụng nhiên liệu sinh học không những không mang lại những thành công như mong đợi mà còn gây ra những rủi ro tiềm ẩn.
Lợi hay hại?
“Chuyển đổi các nguyên liệu sinh khối sang nhiên liệu sinh học là một quá trình thân thiện với môi trường. Vì vậy, khi sử dụng xăng ethanol, chúng ta sẽ giúp làm giảm CO2 trong khí quyển”.
VietNamNet Bridge – Many apps have been developed for intelligent farming which aim to change the way farmers work.
GMA, a green app developer, focuses on building up software solutions to solve the problem of information and communication between farmers and local authorities.
It has been used in 11 districts and towns of An Giang province. Tiếp tục đọc “New apps keep farmers updated about prices, cultivation techniques”
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Miền Tây – những mảnh giáp bảo vệ cuối cùng đang vỡ
Ở ĐBSCL bây giờ đi đâu cũng thấy “Ngân hàng trụ điện” và “Ngân hàng gầm cầu”. Ảnh: H.V.MMiền Tây Nam Bộ đang nóng hầm hập với chuyện sạt lở, mất đất từ sông đến biển. Nhưng đâu mỗi chuyện mất đất, những mảnh giáp bảo vệ cuối cùng của miền Tây đang vỡ ra từng mảnh, và vùng đất này đang đối diện với những mất mát khác còn lớn hơn về sinh kế, về tình người, về những tan rã từ ngay chính bữa cơm gia đình…
Tiếp tục đọc “Miền Tây – những mảnh giáp bảo vệ cuối cùng đang vỡ – 3 bài”
CVD 