Mekong delta tour

Sugar companies are in such danger that the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD) on April 3 had to organize a meeting with the sugar association to discuss ways to rescue them. In the Mekong Delta, which has a large sugarcane growing area, farmers are desperate. After the failure of the 2017-2018 crop, thousands of households do not have more capital for the new farming crop. Many of them chopped down sugarcane plants to grow other crops. In Tra Cu district, the ‘sugarcane metropolis’ of Tra Vinh province, hundreds of hectares of sugarcane growing area have been used for aquaculture, rice and crop cultivation. According to the district’s agriculture sub-department, only 3,300 hectares of sugarcane exist this year, a decrease of 30 percent compared with the previous crop. Meanwhile, the Tra Vinh sugar refinery has spent big money to increase its capacity. Now with the sugarcane output decrease, it is likely to lack material for production. In Hau … [Read more...] about Sugar companies in danger of going bankrupt

Vietnam and Germany concluded the negotiations with stronger co-operation in future-oriented sectors With a commitment of €213.4 million ($236.1 million), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will support Vietnam in the next two years to create Vietnam's growth strategy that is friendly to the environment and society alike. The partnership focuses primarily on effective energy supply, market access of renewable energy, and the protection of coastal areas by replanting mangrove areas in the Mekong Delta and implementing sustainable forest economy models in Northern and Central of Vietnam. In addition, the two sides also agreed to support sustainable rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta within the framework of the Green Innovation Centre initiative, which will benefit small agribusinesses in the region by being connected to the value-added chain. Besides this, the two countries also want to mobilise big Vietnamese and German businesses to … [Read more...] about Vietnamese-German negotiations on green growth end in success

Tran Ban Hung When I was a kid, a frequent question I asked mom was why the rice cooked by our family was not as good as the one I had at Minh's. His family mixed rice with other ingredients like, sweet potato or adlay millet (Job's tears). We never did this at home. Minh was an only child and my best friend. We usually spent a lot of time at each other's house. A typical meal at his family would include boiled water spinach, roasted peanuts and the mixed rice. Once in a rare while, they would have braised pork, and on those occasions, his parents, both state officials, would let us kids have all the meat. In answer to my question mother would not say much. The most she would say was: "You will understand when you grow up." I also noticed that my mom would keep Minh around for food as much as she could every time he came to my house. She would also tell me to avoid being at Minh's at lunch or dinner time. She was right. I understood once I grew up. My childhood with Minh began just … [Read more...] about Undermine rice and we might pay a heavy price

  Harvesting xiêm xanh coconut for juice in Bến Tre Province’s Giồng Trôm. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Trí BẾN TRE — Climate change has affected crop yields in the country but coconut can adapt and offer high value to farmers, experts have said. The area under coconut is the fourth largest of industrial crops after rubber, coffee and cashew, with most of it being in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and central region. The Mekong province of Bến Tre has more than 71,000ha, or 50 per cent of the country’s total area, according to its People’s Committee. Trà Vinh, Tiền Giang and Vĩnh Long are the other large coconut growing areas in the delta. Speaking at a seminar on Sunday (November 17), Cao Văn Trọng, chairman of the Bến Tre People’s Committee, said the province’s exports of coconut products are worth around US$200 million a year and a quarter of all its … [Read more...] about Coconut offers high value for farmers amid climate change

  An F&B worker at Fusion Resort Phú Quốc on Phú Quốc Island. — Photo phuquoc.fusionresorts.com HCM CITY — The robust growth of hotels and resorts on Phú Quốc Island in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta Province of Kiên Giang has resulted in a shortage of workers in the tourism industry. Phạm Công Sơn, CEO of The Shells resort, said that businesses for many years have been seriously concerned about the shortage. The severe shortage of senior managers at five-star hotels is partly due to the less-than-ideal living conditions on the island, Sơn said at a roundtable meeting held by Tuổi Trẻ newspaper on Phú Quốc Island on Tuesday (Nov 12). To retain workers, businesses have to offer competitive salaries and benefits as well as good accommodations. However, a high turnover rate remains a headache for hotels and … [Read more...] about Phú Quốc faces serious staff shortage in tourism industry