Agricultural produce

Low-yielding rice fields are plowed and converted to orchards in Cao Lãnh District of the Mekong Delta Province Đồng Tháp. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Văn Trí ĐỒNG THÁP — Farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp have switched to growing short-term crops often in rotation with rice and perennial trees on more than 16,000ha of infertile rice fields since last year. They mostly grow vegetables, corn, sesame, soy bean, sweet potato, lotus, mango, longan, orange, and jackfruit. The short-term crops provide an income of VNĐ10-300 million (US$428-12,850) per hectare more than rice while the perennial trees fetch VNĐ90-500 million ($3,850-21,420) more, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Lê Thị Kim Châu, who now uses her 4,000sq.m of land to grow water spinach for their seeds in Hồng Ngự District’s … [Read more...] about Đồng Tháp converts rice fields to grow more lucrative crops

Vietnam’s economy is forecast to maintain strong growth at 8.2 percent in 2008, underpinned by high investment growth with the expansion in industrial and service sectors. However, a United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) survey warned that inflationary pressure will be a key concern for Vietnam this year. At the launch of the economic and social survey of Asia and the Pacific 2008 in Hanoi on March 27, Dr. Pham Lan Huong, Deputy Director of the Department for Trade Policy and International Integration Studies under the Central Institute for Economic Management said the country’s inflation rate was 12.6 percent in 2007, higher than most countries in Southeast Asia. According to ESCAP Economic Affairs Officer Dr Amarakoon Bandara, Vietnam should continue to tighten its monetary policy in combination with a prudent fiscal policy and a more flexible exchange rate to curb inflation. In its survey entitled “Sustaining Growth and … [Read more...] about ESCAP: Vietnam’s economy forecast to maintain strong growth

  Farmers in Đồng Tháp Province’s Sa Đéc City grow daisies for the busy Tết holiday period. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Văn Trí HCM CITY — Farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are growing more new flower varieties for the Tết (Lunar New Year) festival, which falls on January 25. In Đồng Tháp Province’s Sa Đéc City, one of the delta’s largest flower growing areas, hundreds of new flower varieties, including various types of new foreign roses and daisies, have been planted for Tết. Farmer Nguyễn Phước Lộc in Sa Đéc’s Tân Khánh Đông Commune is growing dozens of thousands of rose pots with more than 130 varieties, many of which are new. Nguyễn Văn Tiếp, chairman of Tôi Yêu Màu Tím Clubhouse in Sa Đéc, said the … [Read more...] about Delta farmers grow new flower varieties for Tết

  Checkered scarves made in Long Khánh A Scarf Weaving Village in Đồng Tháp Province. – VNA/VNS Photo Chương Đài ĐỒNG THÁP – Craft villages in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp operate efficiently, providing steady jobs and incomes to many people. The province has the largest number of craft villages in the delta - 39 - whose workers produce ornamental flowers and plants, weaving products, processed foods, fine arts products, and others.   These are also popular destinations for both Vietnamese and foreign tourists. The Mỹ Tân bamboo weaving village in Cao Lãnh City’s Mỹ Tân Commune makes baskets and flower pots from bamboo and provides steady jobs to locals. Trương Văn Dũng, whose family has been making bamboo baskets for more than 10 years, said traders bought the village’s products year round. Each … [Read more...] about Đồng Tháp craft villages do well