Rural 502 housing program

Bel Ga holds grand opening for Tay Ninh high-tech hatchery

April 19, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

Bel Ga JSC and partners opening the new high-tech hatchery in Tay Ninh

The opening ceremony of the hatchery was attended by diplomatic representatives from various nations, as well as provincial and ministry delegations, in addition to the leaderships of stakeholder companies and more than 450 customers from agents and large-scale livestock farms in Central and South Vietnam.

Bel Ga is a market leader in Belgium with more than 80 years of experience in producing premium day-old chicks in Europe.

Established in Vietnam in 2013, Bel Ga currently has four hatcheries and two incubation factories with a modern self-contained farming process according to Global G.A.P standards, providing more than 35 million premium day-old chicks for the Vietnamese and Cambodian markets every year.

Possessing strong potentials and unique experiences and visions, in September 2017, Bel Ga and De Heus LLC, Hung Nhon Group, Koyu & Unitek Co., Ltd., and partners were successful in building a value chain of clean chicken with traceability according to Global G.A.P standards, ISO 22000 that meets conditions to export clean chicken products to Japan – one of the most demanding markets in the world.

Following the success of Bel Ga’s incubation factory in Lam Dong province, Bel Ga JSC has invested in the second Bel Ga high-tech hatchery in Tay Ninh – a province which is part of the key economic region of South Vietnam, with the advantage of a temperate climate, relatively flat topography, and undeniable potential for comprehensive development in agriculture, industry, and construction.

Kris Van Daele, general director of Bel Ga Vietnam and Cambodia, said that this position improves the quality of broilers, helping to reduce the pressure on chicks due to long-distance transport, as the facility cuts transport time to the Mekong Delta areas to 4-5 hours and Cambodia to only 1 hour. In addition, the distance from Tay Ninh to Ho Chi Minh City is also very short so it is possible to transport chickens by air to the north, which sets the premise for Bel Ga’s development in the north of Vietnam.

The Bel Ga Tay Ninh poultry incubation factory has a total investment capital of VND200 billion ($8.7 million), with a total area of 15,000 square metres and the design capacity of over 19 million chicks per year in the first phase and will expand the capacity up to 38.4 million chicks per year in the second phase.

The main products of the factory are day-old chicks and day-old layers of the best quality to meet the demand of famers in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Bel Ga breeders are sourced from the world’s leading breeding companies Aviagen and Hendrix Genetics and are hatched using the most advanced modern European technology. The Bel Ga Tay Ninh factory is a unique factory model with the application of many advances in technical innovations of construction design, including facilities for farms and hatcheries which meets the European standards, thanks to the support of leading experts and technicians in the world.

All technologies used in the factory use technology to ensure the efficiency and accuracy of information in the production while at the same time investing in modern machinery and equipment.

Machinery and equipment used at the Bel Ga Tay Ninh factory

Embryo-Response Incubation , manufactured by Petersime Belgium. With the OvoScan system, the incubator temperature is continuously adjusted according to the actual eggshell temperature.

CO2 concentration management: Accurate maintenance of CO2 levels throughout the incubation cycle has a positive effect on the development of the circulatory system of the embryo.

Energy management produced by Petersime, Belgium. Eco-Drive helps to reduce the energy consumption of the engine pulses during the less critical stages of the incubation process.

Petersime’s pressure control system allows the regulation of the amount of air circulating in different areas of the incubation plant.

Monitoring and control produced by Petersime: Eagle EyeTM surveillance system is a package of software programmes that monitors and controls the entire incubation process from a central host computer station, including an incubator, room ambient conditions, water temperature, and air circulation system parameters, among others.

Biostreamer : This series uses Biostreamer Re-Store technology, a new technique in short incubation, allowing to maintain a higher incubation rate and better embryo vitality when storing eggs for a long time.

The day-old-chicks products of Bel Ga Tay Ninh will ensure the highest standards according to Global G.A.P standards through the management and strict control of biosafety in livestock and the production, quality monitoring of incubation eggs and GP farms with low stocking densities, combined with effective temperature control through modern incubation machines helpful in the creation of optimal environment to ensure that the best 1-day-old chicks are always produced and traceable throughout the entire production chain.

At the grand opening ceremony of Bel Ga Tay Ninh high-tech hatchery, Bel Ga company, De Heus group, Hung Nhon Group contributed VND500 million ($21,740) to the COVID-19 prevention fund in Tay Ninh province; donated one ambulance worth VND1 billion ($43,480) to Tay Ninh Young Business Association and donated VND300 million ($13,040) to the Fund for the Poor of Trang Bang Town to build “ Dai Doan Ket ” House for families in extremely difficult circumstances, the total sponsorship value is VND1.8 billion ($78,260).

In recent years, Vietnam’s poultry production has made great leaps in both productivity and product quality.

Fully complying with the guidelines of the government and ministries, as well as the orientations of potential provinces, the Bel Ga Tay Ninh poultry incubation factory promises to become a strategic knot, contributing to the development of the value chain of high-quality breeds, clean meat production with traceability and export standards, bringing many benefits to Vietnamese farmers and consumers.

The hatchery operates with top-range technology and equipment reaching European standards

Bel Ga and partners will continue investing in a $141.5 million high-tech agricultural complex including two parent chicken farms (capacity of 25 million eggs a year), 250 safe broiler farms (25 million broilers per year), and a complex of factories producing and processing high-quality agricultural products in a closed chain.

The entire breeding process at the project will be operated and monitored according to European standards to control the quality of livestock in the area, optimise livestock performance, and reduce product costs and achieve high economic efficiency.

The project is equipped with a system of Europe’s leading automatic production lines, which are strictly operated and supervised by international experts.

Once completed, the project will become a high-tech application centre in broiler farming for export in a closed chain, including the supply of broilers, broiler rearing, slaughtering, and trading meat products. The project will create job opportunities for 350-500 local workers and transfer advanced breeding technology to hundreds of workers, promoting the development of high-tech agriculture in the locality.

The inauguration of Bel Ga Tay Ninh high-tech poultry incubation factory and investment cooperation for a high-tech agricultural complex in Tay Ninh will help Bel Ga, De Heus Group, and Hung Nhon Group to promote the strengths of the units, expand and perfect the high-tech livestock chain.

It also reaffirms the long-term vision of Bel Ga, De Heus Group, Hung Nhon Group, and partners to contribute to the development of a sustainable and prosperous Vietnamese agricultural sector, improving the quality, added value, and competitiveness of agricultural products, as well as environmental and ecological protection. It will also improve the incomes of people in rural areas and ensure food security and national security in Vietnam while improving the position of Vietnam’s livestock industry and creating high-value products that are competitive in the international market.

By Bel Ga JSC

How can ‘land fever’ outbreaks be stopped?

April 20, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

A “land fever” is spreading throughout the country, from the North to the South, from the lowlands to the mountains. Everywhere, the price for land of all kinds, from housing to industrial to farming land is increasing.

Mr. N.V.T lives in Thien Trung village, Thien Nghiep commune, the home to Phan Thiet airport project in the central province of Binh Thuan which launched in early April and is expected to be completed in 2022. He recently sold 4 sao (1 sao = 500sq.m) of agricultural land for VND8 billion ($345,000) and received a deposit of VND800 million from the buyer.

Two days later, someone offered to buy 4 sao of land for VND11 billion. Mr. N.V.T paid compensation of VND800 million for the first buyer and sold the land later for VND11 billion. However, in the end, the person who asked to buy the land for VND11 billion disappeared. Like Mr. N.V.T, many farmers have become victims of land speculators and swindlers, who have created a “land fever” throughout the country.

“Land fever” spreads

One year ago, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tien’s family looked for an apartment in District 12 (Ho Chi Minh City) with an affordable price. At that time an apartment with two bedrooms was priced VND1.8 billion to VND2.1 billion. Not having enough money, Tien and his wife, who have been working in HCM City for five years, decided to buy their dream apartment one year later, when they would have enough money. But now, along with the land fever that is spreading across the country, house prices are rising quickly. Tien cannot afford to buy an apartment.

Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said that because of the current land fever, those with real needs for housing have lost the opportunity to buy houses.

In rural Dong Truc commune of Thach That district, Hanoi, one day in mid-March this year, local residents were surprised seeing hundreds of people seeking to buy land. It turned out that these people came there to buy land after hearing that an estate developer had proposed building two urban areas in Thach That. The rumor caused a “land fever” in the commune. After the local government stated that they did not know anything about such project, the “land fever” immediately ended. Dong Truc commune returned to peace.

In late February, hundreds of people from the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City traveled to An Khuong and Tan Loi communes in Hon Quan district, the central province of Binh Phuoc, each day to buy land, after hearing a rumor that a new airport would be built in Hon Quan district. The “land fever” in Hon Quan quickly ended after the local authorities warned local people of the risk from this “fever”.

How does “land fever” start?

Not only in Thach That or Hon Quan, over the past, land fever has been reported in many provinces such as Thai Nguyen, Lao Cai, Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Kon Tum, Binh Thuan, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and others.

At the regular government press conference in March, Mr. Dao Minh Tu, deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), said that there are many reasons for “land fever” and one of the major reasons is that some people spread inaccurate information based on a number of current issues in the administration of land prices and land taxes to earn profits from land speculation.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung also warned that real estate prices in many areas increased sharply. “The capital focuses on some potentially risky areas rather than serve production and business expansion,” he said.

Dung said that “land fever” is created partly because the interest rates are low, so the cash flow tends to run into the real estate market. Another reason is poor land management, planning and the operations of land brokers. In addition, the bond market has grown rapidly, but mainly bonds of real estate businesses and banks, not the participation of manufacturing enterprises.

Focusing only on the benefits from an increase in land prices, not an increase in the surplus value of production, will seriously affect the economy, he said.

Mr. Le Van Binh, director of the Department of Economics and Land Fund Development, General Department of Land Management (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), said that a factor contributing to creating the current “land fever” is information about planning. Whenever the planning for a land area is discussed, the price for land there usually increases.

How to stop land fever?

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that in the coming time it is necessary to closely monitor the situation to prevent “bubbles” in the real estate market. The State Bank of Vietnam should strictly control credit in the real estate sector.

The Ministry of Construction has suggested that localities should publicize information on planning and progress of infrastructure development and real estate projects, especially big projects and the merger of administrative units, to make information transparent in order to prevent rumors that lead to the blowing up of land prices.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has requested provinces and relevant agencies to improve management of real estate projects, and check and rectify real estate brokerage activities to ensure that this activity complies with the provisions of law.

The authorities of Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Quang Tri and others have issued documents and directives to strengthen management of land and construction activities.

Real estate experts said that in order to control land fever, it is necessary to make planning as transparent as possible.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, said that it is necessary to impose high transfer tax for the acts of buying and selling land for profit. At the same time, the state needs to tax those who have a lot of land and impose high taxes on land that is not used.

Lawyer Tran Thanh Quyet suggested supplementing the current criminal code with provisions on crimes associated with “blowing up land prices”. According to the lawyer, the regulations on speculation (Article 196) are no longer suited to the current situation. Also, it is necessary to add strict regulations on real estate brokerage practice conditions.

Hong Khanh

India locks capital to battle Covid as all US adults eligible for vaccine

April 20, 2021 by dtinews.vn

India locked down its capital New Delhi for a week beginning Monday night seeking to control a raging coronavirus outbreak, as the hard-hit United States made all adults eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Workers disinfect a fence in Hyderabad, India, where cases are surging

There was good news from Australia and New Zealand as well, as the neighbours opened a travel bubble that will allow people to move between the countries without a mandatory quarantine.

And in Europe, Greece said it would welcome vaccinated travellers from some nations as it sought to restart its badly-bruised tourism sector, while Portugal and Slovenia peeled back virus restrictions as infections eased off.

But India is still facing skyrocketing infections, with hospitals running out of beds and the government forced to reimpose economically painful restrictions.

The capital New Delhi braced for a fresh lockdown as officials scrambled to get surging cases under control.

“Delhi’s health system is at a tipping point. The Covid-19 situation is pretty critical,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

“If we don’t impose a lockdown now, we will be looking at a bigger disaster.”

Tens of thousands of migrant workers tried to flee the restrictions, fuelling fears they could spread the virus to their rural hometowns

The Delhi lockdown came after the vast nation of 1.3 billion reported a record high of 273,810 infections on Monday — the fifth consecutive day topping 200,000 cases.

India has the world’s second-highest caseload with more than 15 million known infections.

The government said Monday it would make Covid vaccines available to all adults in the country from May 1, in a bid to beat back infections.

The soaring cases forced British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to cancel a planned visit to the country this month, and Britain said Monday it would add India to its travel “red list”, banning all arrivals from India except for UK or Irish nationals.

– ‘Get the vaccine’ –

The coronavirus has killed more than three million people, devastating the world economy and upending daily life since first emerging in China in late 2019.

The United States remains the hardest-hit nation, with more deaths and known infections than anywhere else.

But with President Joe Biden’s administration ramping up shots, it made all its over-18s eligible for vaccination beginning Monday.

“We have enough of it, you need to be protected, and you need in turn to protect your neighbours and your family,” Biden said in a video released by the White House.

“So please: get the vaccine.”

The United States also passed a major vaccine milestone Sunday, with roughly 130 million Americans — half its adult population — receiving at least one dose.

But its top pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci warned that the country remains in a “precarious position”.

“We’re having a seven-day average of over 60,000 new infections per day. That’s a place you don’t want to be,” he said Sunday.

“We also have to make sure that people don’t throw caution to the wind and declare victory prematurely.”

Neighbouring Canada illustrated the threat of a fresh coronavirus wave, as authorities scrambled to funnel additional health staff and equipment into Ontario to battle a surge in infections.

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province, and record cases are threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.

– ‘Cry, hug, kiss’ –

Across the Atlantic, there were glimmers of hope in Europe, as Portugal said it was reopening shopping malls, high schools and universities and that restaurants and cafes were allowed to offer outdoor dining.

“We are impatient to receive our customers again,” said a happy Constanca Firmino, manager of a cosmetics shop in Lisbon.

Slovenia too eased restrictions after cases dropped, while Greece said some travellers from the EU, Britain, the United States, Israel, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates would not have to quarantine if they were fully vaccinated or had a negative Covid test.

Switzerland was also set to start the week with a step towards normality, with outdoor seating permitted at restaurants and bars and cinemas, sports facilities, and in-person classes at universities reopening.

In Slovakia, crowds poured onto the streets Monday as the nation that once had one of the world’s highest per capita Covid death rates emerged from a four-month lockdown.

And in Australia and New Zealand, there was joy and celebration as a long-awaited quarantine-free travel bubble opened across the Tasman Sea.

Family members tearfully reunited at airports in Sydney and Wellington, while others readied for their first outbound flights in more than a year.

“(I’ll) yell, scream, cry, hug, kiss, (feel) happy — all of these emotions at once,” Denise O’Donoghue, 63, told AFP as she prepared to board her plane in Sydney.

“What normal is going to be from now on I don’t know, but I’m just really, really excited today.”

Bac Giang students enjoy book festival

April 19, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

During the day, the participants had a chance to get access to a number of books, exchange with speakers and representatives from publishers, ambassadors of reading culture. They shared knowledge and skills on building reading culture and experience in acquiring more knowledge from books.

They also competed in a speaking contest “Meaningful book-key for future” and played games based on knowledge of books and enjoyed other interesting activities.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Tuong Lam, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and Permanent Deputy Head of the Vietnam Youth Federation Central Committee, said that the event included a series of programs with such highlights as debut of book-reading clubs, exchanges with speakers and authors, book discussions and book exchange.

“Via these programs, we hope youths will have a habit of reading books. Reading books is very beneficial as it can help them acquire more knowledge and skills, foster their dreams and goals of life, and strive for a better future. With basic knowledge and skills, they can feel confident in life,” Lam said.

At the festive day, the organizers handed over a friendly reading space, worth VND 50 million, to the aforementioned school, and ten scholarships, each worth VND 10 million, to disadvantaged ethnic minority students with good academic records.

Translated by Mai Huong

Italy – emerging destination for Vietnamese students: ambassador

April 19, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

The UniSmartItaly workshops, looking into study and work opportunities in Italy, are held virtually from April 16 to 24 by the Italian Rectors’ Conference and the Italian Trade Agency with the support of the Italian Embassy in Vietnam and the Uni-Italia Association.

In her remarks, Ambassador Hue thanked workshop organizers for choosing Vietnam as the first country to carry out this program, noting that although the number of Vietnamese students in Italy remains modest, it has been growing fast in recent years.

Italy is an increasingly popular destination for Vietnamese students as it has a high-quality tertiary education system that provides training in the majors that can help deal with global challenges related to development, the environment, and technology and thus, meeting Vietnam’s demand.

Many Vietnamese students returning from Italy have greatly helped with national development and the two countries relations, she said.

Besides, she added, bilateral trade has topped 5 billion USD, and more than 4,000 Italian businesses are cooperating with Vietnamese partners in export and import, which are favorable conditions to create more study and work chances for Vietnamese students in Italy.

Hue suggested Italy promote students’ participation in and contributions to economic events between the two countries and invite postgraduates to engage in bilateral research projects, especially those in scientific research cooperation programs.

She also recommended the two sides set up a channel for linking Italian employers with Vietnamese students and postgraduates in the country and sign an agreement on mutual recognition of each other’s certificates so as to facilitate the student exchange.

Vu Thi Bich Diep, deputy head of the Vietnamese Students Association in Italy, said Vietnamese students are confident in the development of bilateral ties across the board, which will further facilitate their efforts to study and find jobs in the European nation.

Source: VNA

World News in Brief: April 19

April 19, 2021 by en.nhandan.org.vn

* Strong winds and high waves lashed the eastern Philippines on Monday as the strongest typhoon ever recorded in April barrelled past in the Pacific Ocean, killing one man and triggering flooding in lower-lying communities, disaster officials said.

* The Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it is expelling 20 staffers of the Czech embassy in Moscow in response to the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic.

* Nearly 192.13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Sunday, the National Health Commission said Monday. The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 11 new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 90,510, according to the commission.

* The COVID-19 vaccination program in Laos is underway and the majority of people in target areas have had their first dose of the vaccine. The Lao government plans to vaccinate at least 150,000 people in the initial stages of the program.

* Cambodia on Monday predicted that international tourist arrivals to the kingdom this year would decline by another 70 percent due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The report of the Ministry of Tourism said the Southeast Asian country received 1.31 million international tourists in 2020, down 80 percent from 6.61 million in 2019.

* Malaysia started phase 2 of its national immunization program against COVID-19 on Monday, expanding to other high risk groups following the vaccination of the country’s frontliners.

* The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 4,952 within one day to 1,609,300, with the death toll adding by 143 to 43,567, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

* Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll on Sunday reached 373,335 after registering another 1,657 fatalities, the country’s ministry of health reported. According to the ministry, another 42,980 cases were registered, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 13,943,071.

* Just more than half of US adults have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Sunday, with nearly 130 million people aged 18 years or more having received their first shot.

* The European Union has exercised an option to acquire an additional 100 million doses of BioNTech and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the two companies said.

* Denmark’s health authority said it may be possible for people to choose to have the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine if they wish, Ritzau news agency reported.

* The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units in France edged up on Sunday, amid a nationwide lockdown to try to stem a third wave of infections.

* British scientists launched a trial which will deliberately expose participants who have already had COVID-19 to the coronavirus again to examine immune responses and see if people get reinfected.

* Canada will present a budget with billions of dollars for pandemic recovery measures as COVID-19 infections skyrocket, CAD2 billion (US$1.6 billion) toward national childcare, and new taxes on luxury goods.

* The number of people heading out to shops across Britain jumped 87.8% in the week to April 17 versus the previous week as non-essential stores in England reopened after three months of COVID-19 lockdown, market researcher Springboard said.

* Spain will study the effects of mixing different coronavirus vaccines, government researchers said on Monday, responding to shifting guidelines on the safety of the AstraZeneca’s shot.

* Poland may be able to open up a significant part of the economy at the end of May or beginning of June, depending on progress with COVID-19 vaccinations, the prime minister said on Monday.

* NASA successfully launched its Mars helicopter Ingenuity from the surface of the Red Planet earlier on Monday, marking the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

* The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa can break through the protection provided by Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, a real-world data study in Israel found.

* Vaccination against COVID-19 is a requirement to perform the Umra pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi state TV said on Sunday, citing a government official.