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HCM CITY – The main causes of increased risk of school-food poisoning in HCM City are diverse but uncontrolled food sources, the increased number of school-food producers and the many unlicensed small-scale production workshops, experts have warned. In mid March, tens of students of Trần Quang Khải Primary School in District 1 were hospitalised due to school-food poisoning after having lunch provided by the city-based Tâm Tâm Ltd. Company. HCM City’s Food Hygiene and Safety Department later investigated the company and discovered many food safety-related violations, fining it VND48 million.

HÀ NỘI — Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk has invested VNĐ26 billion (US$1.15 million) on drilling bore wells and building water supply projects. The move aims to provide water against drought to save dry plants and help local residents who face shortage of water for domestic use. According to Nguyá»…n Tuấn Hà, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, as of April 4, the province has nearly 37,000ha of dry plants, whose productivity has plunged by 30 per cent to 70 per cent. The total plant loss has been valued at more than VNĐ1.1 trillion ($49 million). Coffee, pepper and wet rice are among the crops that face the maximum devastation.

MANILA   Asian economies have been rattled by China's slowdown, but they are still growing faster than many others. Maintaining that momentum, however, will require governments to get serious about improving the region's shaky infrastructure. The Nikkei Asian Review asked Takehiko Nakao, president of the Asian Development Bank, about how his organization and governments are coping with this challenge.

A southern province bordering Ho Chi Minh City is holding a festival to promote one of its delicacies as part of the national cultural heritage today, April 6. The first-ever Dew-Wetted Rice Paper Festival, or banh trang phoi suong in Vietnamese, is being held in Trang Bang District, Tay Ninh Province, known as the birthplace of the renowned specialty. Banh trang phoi suong is made by leaving rice papers outside overnight for them to be moistened by dew, which adds a unique flavor to the food. The dew-wetted rice paper is usually served with boiled pork, vegetables, and fish sauce.

A TRADE delegation is promoting Israeli irrigation technology that helps cut costs and makes water use by farmers more efficient. In a news conference yesterday in Makati, Effie Ben Matityau, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines, said Israel’s technology permits “intensive” cultivation in desert areas where water is considered a precious resource. He cited the country’s expertise in drip irrigation to promote maximum utilization of water without sacrificing the quality and yield of agricultural produce.

The 2016 study has 288 pages, 127 tables and figures. Worldwide agricultural drone markets are poised to achieve significant growth with the use of cameras on stable flying platforms that are used to help implement precision farming. The report analyzes and presents an overview on "Agricultural Drones: Market Shares, Strategy, And Forecasts, Worldwide, 2016 To 2022s" worldwide. Crop visualization lets farmers better control and isolate areas for spraying and lets the drones do the spraying.

Farmers in Dak Lak province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands are now threatened with losing their entire rice and coffee crops to severe drought.
The unrelenting heat has caused 599 reservoirs of Dak Lak Provice in the Central Highlands to reach critical condition.
Of these, 118 gave already dried up completely, three times as many as last year, with severe consequences for local agriculture, said local officials in a press conference held by the provincial People’s Committee on Monday.

HÀ NỘI (VNS) — This year’s rural, agriculture and aquaculture census dates will be held from July 1- 30 nationwide, said Nguyá»…n Bích Lâm, general director of the General Statistics Office and deputy head of the 2016 census’s steering committee. Lâm said the census would focus on three main areas: agricultural forestry, salt and aquaculture production, and information on countryside circumstances and the lives of rural residents. The first area would survey the number of production workshops and labourers, and assess the labour structure-production scale.   

The founder of a new farm 22 kilometres west of Siem Reap is hoping to change the way that businesses and individuals in the city get their greens, and without relying on Siem Reap’s notoriously poor soil quality to do so.  Happy + Co is a hydroponic farm on 3.5 hectares in Sasar Sdam commune, on the far side of Puok district, where they’re growing an ever-expanding range of vibrant veggies. The farm already produces okra, spring onion, pumpkin, melon, morning glory, snake gourd, lettuces, papaya and passion fruit delivered on the day that they’re picked. Later this year, tomatoes will also be added to the list. 

Latest round of high-profile destruction comes as tension rises in the disputed South China Sea. Indonesia destroyed 23 foreign fishing boats on Tuesday, as worsening relations over the disputed South China Sea drive countries to take tougher action to defend their maritime sovereignty. Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said her agency sank 10 Malaysian and 13 Vietnamese boats that were caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.

Vietnamese seafood exports rose 2.3% year-on-year during the first quarter of 2016, according to Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries, reports VASEP. The rise was attributed, in part, to favorable weather and lower fuel prices. According to the country's department of customs, seafood export value as of March 15, 2016 was estimated at nearly $1.2 billion, an increase of 9.5% y-o-y

Since the end of 2015, unusually dry conditions and a shortage of rainfall have seriously affected Viet Nam. These conditions which are associated with El Niño, have led to severe drought  in parts of the central, central highlands and southern regions of the country, including the Mekong Delta. Some water levels are at the lowest recorded in 90 years.

April 5, 2016:   2015 proved to be a busy year for Vietnam’s property conglomerate Vingroup spent VND18.76 trillion (nearly $833.9 million) to acquire domestic realty businesses, according to the company’s audited financial statement. The largest ticket-sized deal, closed in December last year, was the acquisition of 100 per cent interest in Hoa Huong Duong Company for VND5.680 trillion. With the deal, Vingroup has garnered a 98.3 per cent voting right in Vinaconex-Viettel Urban Development JSC, the subsidiary of Hoa Huong Duong Company.

A water crisis is developing in central and southern Vietnam as the region is hit by its worst drought in recent history. The United Nations says 1.5 million people face an acute shortage of drinking water. 

KON TUM, Vietnam: Life has become harder for Ta Dinh Hao since the rains stopped earlier than usual last September. The once teeming fish pond in front of his concrete house in Vietnam’s Central Highlands is now parched earth. His rice field has been dead for months and the cassava is struggling, but the 47-year-old farmer’s biggest worry is the dangerously low water level in his household well. If the well dries up, he could afford to buy drinking water for another two or three months. “But after that, we won’t last,” he said with a sad smile

Watch for the April 2016 issue of Agriculture magazine and get inspired by the success stories from Vietnam as well as from the local front. From Vietnam, you will read about how they manage to produce big volumes of jackfruit for export as well as for their local market. In dragon production, they really undertake large scale projects. In one place in Long An province, for instance, no less than 800 hectares are devoted to dragon fruit production in one contiguous place.

The water levels in reservoirs in a south-central Vietnamese province have plummeted significantly due to prolonged drought in summer-fall, bringing serious consequences to local agriculture. The statement was made by the Binh Dinh Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on Wednesday at a conference on drought prevention during the period. The department noted that the water levels in 161 reservoirs have rapidly declined at an average pace of two million cubic meters per week due to prolonged drought weather conditions.