Livestock:

Minh Bao is a commune with the large forest area of ​​Yen Bai City, Yen Bai Province. Thus, bee keeping for honey has become a profession for many households to improve local economy. Typically, Cao Xuan Chung in Bao Yen Village has 110 colonies of bees; Nguyen Van Huy from Thanh Nien Hamlet raises 130 colonies.

Currently, Minh Bao Commune has 25 beekeeping households. Each household has 15 colonies, with a total of 600 colonies in the commune. The annual yield of honey is nearly 10 liters/colony. With the current selling price from VND150,000 to 200,000/liter, beekeepers can earn from VND1.5 to 2 million/year/colony.

The commune also has the potential of producing crops to provide pollen for honey bees, which helps gradually improve the quality of honey. Minh Bao Commune has developed chains linking production and consumption, along with applied good agricultural production practices in farming to increase the value of local honey bee products.

Plantation:

Because of its proximity to the sea, freshwater areas of ​​Ca Mau Province are at high risk of saline intrusion. Saline water continues to enter these freshwater areas from irrigation drains. Local agencies have joined in but have not been thoroughly overcome this issue. Farmers in these areas are especially worried about the winter-spring rice crop, which might be severely affected due to saline intrusion.

The freshwater area in northern region of Ca Mau has about 50,000 hectares of farming and production. This is also a key area for rice farming in Ca Mau Province. In Tran Van Thoi District itself, there are about 26,000 hectares of winter-spring rice.

Droughts have caused the shortage of water, and saline intrusion has reduced productivity of some rice-farming areas in Ca Mau Province. Saline intrusion through irrigation drains is a concern for many farmers in this region.

Fruits:

This year's watermelon crop in Binh Tan District, Vinh Long Province, farmers sowed about 442 hectares. Most watermelon crops were harvested near Lunar New Year Holiday, on December 24 and 25 of the lunar calendar.

In addition to traditional, long and round watermelon, farmers skillfully create melons with gold bar and wine gourd shapes to meet the diverse needs of consumers.

In Tan Hung Commune, Vinh Long District, 300 hectares of watermelon were planted this year. The yield is about 4-5 tons/1000 square meters. With the current price for traders, farmers growing watermelon earn a profit of VND20-25 million/1000 square meters. After a hard-working year, people in Binh Tan District are able to gain high profit thanks to farming watermelon.

Farmers, Agriculture, Countryside:

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, VietGAP-oriented production helps farmers produce high-quality agricultural products. The practice ensures food safety and traceability of products, as well as protect the environment and consumer health.

In many localities, businesses start to invest in organic production and clean agriculture. Up to now, advanced and environmentally friendly production processes (such as VietGAP, and GlobalGAP) is being expanded to different regions and provinces.

According to statistics, Vietnam has nearly 120 thousand hectares of VietGAP certified farming areas. Particularly in 2019, VietGAP certified area reached nearly 40 thousand hectares. Of which, there were 22 thousand hectares of fruit trees, nearly 6 thousand hectares of vegetables, more than 5 thousand hectares of rice, 5 thousand hectares of tea, and 101 hectares of coffee.

Living and Environment:

The Institute of Oceanography (Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province) has just accepted 2 individuals of Hoa Ca crocodile (also known as saltwataer crocodile, with a scientific name Crocodylus porosus). The crocodiles were given to the institute by Phu Tho Tourist Service Joint Stock Company in Ho Chi Minh City. After receiving, these 2 individual crocodiles were taken to the artificial mangrove area for nurture.

These are two mature females, growing under artificial conditions. They are nearly 3 meters in length. Earlier, the Institute of Oceanography also received and kept two immature Hoa Ca crocodiles, which were gifts from a private business. The nurture of Hoa Ca crocodiles not only serves for scientific research and conservation of genetic resources, but also enriches and diversifies specimens at the Museum of Oceanography of the institute. This helps raise awareness for the community on the protection of rare and precious animals.

Pet, Flowers and Ornamental Plants:

Despite being 72 years old, artisan Nguyen Van Cong (also known as Nam Cong), who lives in Hung Khanh Trung B Commune, Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province, is still devoted to ornamental plants. He continuously creates unique shaped products and supply them to the market.

Currently, Nguyen’s garden has hundreds of animal-shaped ornamental plants. Each plant represents an animal with different poses and unique features of the species. He was named as the "King of the Beast" by ornamental plant lovers.

Over the past 40 years, Nguyen has been working and studying to create animal-shaped ornamental plants. Besides the 12 zodiac animals of each year, his garden also has different species created from flowers and bonsai. Many visitors express how they feel like visiting a zoo when coming to Nguyen’s special garden.

By Sonia LV - Copyright © VietLinh