Greenhouse system for Phu Quoc island

VietNamNet Bridge – A hi-tech greenhouse system imported from Israel early this year has helped meet the demand for organic vegetables on Phu Quoc island, which must transport most of its needed produce from the mainland.

Ecofarm plans to expand its greenhouse area to 2-2.5ha to have a daily vegetable output of 3-4 tonnes to meet local demand.(Photo:rauquavietnam.vn)

The 4,200sq m greenhouse, located in Cua Duong commune, includes a drip irrigation control system that allows for cultivation of up to 50 kinds of vegetables year-round.

Nguyen Minh Triet, Ecofarm director, said his company supplies 200-300kg of safe and clean vegetables for local residents a day, including water spinach, mustard leaf, spring onion and watercress.

Can Tho University’s Agriculture Faculty provides Ecofarm with high quality varieties of vegetables, and the university’s agricultural experts monitor the cultivation process.

Lam Van Cao, deputy head of Phu Quoc Island Farmers Association, said the prices of vegetables transported from the mainland to the island were four to five times higher than those sold on the mainland.

Ecofarm plans to expand its greenhouse area to 2-2.5ha to have a daily vegetable output of 3-4 tonnes to meet local demand.

It also plans to export its vegetables to nearby countries and territories, including Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Two Ecofarm employees have been sent to Israel to learn how to grow clean vegetables in a greenhouse.

The company has also opened a shop in Duong Dong town to promote its vegetable products.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Artifacts further evidence of East Sea sovereignty: expert

14:52' 07/07/2009 (GMT+7)

The two artifacts that were discovered on June 22 by fishermen in the seas off Ha Tinh Province. VietNamNet Bridge - The two Dong Son artifacts discovered in Ha Tinh Province late last month reaffirm Vietnam’s sovereignty over the East Sea area, says Trinh Sinh, an official of the Institute of Archeology. The Dong Son culture was centered in the Red River valley in northern Vietnam and was a prehistoric Bronze Age culture, dated to about 2000 BC-200 AD. According to Ha Tinh Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, farmers in the village of Ky Loi in Ky Anh District, discovered on June 22 two artifacts that experts believe date back two millennia. The artifacts, a bronze spear and an axe, were found on the Vung Ang seabed, about two kilometers off the coast of Ky Loi Village. “This is the first time we’ve discovered Dong Son artifacts near the seabed,” Sinh said. “This proves that the residents of Dong Son culture had conducted trading activities near the sea area that borders their land.” Sinh said during the Dong Son era, people traveled often by sea and had reached Kien Giang island in the eponymous Mekong Delta Province. The East Sea area has also produced evidence of the Sa Huynh culture. “The fishing net and human bones we discovered around the East Sea coastal area in the past has proved that.” Sinh dismissed speculation that the artifacts were simply collected by someone from the Nguyen dynasty. “We believe that the habit of collecting ancient artifacts from Dong Son culture only began about 20 years ago and those from the Nguyen dynasty preferred to collect tea utensils or pottery.” In a separate article written for the Lao Dong newspaper, Sinh wrote that Vietnam should develop the study of marine archaeology like many other countries in Southeast Asia. “That way we can fully understand what is still left of the old civilization in our oceans,” Sinh wrote. VNN/TN

The King of Pop to be honoured in Hanoi

VietNamNet Bridge – Michael Jackson fans will have a chance to enjoy classic songs of their idol in a show to memorialise the King of Pop at the Sofitel Metropole Hotel, Hanoi, on July 16.

While world-wide fans of Jackson are heading to the Staples Center, Los Angeles, US, where a ceremony to remember Jackson will take place on July 7, his fans in Hanoi will have their own memorial ceremony at Angelina bar, Sofitel Metropole Hotel on July 16. The show is open for all fans.

DJ EKS and Kruise will perform legendary Jackson songs like Billy Jean, Black or White and Heal the World.

The organiser said that the show would not be like a funeral but rather a celebration of Jackson’s songs. Photos of the King will be projected onto a big screen.

DJ EKS said he will re-mix Jackson songs and some songs of the Jackson 5 with famous singers in a different style.

“I have been a fan of Michael Jackson since 1992-1993. I was very shocked hearing that he died,” said DJ EKS.

Hanh Phuong