SIVN’s researchers in the field trip to Nghe An province

From 7^th to 8^th December 2019, Dr Edward Lahiff, along with the students and lecturers of the Department of International Developments Studies (IDS) of the Faculty of International Studies, VNU-USSH, Hanoi had a field trip to Nghe An province. Field trip is an annual activity in the IDS curriculum in order to help students gain hands-on experience about agricultural models. Moreover, the timing of the trip was perfect in the context of the ongoing SIVN project.

In Nghe An, the group visited the dairy farm and water factory of TH Group at Nghia Son commune, Nghia Dan district, and some households growing tea plant at Thanh Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district. The group also had the meetings with the people’s committees of these two communes. The representatives of the TH Group gave the group a brief presentation on the company’s high-tech farming. Following the introduction, the group went to see the whole process of milk production, from milking cows to packaging. In a broader context, the Vietnamese government has been encouraging the application of high technology into agriculture. Although Vietnam has many advantages to develop agriculture, it is still very challenging for its companies in this sector to export products to highly competitive markets such as the US, Japan, European countries, and Australia. Tea production at Thanh Thinh commune is an interesting example of agri-tourism (the combination of agriculture and tourism). Although the tourism at the commune has just played an ancillary role, the model serves as a commercial implication for both local and central level.

The field trip also gave the SIVN project’s researchers a crucial implication. It shows that if local young workers are able to get employment opportunities at their hometowns, they would prefer working there to cities. This suggests that if there are more jobs to be created at villages, it could reduce migration pressure in big cities like Ha Noi.

Let’s take a look at some photos captured in the field trip!