Agriculture and fishing

In 2017, the Lao government ordered the closure of the country’s Chinese-owned banana farms following reports of pollution and workers falling ill after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Firms already operating in the country were allowed to stay open until their contracts expired. The ban prohibited ...

In villages around the city of Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnamese farmers wait for the monsoon that normally arrives in April or May. “The fruits look ripe outside, but the bean is crispy and small because there was not enough rain,” says 28-year-old Y Bel Eban from Krong village, ...

Myanmar has asked the Norwegian research vessel RV Dr. Fridtjof Nansen to continue its research on the country’s seabed and ecosystem, the Department of Fisheries said. The vessel, which was named after a famous Norwegian explorer, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has visited the country ...

Thailand has designated 24 provinces as “surveillance areas” for African swine fever and ordered strict animal controls in hopes of preventing an outbreak of the deadly disease that has hit its neighbours, an agriculture official said on Friday. Thailand has been on high alert since the ...

The Mekong Delta has restructured agriculture towards climate-change adaptation and market demand by establishing specialised farming areas for its key agricultural products, and by growing other crops on ineffective rice fields or rotating rice with other crops on the same field.  The delta, the country’s largest rice, seafood ...

The discovery of microplastics in the stomachs of mackerel caught in Trang Sea have raised concerns, but the 3rd Marine National Park Operation Centre urged Thais on Wednesday to refrain from panicking and shunning mackerel. The centre urged people to instead get full awareness of the ...

After profound advances in manufacturing and services, most observers now believe that Vietnam is well-positioned to meet its principal Vision 2035 goal of achieving upper middle-income status. But sustained agricultural gains are by no means assured. Key agricultural officials recognise this. In 2013, the governmentintroduced an ‘agricultural restructuring’ ...

Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference. While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – ...

The Department of Fisheries will roll out a number of measures to help cushion the impacts of dam construction in the upper reaches of the Mekong River on Thai fishermen. Department chief, Adisorn Promthep, said the measures will entail further diplomatic coordination with Laos — which ...

Some have survived for hundreds of millions of years, but many of the world’s freshwater megafauna—including sumo-sized stingrays, colossal catfish, giant turtles, and gargantuan salamanders—may soon find themselves on the brink of extinction, according to a new study published. For the first time, researchers have quantified the ...