Vietnam: Internet improves rural lives

Project brings 10,000 online in remote areas.

An estimated 10,000 people in rural areas of three provinces will have better access to the internet with the implementation of a US$2.1 million project supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Work on the project was kicked off by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on Monday. It is hoped better internet access could help farmers.

"Bringing internet to rural areas will be of great importance to help erase the gap between these areas and urban areas, as well as help changing the life of people living here," said Deputy Minister of MIC Tran Duc Lai.

This project, along with other programmes of the Government to bring IT to rural areas, aims to help eliminate factors which contribute to poverty.

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Vietnam: Selling agricultural products via text message

VietNamNet Bridge – For the first time, Vietnamese farmers can search for prices, offer goods for sale and purchase agricultural products by mobile phone.

The Viettel Media Centre and the Information Technology and Statistics Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have combined to launch a service that enables farmers to search for agricultural information by using mobile phones.

The service, called iNhaNong, was introduced in November 2008. iNhaNong is a software product that is installed in mobile phones to help users to look for agricultural information in 20 provinces in Vietnam. Users don’t need to have an Internet connection, they can still get information about the prices of agricultural products, offer goods for sale and purchase agricultural products by sending text messages.

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Getting information to agricultural communities in Viet Nam

A recent ID21 research highlights reports that development programmes try to improve the spread of agricultural information by involving communities in extension practices. Participation alone cannot ensure success, however. Programmes must consider the social networks that influence access to information and reflect the power relations in rural communities.

Tags: agricultural information vietnam extension