Vietnam and Laos: The Price of Rice

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War decimated the landscape of Vietnam. The drastic economic times that followed drove Vietnam into the globalizing economy at lightning speed — and the country soon became the second largest exporter of rice in the world. After the war, Vietnam catapulted into the global marketplace, fast becoming the second largest producer of rice in the world.

But the price of this rice is still being calculated: one out of every seven people in Vietnam goes hungry, for lack of rice, and farmers are spending more on chemical fertilizer than they are earning in profits. Outer Voices traveled to Vietnam and Laos to see first hand what environmental leader, Tranh Thi Lanh, has done to create a movement for sustainable agriculture in this region.

Lao woman
photo credit Simon Dearnaley

Tranh Thi Lanh
Founder, Social Policy Ecological Research Institute. HaNoi, VietNam

This is a story about farming — the pressures of global economy on people and land, the deep spiritual relationships that people develop with land, and that they in turn use to preserve it. And underneath that, there’s what it is to build an environmental movement in Vietnam, after agent orange.

Background Information

Country Profile: Vietnam
Vietnam, a one-party communist state, has one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies and has set its sights on becoming a developed nation by 2020. Read full article

Landmines: War's Lingering Menace
The Vietnam war ended over 25 years ago, but for many Vietnamese, the realities of the war still linger. In the years since the fall of Saigon, over 40,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (explosives) left behind from that conflict. Read full article

Agent Orange Effects Still Being Felt 25 Years After End Of Vietnam War
CAM TUYEN, Vietnam - Tran Van Tram and his wife thought they had escaped the worst of the Vietnam War when they fled their home as Quang Tri province became the front line.

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But now they fear a small piece of the conflict lingers inside them, showing up in the birth defects suffered by four of their seven children. "The war has been over for 25 years and we still have to suffer the consequences," Tram lamented. Read full article

Related Programs Featuring The Price of Rice

The Nature Conservancy Podcast
Video/slideshow on Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting site
Blog on Pulitzer site
Pulitzer Global Gateway: Food Insecurity
Youtube Video
Forthcoming – NFCB/ Citizenshift podcast link
Possible Wisconsin Public Radio Here on Earth broadcast
Check out The Price of Rice blog at The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
For more information about the work of Social Policy Ecological Research Center please visit their website:http://speri.org/eng/index.php

Sponsors

The Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
The LEF Foundation
The Lucius and Eva Eastman Foundation
And many other generous donors for their support.

"Thank you for sending me “Price of Rice” ….we will definitely air this first-rate documentary on during our Public Affairs Hour on WDCV FM, Carlisle, PA. What a splendidly edited and crafted piece."
- Davis C. Tracy, PhD
WDCVFM

TRANSCRIPTS
Interview 4.doc
Travel to ethnic village 1-3.doc
Malian village 1-18.doc
Interview 1 a,b,c,d.doc
Interview 2.doc
Intcut sgs.doc
Phuong picks.doc
malieng.doc
file 0048.doc
File 0054.doc
T004.1 Lanh interview.doc
T002_1 LangInterview.doc
T001_3 LangInterview.doc
T001_3 LangInterview.doc
file 0917.doc
T206 – Carol Kresge – off the record.doc
herbalists at night.doc
Girl farmer student.doc
ban may commune.doc
lanh second interview part 2.doc
Chau interview.doc
T141 Xien Da.doc
tuan interview.doc
Tu - Simacai.doc
T204 – Carol Kresge.doc
Mrs.Chan interviewsdoc
vietnam transcripts T001_1 LangInterview.doc

Vietnam and Laos: The Price of Rice

Background Information

For Radio Stations

Related Programs Featuring The Price of Rice

Sponsors

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