Farmers connect to wider world via web

Just a few years ago, high-speed internet lines or ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines) could only be found in major towns and cities, but today, they are present in almost every corner of the nation.

A new world has opened up to rural farmers, whose only friends used to be their buffalo, ploughs, rice fields, ponds and vegetable gardens.

Today, many farmers are not only familiar with the internet, they are using it to find and take advantage of new opportunities, and to change their lives and better their understanding of the world.

Recently, during my visit to Khoai Chau District in Hung Yen Province, I was surprised to see such a strong change in many residential areas along provincial road No 391.

Internet shops have sprouted up like mushrooms along the road, and most of them are busy with customers well into the night.

Paying VND2,000-3,000 to spend an hour surfing the internet is not a large amount for urban dwellers like us, but it’s no small sum for many people in the Vietnamese countryside.

But rural people are now ready to pay, as the internet has really lured them in, thanks to its many charms and advantages. On the small roads to communes like Dan Tien, Hong Tien, Dong Tien, Tieu Quan and Phung Hung, each village has up to 10 internet shops that operate from morning to late at night. On the district’s central street, many internet shops are even equipped with air conditioners.

Nguyen Mich, an internet shop owner, honestly tells me, "Actually, my air conditioners are just for decoration. I turn them on for a few hours then shut them down. My clients are so busy with the internet, they don’t care how hot or cold it gets in here!"

All these shops supply a "six-in-one service": internet, computer games, repairs and installations, typing documents and translation.

A woman shop owner says, "Many young people in the village come to surf the web with mud on their feet and smell of sweat and livestock on their clothes."

After a hard day working in the rice fields, many older farmers throw their hoes aside, sit at the computer, put on headphones and speak loudly with their children living far away from home.

Ta Van Duong in Viet Hoa Commune has two sons working in South Korea.

"My commune is the most isolated in Khoai Chau District. The first time I had access to the internet, I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. Right in front of me, I could see and hear my sons, talking to me from South Korea. Today, I can chat with them and see their faces via web cam. I’m so happy. This is why so many people become addicted to the internet."

The internet does not only satisfy these farmers’ communication demands, it also supplies them with chances to earn money.

Just coming back from his rice field, with mud still stuck to his feet, Tran Van Son hurriedly makes a call at an internet shop in Yen Khe Village, Viet Hoa Commune.

Like a rooster, he pecks out a web address with his fingers.

"I often visit the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s website. It’s exciting to see that the whole world knows about our rice and rushes out to buy it," he says.

Sitting next to him, farmer Doan Van Bai, 60, is being guided by a young man on how to use the computer.

"I’m old, and the computer has so many English words I can hardly remember them. I just want to learn how to search for information on the web," Bai says.

The commune’s Party secretary, Nguyen Van Thuy, says the commune government is determined to develop its internet services.

"Our farmers told us that the commune authorities should open an internet service station, with about 10 computers for them to search for information, because they don’t want to run to see the local agronomist or to find agricultural books anymore.

"Many members of the local co-operative now watch the news, study crop growing techniques and look at prices, market changes and post-harvesting preservation on the internet. Many have even bought computers and learned how to use the internet themselves."

This is an active change that should be encouraged, I think.

Seeing these farmers, who find opportunities and pleasure from the internet, I can’t help but think about many young people in the city, who spend all day chatting, playing computer games and browsing unhealthy websites. Not only are they wasting too much time on pointless things, many youths are also cheating others or becoming the victims of other scammers.

The internet brings so many conveniences to people everywhere, but many users are only using it in a bad way. Perhaps we should all consider and find the advantages of the internet, use it in a useful way and avoid its dark side.