Local authorities are dealing with the rat infestation that is destroying rice crops.

(Baonghean.vn) - Warm weather is ideal for the growth and development of spring rice. However, farmers are currently facing the problem of rats destroying their crops.

Currently, spring rice in Dien Chau is entering the heading stage, but many areas are being damaged by rats. According to statistics from the Dien Chau Plant Protection Station, the area of ​​spring rice damaged by rats has increased rapidly. From only about 100 hectares at the beginning of March, it has now increased to 177.4 hectares. Of this, 19.9 hectares are severely affected, with 10-20 tillers damaged, while the remaining area suffers damage to 3-7% of the tillers.

Members of the Dien Ngoc Plant Protection and Service Team in Dien Chau district are deployed to eradicate rats. Photo: Mai Giang

Rice paddies near villages, close to railway lines, and in elevated areas are most severely damaged by rats that congregate and build burrows there. It is currently the breeding season, so the rats are multiplying rapidly. To protect the spring rice crop, cooperatives in Dien Chau are strongly mobilizing people to eradicate rats using methods such as setting traps, using poison bait, and digging up burrows. Communes are also allocating additional funds to support farmers in actively controlling rat damage in the fields.

Meanwhile, in the fields of Hoang Mai district, many rice paddies have been damaged by rats, with plants being gnawed and broken. Farmers have proactively set traps, laid bait, and erected scarecrows to repel the rats.

In Quynh Vinh commune, scattered patches of damage caused by rats, ranging in size, cover approximately 70-80 hectares. The commune has provided farmers with 14,000 VND per sao (a unit of land measurement) to purchase biological rat bait. Simultaneously, each village and hamlet has mobilized residents to clear bushes and dig burrows around rice fields and along village roads, hoping to eradicate rats completely, not only this spring but also to prevent further damage in subsequent seasons.

Setting traps is a method farmers are using to kill rats and protect their crops. Photo: Mai Giang

In Quynh Xuan ward, right from the beginning of the season, at meetings, the cooperative members unanimously agreed that each household must eliminate at least 5 rats per sao (a unit of land measurement) of rice paddy. If they do not directly kill the rats, they will have to contribute 20,000 VND per sao so that the cooperative can organize the setting of bait and hire people to dig up the burrows and kill the rats.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Thuy, Head of the Economic Department of Hoang Mai Town, said: Currently, the rice is in the heading stage, so it is impossible to restore the number of tillers damaged by rats, which will affect rice yield. In this year's production season, the town has not established a mechanism to compensate for damage caused by rats, but has directly instructed communes and wards to proactively adopt methods suitable to their local conditions.

In addition, farmers need to proactively visit their fields, regularly check the growth and development of rice plants to promptly prevent and treat areas infected with diseases, and follow the instructions and recommendations of agricultural extension officers to avoid outbreaks and widespread damage from diseases.

Mai Giang - Nguyen Van