Good practice in Yen Thanh to avoid protection of harvesters

Harvester service price depends on the field

In the past, every time the rice harvest season came, there was often a situation where machine owners fought over operating areas;harvester protection, causing insecurity and disorder; at the same time, farmers are upset because prices are inconsistent and the rice acreage is not fully harvested for them.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vuong - Head of Trung Thanh Commune's Cultural Committee reads the announcement of the spring rice harvest plan on the loudspeaker system every day. Photo: Quang An

Faced with that situation, before entering the spring rice harvest this year, the People's CommitteeYen Thanh districthas directed localities to have a plan to strictly manage harvesters, to ensure the interests of both farmers and harvester owners.

Trung Thanh commune is a locality with more than 400 hectares of spring rice. In mid-May, farmers began to go to the fields to harvest, with the joy of a good harvest.

A commitment from the harvester owner to ensure rice harvesting service with the Trung Thanh commune government. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Tran Thuong Hoan - Chairman of Trung Thanh Commune People's Committee said: To ensure the rights of farmers and harvesters, before entering the rice harvest season, the commune directed the Agricultural Service Cooperative to notify all people about registering for rice harvester services. Based on the existing rice area, the commune cooperative agreed to put 12 harvesters into service for farmers throughout the season. Accordingly, the harvester owners signed a commitment with the commune government to serve farmers to the end, and only when all the rice was harvested could the harvesters be withdrawn. In particular, the harvester service price was also discussed and agreed upon by the parties with 3 different price levels.

Accordingly, for deep muddy fields, the price is 220,000 - 240,000 VND/sao; for moist fields, the price is 180,000 - 220,000 VND/sao; for shallow fields, the price is 160,000 - 180,000 VND/sao. This service price is 10 - 15% higher than previous years, because the price of oil has increased this year, farmers have accepted it. During the harvest, if any machine owner does not comply with the commitment, the commune police will take measures to handle it according to regulations.

This spring crop, all localities in Yen Thanh district have done a good job of managing harvester services right from the beginning of the crop. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Similarly, Bac Thanh commune has contracted 13 harvesters to serve the people in harvesting rice this spring. Mr. Tran Kim Hung - Vice Chairman of Bac Thanh Commune People's Committee said that the commune assigned the Agricultural Service Cooperative to develop a plan. Accordingly, the agreed price: Deep fields 190,000 VND/sao; high fields 180,000 VND/sao.

To have the binding of the harvester owner, before service operationrice harvestIn the commune, each machine must pay a deposit of 2 million VND to the cooperative. After the harvest is completed, if the machine owner fulfills his commitment, the commune will return the entire amount to the machine owner.

Lang Thanh Commune is a locality with many rice fields, with deep wells and terraces... therefore, this spring crop, the local government also assigned the Agricultural Service Cooperative to proactively coordinate closely with the machine owners to serve the people fairly.

Mr. Tran Van Hien - Director of Lang Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative said: Due to the characteristics of the local fields, the Cooperative has contracted 15 harvesters to serve the people in this spring crop. Unlike previous years, this spring crop, farmers are more secure because the Cooperative has established a rice harvesting steering committee, assigning members to be in charge of each field to directly direct the harvesters, ensuring that 100% of the area is harvested by machines and the service price is collected according to regulations. However, there are some areas where the machines cannot enter, the Cooperative will make a record to agree for the family to harvest by themselves.

According to regulations, before starting operations, since most of the machine owners are from outside the locality, they must register their temporary residence and temporary absence with the commune police. In addition, each machine owner must deposit 5 million VND to the cooperative before starting the harvest service. After the harvest is completed, the cooperative will accept the contract. If the entire harvesting process is guaranteed as committed, the entire deposit will be returned to the machine owner.

According to the commitment between the machine owner and the commune government, all of the people's rice fields will be harvested by machine. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to the opinions of the people's representatives, the machine owners and the Cooperative have agreed on the prices: Deep areas in the North Vech area and below, collect at a price of 200,000 - 220,000 VND/sao; highland areas such as Dong Ban hamlet collect at a price of 150,000 VND/sao; terraced fields in Phu Son hamlet are 160,000 VND/sao. During the harvest, the Cooperative assigns tasks to members to directly direct the harvest, in order to serve the people in the best way.

"In previous years, although the cooperative brought machines to serve the people, there was no specific plan. This year, the cooperative required the machine owners to sign a specific commitment on price and implementation. With this form of management, it ensures the rights and fairness for both farmers and machine owners."

Mr. Tran Van Hien - Director of Lang Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative

Ensure the rights of all parties

Mr. Tran Van Uyen - owner of a rice harvester in Trai Bui hamlet, Trung Thanh commune, said that this year, the commune has managed the machines in such a specific and strict manner, which makes us, the machine owners, satisfied, because it ensures the rights of the machine owners and the rice field owners. Because in the past, every time the rice harvest season came, there was a situation of competition for operating areas, the rice fields were deeply infested, no machine owner wanted to harvest; the situation of people declaring incorrect areas... the problem of brokers protecting the harvesters, leading to losses for the machine owners. Therefore, before entering the harvest season, I was invited by the commune to thoroughly understand and sign a commitment to ensure the harvesting activities of rice harvesters in the commune.

Most people agree with the harvester service prices announced by the commune and the harvester owners perform as promised. Photo: Quang An

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hai -farmerIn hamlet 3, Bac Thanh commune, farmers shared that this year, the machine owners and the commune agreed that the prices for harvester services were reasonable. Although they were higher than previous years, people still accepted them because of the high oil prices. Hopefully, with the close involvement of the commune, farmers will no longer worry about machine owners making things difficult for them, leading to the situation of forcing them to harvest green rice and abandoning the fields.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duong - Vice Chairman of Yen Thanh District People's Committee said: Right before entering the spring rice harvest, the District People's Committee directed the communes and Agricultural Service Cooperatives to organize the call for harvesters to the locality with appropriate quantity, to avoid the phenomenon of competition during the harvest process as well as price pressure.

Accordingly, communes must divide the fields into zones to facilitate the operation of the machine and harvest without leaving any area untouched. In addition, the commune police must be assigned to monitor the local harvest situation so that the machine can operate most smoothly and prevent the phenomenon of protecting the harvester during the rice harvest, leading to delays in the harvest season for farmers. During the harvest, the cooperative and the commune police must also monitor prices, avoiding the situation of pushing prices too high and forcing people to pay more. However, the price of rice harvesting services depends on the specifics of each locality, in order to ensure the interests of farmers and machine owners, in the context of high oil prices.

This spring crop, Yen Thanh district planted nearly 13,000 hectares of rice. Since mid-May, farmers have been harvesting rice in the fields. Although this year the weather is not favorable for rice care, the rice yield is still high, in many places reaching over 75 quintals/ha./.