Specialty plants die in the fields, Nghe An farmers lose billions

In the fields of Xuan Son hamlet, Nam Xuan commune (Nam Dan), the fields of morning glory flowers are dying, the leaves are yellow, the vines are dry and withered. In other years, this is the main harvest season of morning glory flowers - a heat-relieving food plant with high economic value. However, this year the weather is erratic, continuously in the first days of July, heavy rains caused this plant to rot its roots and die prematurely.

Mr. Pham Thua Danh's family in Xuan Son hamlet planted 1 sao of morning glory flowers. After only a few harvests, 80% of the area has rotten roots and the plants have died. There was no other way, so he had to replace the dead morning glory with cucumber plants.

According to statistics, 50-70% of the area of ​​​​thrush flowers in Nam Anh and Nam Xuan communes died due to unfavorable weather. Photo: Thanh Phuc

A few plots away, Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh's family was also trying to collect the remaining morning glory flowers on the vine stems.

Mr. Vinh said: “I have been involved with this crop for 30 years, but this year has been the biggest loss. When I first planted the seeds, it was raining and cold, so I had to do it over and over again. I was able to take care of the plants so they could grow, flower, and start harvesting, but then it rained continuously, causing the plants to die prematurely. Like previous years, each crop of morning glory flowers produced 30 harvests, bringing in an income of 20 million VND/sao. This year, after only a few harvests, the plants died. In high, dry places with good drainage, the plants were weak and produced few flowers. It is estimated that after harvesting everything, I will only earn 7-8 million VND/sao, losing 12-13 million VND/sao.”

Many lucky families have harvested 1/3 of the yield, enough to cover the costs of investing in passionflower plants. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Morning glory is the main crop.of the people of Nam Anh and Nam Xuan localities. This is a drought-resistant plant that loves sunlight, so when other vegetables cannot withstand the current harsh weather, the passionflower still grows and develops well, giving high yields. However, this year, the rain and floods are erratic, from the time the passionflower bloomed and was ready for harvest until now, there have been 3-4 heavy, prolonged rains causing the fields to be flooded, the passionflower plants died on the trellis, the vines dried up.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy, a household growing passionflower in Xuan Son hamlet, Nam Xuan commune, said: “My family is lucky to have harvested a few crops, and if we collect a few more crops, it will be enough to cover the investment costs. In many households, before we can harvest, the plants all die from waterlogging, and we lose everything, so we have to plow the land and plant bitter melon, cucumbers, or eggplants.”

When it rains, the plants die even though the harvest season is supposed to end in October. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In the fields of passion flower in Nam Anh commune (Nam Dan), the rate of dead plants is not as high as in Nam Xuan commune, but the plants are sick, grow poorly, and do not branch or flower, causing great losses.

Mr. Tran Van Nam - an agricultural official of Nam Anh commune said: "About 70% of the total area of ​​60 hectares of passionflower grown by Nam Anh commune people is growing poorly, the yield has decreased by 70%. Normally, for each hectare of yield, people can harvest 18 tons of flowers, but this year, they only harvest about 6-7 tons. The estimated damage is up to billions of dong."

Crop failure and falling prices cause flower growers to suffer heavy losses. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only crop failure, farmers growing passionflower in Nam Anh and Nam Xuan communes also suffereddouble damagewhen the price of passionflower drops. According to people's feedback, Nam Dan passionflower is mainly consumed in the northern provinces. This year, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, passionflower has encountered difficulties in output, and the price has dropped dramatically.

If last year, the price of passionflower was 30,000-35,000 VND/kg, this year it is only 12,000-15,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, the price of fertilizer has increased.

Many areas were lost, forcing people to plant other crops instead. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Crop failure and falling prices have caused heavy losses for flower growers in Nam Dan district. People are harvesting the next batch of flowers and preparing land and seeds for the new crop.