A unique rice seedling market in Nghe An.

The demand from people to buy rice seedlings to replant rice fields that have died or been damaged by snails has increased. Therefore, for many years now, people in Thanh Duong commune (Thanh Chuong district) have been providing a service of selling young rice seedlings to households in need.

Despite trying various methods to eradicate them, many rice fields are still severely damaged by golden apple snails. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Loc (Thanh Duong commune, Thanh Chuong district) cultivates 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of rice fields, having completed planting after the Lunar New Year. Now, the rice seedlings are in the sprouting stage. However, golden apple snails have appeared in large numbers in the rice fields, devouring the young rice plants and leaving only the bare stalks.

"Never before have golden apple snails appeared in such large numbers in a rice crop as this one. Up to 80% of the rice fields have been destroyed by the snails; we can't even catch and exterminate them… Now we have to buy seedlings to replant, what else can we do?" Mrs. Loc said.

People in Thanh Khai commune are thinning out their rice seedlings. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Despite working day and night, using flashlights to catch snails and spraying pesticides, Nguyen Thi Xuan (Thanh Khai, Thanh Chuong) has 7 sao (approximately 0.7 hectares) of rice fields, and despite using lights to catch snails and spraying pesticides, more than 90% of her rice crop has been damaged by golden apple snails. She has tried everything: transplanting seedlings from densely planted areas to fill in the snail-damaged fields; asking relatives for seedlings to replant, but she still needs a lot. "Now I have to buy seedlings to replant the areas the snails have damaged. It will cost at least a million dong," Ms. Xuan said.

For households that sow seeds too densely, they thin out the rice plants. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“My family cultivates 6 sao (approximately 0.6 hectares) of rice fields. We sow seeds directly. Now, the rice has turned green and is ready for fertilization, but because the seeds weren't sown evenly, some areas are too dense, so we have to thin them out. Therefore, I hired 3 people to thin the rice at a rate of 300,000 VND per person per day.”

"I take the harvested rice seedlings to the market to sell. The price of each bundle of seedlings ranges from 15,000 to 25,000 VND (depending on the rice variety and the sturdiness of the seedlings). Roughly calculating, the seedlings harvested from 6 sao (approximately 0.6 hectares) of rice fields can fetch about 1 million VND, enough to cover the cost of hiring people to transplant them," said Mr. Nguyen Trong Tue, from Truong Linh hamlet, Xuan Tuong commune (Thanh Chuong district).

The surplus rice seedlings are taken to the market to be sold. Photo: Thanh Phuc

After thinning and replanting her family's rice field, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lieu (Duong Nam hamlet, Thanh Duong commune) had 20 bundles of rice seedlings left over and took them to the market to sell. Because the rice variety was pure and the seedlings were small, she sold them for 10,000 VND per bundle. She sold all the seedlings in just 10 minutes. "This year, snails have been damaging the rice plants a lot, so there's a high demand for replanting. Therefore, people who have surplus seedlings bring them here to sell."

Previously, after transplanting and thinning, surplus rice seedlings were given to those in need or cut at the base to be used as feed for buffaloes and cows; there was no buying or selling. In recent years, as the demand for seedlings for replanting has increased, a seedling market has formed.

Each bundle of rice seedlings is sold for between 10,000 and 25,000 VND, depending on the variety and the sturdiness of the seedlings. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The rice seedling market in the Con Market area (Thanh Chuong district) is entirely spontaneous; people bring surplus seedlings to sell, and those who lack seedlings come to buy. The price of seedlings is also negotiated between buyers and sellers, depending on the rice variety and the sturdiness of the seedlings. "Rice plants have a time, seedlings have an age," therefore, the rice seedling market only meets about ten times before disbanding.

Thanks to the rice seedling market, rice plants that died due to weather, golden apple snail damage, or lack of water were replanted and re-grown, preventing them from being left fallow.