Back-breaking work planting rice during harvest season in Nghe An

On scorching hot days in May, Ms. Bui Thi Tam in Hamlet 3, Dien Nguyen Commune (Dien Chau) hurriedly got up early, prepared meals for her husband and children, and then rode her bicycles to the roads with her neighbors to ask for hired rice planting jobs. This job has lasted for more than 3 years, and every year she goes in the morning and comes back in the evening with her clothes covered in mud.

In the fields in Nghe An at this time, many people are working for hire. Photo: Quang An

Ms. Tam said: "My family has 3 sao of rice fields. Every year, we mobilize family members to finish the work early so that we can focus on planting rice for hire in other communes. This job only lasts about half a month, so we have to take advantage of it. Recently, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, many production facilities have closed, and farmers cannot earn a significant amount of money to cover expenses..."

Not only Ms. Tam but also hundreds of rural women at this time, almost everyone tries to finish their family's planting to go to other localities to ask for planting jobs. Those who have the means go by motorbike from Dien Chau to Yen Thanh and Quynh Luu districts to get hired at a high price... those who do not have the means ride their bicycles on the main roads in the district, hoping to be called by someone to plant.

Planters often gather in small groups to finish the fields quickly. Photo: Quang An

Rice planting is not a strange job, however, planting rice for hire is a different story. Ms. Mui, a planter, shared: "Planting rice for my family's field, I can rest whenever I want, and I can plant whenever I want, but when I plant rice for money, I have to do it properly. I have to plant rice well and quickly so that the homeowner can hire me for the next days, sometimes I get extra money, ... there are days when I am contracted to work on a whole field with only 3 sisters, working hard all day, and only getting home when it is dark...".

On hot days, the planters still work silently. Many kind-hearted homeowners buy fruits and cool drinks to the fields to nourish the women, everyone is happy. However, some households are busy with business and trade, do not have time to go to the fields to supervise, the planters have to prepare their own lunch and drinks to have the energy to work...

In addition to paying wages, the homeowners also provide cool water and fruit for the planters. Photo: Quang An

According to a survey, the price of rice transplanting services at this time is at its peak in recent years. In Dien Chau district, if in previous years, it fluctuated from 200,000 - 250,000 VND/day, now it has increased to 300,000 - 350,000 VND/day.

However, finding workers for transplanting rice at this time is not easy, even if you pay a high price. Mr. Bui Van Thong in Dien Phuc commune (Dien Chau) shared: “At this time, when going to the main roads, you will definitely see many women in small groups, they are definitely transplanters, just call them and negotiate the price and it’s done. However, this year, I stood there all day and only saw a few groups of workers, they were all hired by the previous houses…”

Planters have to work hard all day to meet the deadline set by the homeowner. Photo: Quang An

It is known that the reason for the scarcity of transplanters at this time is because it is the beginning of the summer-autumn planting season. The transplanters must complete their family's fields before they can go to work for other localities. Only those who finish early or have few fields have time to go to work for hire at this time. Besides, the epidemic has been basically controlled, many factories and production facilities have resumed operations, so many rural women have returned to work to ensure progress.

This year, the whole province planted 90,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice, starting from the end of the spring rice harvest and ending on June 25. Photo: Quang An

In the districts of Hung Nguyen, Quynh Luu, Nam Dan... the rice planting service has also flourished in recent years. Although it is a "hot" service, it only lasts for a short time, so any hard-working planter can earn 3-4 million VND per planting season. This is not a small amount of money for farmers, especially after the Covid-19 epidemic has affected people's income, making everyone excited.