Working in the sun to collect straw, Nghe An farmers earn hundreds of millions of dong

Straw collectors have to work in the fields all afternoon in the hot sun. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The hottest days are also the time when farmers in the areaNghe AnSpring rice harvest season. At the same time, straw collectors are also busy following the season to get more "spoils of war".

In the fields of Nam Thanh, Lien Thanh, Xuan Thanh... communes of Yen Thanh district, when the sun was at its zenith, groups of men appeared "in the sun" loading bundles of rolled straw onto trucks.

Mr. Le Van Sy in hamlet 2, Lien Thanh commune said that many years ago, he invested hundreds of millions of dong to buy a straw rolling machine to carry out the process.straw collectionevery time the rice harvest season comes. This job sounds simple, but in fact it is very hard, because the customer's requirement is that the straw must be dry, golden, not wet, moldy... Therefore, the straw collectors are forced to go to the field from noon until 4 pm.

All straw collected during the day must be transported to the warehouse before sunset to avoid dew causing moisture. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Currently, I have 2 straw rolling machines. Every day, I hire 5-7 workers to collect straw in the fields. In total, each croprice harvest, I collected over 4,000 rolls of straw (each roll weighs nearly 20 kg), selling for 40,000 VND/roll, earning hundreds of millions of VND. However, because the workers had to work during peak hours of hot weather, the cost was high, so the profit was only about 30%. In recent years, many large-scale livestock farming businesses have a huge demand for straw for food, so they are only afraid of not having the strength to collect, not worried about unsold products," Mr. Le Van Sy shared.

Having been working in straw collecting for more than 5 years and being one of the first to invest in straw collecting machines in Yen Thanh district, Mr. Sy shared that in the past, people often mobilized manpower to collect straw to bring back and store for livestock to eat. Households that did not use it would burn it, which was not only wasteful but also caused environmental pollution. To take advantage of this abundant by-product, he proactively researched and invested in buying straw collecting machines and supplying them to the market. Thanks to the convenience of straw collecting machines, a part of the straw after the harvest has been effectively utilized.

Straw harvesting is most convenient when the weather is sunny and dry. After harvesting, each field is left to dry in the sun for 2-3 days before being rolled. Straw must never be collected in the late afternoon or early morning, because the humidity is high at this time, the straw will be damp and will not meet the requirements of customers. Therefore, this job requires going to the field at the hottest time of the day to ensure the straw is safe. If the weather is erratic, straw collection will be affected, so on hot and sunny days, you must take advantage of the time.

During the rice harvest season, a lot of straw is left in the fields. If it is not collected to serve agriculture, it is a waste. Photo: Xuan Hoang

It is known that in Yen Thanh district, there are only a few farmers who have invested in buying straw collection machines. In addition, other districts such as Do Luong, Thanh Chuong... also have people investing in this profession, but not many.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection said: Straw is a fairly abundant source of by-products after each rice harvest season in Nghe An. Dry straw is used for many purposes in agriculture: as food for cattle, mushroom production, bio-fertilizer, for cultivation... Therefore, the collection of straw by some farmers should be encouraged. Because if not collected, farmers will burn it in the fields, causing environmental pollution and wasting this resource.