Spring peanut crop fails, farmers in Nghe An suffer losses.
In the spring of 2025, many key peanut-growing areas in Nghe An province, such as Nam Dan and Dien Chau, recorded serious crop failures. Peanut yields decreased and quality was poor, causing significant losses for peanut farmers.
This spring, the entire Thuong Tan Loc commune (Nam Dan district) planted 30 hectares of peanuts. Currently, this area has been harvested. However, according to local residents, this season's yield has decreased significantly. The average yield is only about 2 quintals per sao (approximately 200 kg per 1000 square meters), a decrease of 30 to 40 kg per sao compared to last year's spring peanut crop.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, a farmer from Minh Tan hamlet, said: "My family cultivates 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of peanuts, and this year's yield is significantly lower than in previous years. The reason is that there was heavy rain at the beginning of the season, flooding the peanut fields, and then pests and diseases developed strongly, resulting in stunted plants and fewer tubers."
Despite low yields, thanks to early harvesting, the people of Thuong Tan Loc still managed to sell their peanuts at a good price. According to reports, the retail price of fresh peanuts fluctuates around 25,000 VND/kg, while the wholesale price for traders is around 20,000 VND/kg, which is 3,000–5,000 VND/kg higher than last year.
The crop failure is even more severe in Dien Chau – the district with the largest peanut growing area in the province. Ms. Tran Thi Chien, a farmer from Dien Trung commune, lamented: “My family planted 3 sao (approximately 3,000 square meters) of peanuts, but the yield is only about 1.3 quintals per sao, a decrease of 70 kg per sao compared to last year. While last year we earned 4 million VND per sao of peanuts, this year we only got about 1-1.5 million VND.”
Not only is the yield low, but the quality of peanuts this year has also been severely affected. Due to the impact of weather and pests, the peanuts are of poor quality, with many pods being shriveled, leading to peanut prices in many areas currently being 2,000 - 3,000 VND/kg lower than last year.
Mr. Hoang Van Hai, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Dien Thinh commune (Dien Chau district), informed: "The entire commune has 360 hectares of peanuts planted in the spring crop. Currently, farmers have harvested about 40% of the area. The yield only reached an average of 1.34 quintals/sao, in some places only 1 quintal/sao, a sharp decrease compared to last year's spring crop."
According to Mr. Hai, the main reason for the peanut crop failure was unfavorable weather conditions. At the beginning of the season, the area experienced several prolonged periods of cold rain, causing localized flooding. During the flowering, tillering, and tuber formation stages, the peanut plants were affected by many dangerous pests and diseases such as black mold root rot, white mold root rot, bacterial wilt, collar rot, armyworm, etc., causing the plants to die in patches.
The peanut crop failure has caused significant losses for many households. With an average investment of 1.2–1.5 million VND per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), if the yield only reaches 1–1.5 quintals per sao, many households will barely make a profit. Furthermore, last night (May 10th), heavy rain fell across a wide area, submerging many unharvested peanut fields.
"The fields were flooded, the peanuts ready for harvest were submerged, and if we couldn't harvest them in time, the tubers would crack and rot," a farmer in Dien Thinh commune lamented. This morning (May 11th), when the weather cleared up and the water receded in some areas, the people of Dien Thinh took advantage of the opportunity to harvest their crops.
According to statistics, the province has approximately 7,200 hectares of spring peanuts, concentrated mainly in the districts of Dien Chau, Nam Dan, Yen Thanh, Do Luong, and Hung Nguyen. The main peanut varieties planted include: Sen Nghe An (75/23), L14, L23, TB25, L20… With the unfavorable weather and pest conditions this year, if timely solutions are not implemented, the risk of crop failure recurring in subsequent seasons is very high.
Therefore, in the coming period, the agricultural sector needs to strengthen training in cultivation techniques, introduce peanut varieties with good pest and disease resistance, and support farmers in accessing early pest and disease control solutions. Only then can peanuts – one of the main crops in the spring season – maintain stable yields and income for the people.
