Nghe An province has harvested over 6,500 hectares of summer-autumn rice crops to escape flooding.
(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An province has over 8,700 hectares of rice fields in low-lying, flood-prone areas. To date, the province has harvested approximately 6,500 hectares, mainly in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts.
The weather is sunny and favorable.
This year's summer-autumn rice crop, Mr. Phan Van Minh's family in Hamlet 6, Xuan Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh District) has finished harvesting all 7 sao (approximately 0.7 hectares) of rice. "Some sao are located in low-lying, deep fields, so harvesting before the rain is reassuring. This year, the sun shone brightly until the end of August, making harvesting and drying very convenient," Mr. Minh said happily.
Xuan Thanh commune has 346 hectares of rice fields, of which about 80 hectares are in low-lying areas, concentrated in the Con Chay, Quan Chau, Dong Bun, and Duoi Me fields. Ms. Do Thi Quy, an agricultural officer of the commune, said: "To date, the entire commune has harvested about 90% of the area. Usually, we instruct and advise farmers to harvest early in flood-prone areas, when the rice is 70% ripe or more. But this year, according to forecasts, there will be no rain or storms in August, so farmers are waiting for the rice to ripen before harvesting to ensure yield and quality."
The entire Yen Thanh district has approximately 3,000 hectares of low-lying, flood-prone areas, concentrated in the communes of Vinh Thanh, Vien Thanh, Long Thanh, Xuan Thanh, etc.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Duong, Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee: "Previously, the district's production schedule usually stipulated that these areas should be harvested before August 30th or September 5th. However, in recent years, due to complex, unpredictable, and irregular weather patterns, we have set a goal of striving to harvest before the rainy and stormy season. By August 31st, the entire district had harvested nearly 3,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice, and the flood-prone communes have basically finished harvesting and will complete the harvest in the next few days."
Green at home is better than old in the field.
On August 30th, Mr. Mai Dinh Quang from Thai Nguyen brought his harvesting machine to Hung Nguyen to harvest rice as requested. “The rice fields in Hamlet 9, Chau Nhan commune, are ripe today. After harvesting in Hung Nguyen, we will go to Thanh Chuong and some other districts, then to Thanh Hoa, and finally return to harvest rice in Thai Nguyen,” Mr. Quang said. He harvests for the farmers at a price of 170,000 VND per sao (a unit of land measurement). Having invested 600 million VND in the machine three years ago, his harvesting team earns approximately 150-200 million VND annually before deducting expenses.
Starting the harvest on August 27th, Mr. Au Dang Van's family in Hamlet 9, Chau Nhan commune (Hung Nguyen district), has basically finished harvesting. They have two more plots to harvest at the end of the week, waiting for the rice to ripen fully. Normally, Mr. Van doesn't wait for the rice to ripen completely, harvesting only when it's about 70% ripe, fearing losses due to rain and floods; in some years, one plot of rice only yields 50-70 kg. However, this year, the rice ripened early, and the sun was strong, so all of his plots were fully ripe before harvesting. Similarly, while in previous years, Mr. Ho Van Hiep – a police officer from Hamlet 7, Chau Nhan commune – had to help people harvest rice in the fields, this year, with sunny and favorable weather, he only went to the fields to monitor the situation and ensure security during the harvest season. According to Mr. Hiep: The villagers contacted and hired harvesting machines themselves, negotiating prices. In general, the harvest has been going smoothly so far, and the supply of harvesting machines is sufficient.
By August 31st, Hung Nguyen district had harvested approximately 100 hectares, mainly concentrated in Chau Nhan and Hung Thanh communes, with scattered areas in Hung Thong commune... The area affected by flooding was about 600 hectares, concentrated in outlying communes such as Hung Tay, Hung Yen Bac, and Hung Trung…
Ms. Phan Thi Giang, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the district, said: This year, due to water shortages and rotational power outages at the beginning of the season, the harvest has been delayed. It is expected that the outlying communes will only begin harvesting in about 20 days and will strive to complete it before September 28th.
Nghe An province has over 8,700 hectares of rice fields in low-lying areas, concentrated in Yen Thanh district (3,000 hectares), Dien Chau district (2,000 hectares), Nghi Loc district (nearly 1,400 hectares), and Hung Nguyen district (nearly 600 hectares)... By August 31st, farmers in these localities had harvested over 6,500 hectares, mainly in Yen Thanh district (nearly 3,000 hectares), Dien Chau district (over 3,000 hectares), and other areas such as Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, and Quynh Luu have also begun harvesting...
"Currently, the weather is generally sunny and favorable, but the forecast indicates that the situation will become more complex in the coming period. Therefore, localities and people need to pay attention to weather forecasts to proactively harvest the summer-autumn rice crop in a timely manner, avoiding losses due to rain and floods, especially in flood-prone areas. Those 'fleeing floods' should adhere to the principle of harvesting while the rice is still green rather than letting it ripen too much."
Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc, Head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, issued a recommendation.
