Nghe An: Machine harvester service price increases, many places are scarce

In the fields, farmers have to rely on harvesters.

In many rice fields in Hung Nguyen, the rice has ripened but the harvesters have not arrived yet. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Spring cropThis year, the entire hamlet 3, Hung Phuc commune (Hung Nguyen) planted 134 hectares of rice. Currently, the entire spring rice area has ripened and needs to be harvested immediately. However, because the whole commune only has one harvester, it is not enough to meet the demand. Mr. Ho Do Nhuan, hamlet chief of hamlet 3, had to run around to neighboring communes to contact machines to harvest for the people, but it was still difficult.

Mr. Nhuan said: "Currently, there are 2 machines in Hung My to harvest for the people, but it will take 2 more days. If the harvest is delayed, it will not only affect the productivity and output, but also affect the upcoming summer-autumn crop plan."

Working on nearly 1 hectare of rice field, including 3 sao of ripe sticky rice, these past few days, especially when the weather forecast was for monsoon and rain, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu (Hamlet 3, Hung Phuc) was restless.

People in Hung Phuc commune, Hung Loi (Hung Nguyen) "run" after the harvester, waiting for it all day in the hope of an early harvest. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Tu said: “If we don’t harvest 3 sao of sticky rice in time, it will be destroyed by birds and rats. The rice is already overripe, and now the machine can’t come back in time, so a lot of the grains will fall, affecting the yield. On the other hand, this year, the rice has neck blast, so if we let it ripen too much, it will rot and the grains will fall. In addition, the characteristics of this area are that it floods before it rains, and it is dry before it is sunny, so if we don’t harvest in time, it will affect the summer-autumn crop. If we do it late, it will be flooded.”

Not only in Hung Phuc but also in the rice fields of other localities such as: Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Tan Ky...rice has ripened in large quantitiesHowever, the machines were scarce, so people were very worried. Many people, upon hearing that the harvesters were coming, stood on the bank with sacks and ropes from morning to night, even at night, to “pull” the machines to harvest their fields.

The rice fields of hundreds of hectares are ripe, but there is only one harvester serving the people. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Ngo Quang Phan, a factory owner, said: "In rice fields like Hung Thinh, Hung Phuc, Hung Loi, and Hung My, there are thousands of hectares of spring rice but only a few hectares are planted.reaperMeanwhile, the rice is ripening in large quantities, so it cannot meet the needs of the people. Currently, in addition to the family's 3 harvesters, we have connected and contacted harvesters in the northern provinces such as Thai Binh and Nam Dinh - where the later ripening rice fields are brought back to the locality to serve the people. Currently, the machines work at full capacity from 4am to 10pm - 11pm at night. We are currently harvesting in Hung Phuc field, but other places have continuously urged us to bring the machines back. The reason for the shortage of machines is partly due to overlapping fields, the rice ripens at the same time; partly due to the high price of gasoline, so machines in other places do not want to come back because the cost is too high."

MACHINE HARVESTING SERVICE PRICE INCREASED

This year,gasoline prices continue to increase,reached a record level, causing the price of harvester services to increase accordingly. Currently, the price of harvester services ranges from 160,000 to 220,000 VND/sao (depending on the field area, depending on the condition of standing rice or broken rice). Compared to previous years, it has increased from 20,000 to 70,000 VND/sao.

Currently, the price of a harvester per sao ranges from 160,000 - 220,000 VND, an increase of 20,000 - 70,000 VND/sao compared to last year. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, owner of a harvester in Thanh Phong commune (Thanh Chuong) said: “The increase in gasoline prices has caused the prices of all services to increase. The cost of transporting a harvester from one locality to another has increased sharply. If last year, transporting rice from Nam Dinh to Nghe An cost only 2.5-3 million VND/machine, now it has increased to 4.5 million VND; and transporting rice within the province has also increased by 50,000-150,000 VND/trip (depending on the distance).

Oil prices have increased, to harvest 1 sao of rice, it takes 2.5 liters of oil, about 70,000 VND/sao, 1.5 times higher than last year's spring crop; the price of bagging labor has increased from 300,000 VND/day to 450,000 VND/day; the price of machine drivers has increased from 600,000 VND/day to 700,000 VND/day. Therefore, our machine harvesting service price must also increase to cover the costs."

The price of packaging labor and machine operators have both increased compared to before. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to people's feedback,Harvester service price increased by 20,000 VND/saois acceptable. However, in many rice fields, due to the "broker" machine, the price increased by 50,000-70,000 VND/sao, which is difficult to accept. Because this year, the price of fertilizers, pesticides, input costs such as seeds, plowing, planting... have all increased. Meanwhile, rice productivity has decreased sharply, in some rice fields, the productivity has decreased by 50%, the price of rice remains the same, so if the price of harvester service increases too high, people have to accept losses.

Mr. Le Van Thanh, a resident in hamlet 3 Hung Phuc shared: “The total cost for 1 sao of rice from sowing to harvesting is about 1.1-1.2 million VND. The yield like this crop is only 1.5-1.7 quintals/sao, the price of rice is 7,000 VND/kg, the amount of money earned is not enough to cover the capital invested, not to mention the cost of care for 4 months. Therefore, what we hope is that the harvester owners also consider and calculate a reasonable price, not raising it too high, causing people to suffer losses.”

There needs to be close connection and coordination between localities and machine owners to avoid brokers "inflating" prices for machine harvesting services and people "falsely declaring" their field area. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In many localities, the authorities and hamlet committees have connected and closely coordinated with harvester owners to work, sign contracts and agree on appropriate harvester prices for the people, avoiding the situation of "harvester brokers" inflating prices and oppressing the people. At the same time, the authorities also provided maps and specific fields to the harvester owners, avoiding people "falsely declaring" areas leading to conflicts between the people and harvester owners in order to ensure security and order in the area.

Mr. Ho Do Nhuan, head of Hamlet 3, Hung Phuc Commune, said: "The Hamlet Executive Committee has directly contacted the machine owners, agreed on the price and committed to collect the correct price, not "inflating the price" to make things difficult for the people. At the same time, to avoid the situation where the people report to the machine owners that the 2-sao field is only 1.5 sao, leading to conflicts and arguments, we are also willing to provide the rice fields to the machine owners in the spirit of equality and mutual benefit."

Many areas have added straw rolling services. When the straw in the field is dry, the machine will roll it into rows, and people just need to bring it home to store for later use. The current price for straw rolling services ranges from 55,000-60,000 VND/sao. Photo: Thanh Phuc

This spring crop, in addition to the harvester service, many rice fields have also had straw balers, helping people speed up the harvest, reduce labor, and reduce production costs. This is a remarkable signal when agriculture is gradually becoming fully mechanized.