Nghe An strengthens direction of crop production in spring crop 2021

In agricultural production,spring cropSpring is the main crop of the year, determining over 60% of the annual food production target. However, the spring crop is also the crop that is heavily affected by natural disasters and epidemics. According to the forecast of the North Central Hydrometeorological Station, the 2021 spring crop will be cold and severe cold will occur early and last long.

Severe cold spells are concentrated in the period from the second half of December 2020 to February 2021, each spell is likely to last from 7 to 10 days, plus the potential risk of some harmful diseases such as: Rats, rice blast disease,... damaging rice, fall armyworm damaging corn are likely to arise and cause severe damage over a large area, affecting production, growth, yield and crop yield.

Farmers in Dien Chau district sow rice in the 2020 spring crop. Photo: Phu Huong

In order for the 2021 spring crop production to be a complete success, achieving and exceeding the set plan targets, the Provincial People's Committee requests Chairmen of People's Committees of districts, cities and towns; Directors of Departments; Heads of relevant departments, branches and units to well implement the following tasks:

1. People's Committees of districts, cities and towns:

- Based on the Production Project of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, planning, plans and characteristics of terrain, land, climate, and intensive production level of the locality to develop, deploy and direct the implementation of the 2021 spring crop production plan and project of the locality to achieve the best results.

- Establish production steering committeespring cropdistrict level; assign specific responsibilities and direction to each commune, commune cluster, ward, and town. Launch a movement to carry out irrigation, clean fields, build embankments to retain water, prepare land early (make beams, make fences), organize rat extermination; prepare fields well for planting seedlings.

- Strengthen information and propaganda work at the grassroots level so that farmers know and strictly follow the crop calendar, variety structure and apply appropriate technical solutions for rice to bloom in favorable weather conditions. Direct departments, offices and specialized units in the area to effectively carry out the investigation, detection, estimation, forecasting and advising on timely and effective prevention and control of pests.

- For vegetable production: Direct and guide farmers to take care of winter vegetables in 2020, promptly repair areas damaged by floods, and at the same time prepare conditions such as seeds, land fund, etc. for planting spring vegetables in 2021.

- Review water sources in lakes, dams, rivers and streams to develop a plan to convert crop structure appropriately to the specific conditions of each locality, especially in highland areas that do not have enough water for irrigation throughout the season, switching to other more effective crops.

- Increase the application of scientific and technical advances in production such as: System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Integrated Pest Management (TPM), VietGAP, high technology application,... Production ensures food hygiene and safety according to the scale of goods, according to the product value chain to improve production efficiency.

- Strengthen inspection, detection and strict handling of violations in the production and trading of plant varieties and agricultural materials serving local production. Resolutely prevent the occurrence of substandard varieties and agricultural materials being used for production.

- During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, problems or issues, localities must immediately report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to advise the Provincial People's Committee for timely handling.

2. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

- Direct specialized units to develop and promptly promulgate plans for plant pest control and drought prevention to serve as a basis for localities to implement.

- Actively coordinate with the People's Committees of districts to effectively manage seeds and agricultural materials; promptly detect and strictly handle violations in the production and trading of plant seeds and agricultural materials; prevent the circulation of fake and poor quality agricultural materials on the market to ensure the best service for production.

- Establish working groups led by leaders of specialized units and specialized departments under the Department to coordinate with the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to direct and organize the effective implementation of the 2021 Spring Crop Production Project, handle problems and difficulties at the grassroots level, and help farmers facilitate production.

- Direct departments and affiliated units to coordinate with mass media agencies such as: Provincial and local Radio and Television Stations, Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper, Nghe An Newspaper... to develop propaganda programs to guide and advise farmers to comply with the crop calendar, properly implement intensive technical measures, and prevent and control pests and diseases as set forth by specialized agencies.

- Regularly coordinate with the North Central Hydrometeorological Center to monitor and grasp weather developments, especially severe cold and other unusual developments affecting agricultural production.

Advise and direct localities to implement effective response measures to minimize damage caused by natural disasters.

- Coordinate with units and businesses to prepare necessary conditions such as: seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. To serve production well, avoid scarcity and price increase of agricultural materials when people's demand is high.

- Periodically or suddenly summarize the situation and results of spring crop production in 2021 and report to the Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Department of Finance:Preside and coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to advise the Provincial People's Committee to promptly support localities with funding for agricultural production support policies according to current regulations.

4. Department of Industry and Trade:

- Coordinate withDepartment of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentDirect hydropower companies in the province to regulate water discharge appropriately, ensuring enough irrigation water for spring crop production in 2021.

- Direct Nghe An Electricity to base on the 2021 spring crop production schedule to prioritize electricity for agricultural production, especially in localities and regions that cannot proactively provide water, and when electricity is needed to pump water to prepare fields for spring rice planting.

5. Department of Science and Technology:Coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities to transfer and apply advanced technical advances, apply high technology in production, focus on advantageous areas, areas with high technology planning, help farmers produce products with increasingly high quality and economic efficiency.

6. Mass organizations, socio-political organizations:Mobilize all levels of the Association and its members to effectively implement technical measures and solutions in agricultural production. Pay attention to helping farmers change their thinking and awareness of agricultural production from experience production to production applying new scientific and technical advances, producing quality goods suitable for the domestic and export markets to increase economic efficiency per unit area.

7. Provincial Radio and Television Station, Nghe An Newspaper:

- Increase the duration and appropriate timing of broadcasting to propagate to farmers to promptly grasp the crop calendar, intensive farming measures, weather developments, and plant pests and diseases, thereby helping people proactively prevent and overcome disadvantages caused by weather and diseases.

- Develop reports on new agricultural production models applying high technology, promptly report and praise localities that have done well in production direction, typical organizations and individuals in agricultural production; at the same time, have feedback on localities that have not done well to gain experience in direction and operation.