Nghe An farmers struggle to fight tea 'fire'

The drought has lasted for many days, the green tea hills along Ho Chi Minh road have begun to wither and die, some high hills have begun to "burn" and become patchy. Photo: Huy Thu

On the tea beds, tea branches and leaves have dried due to the heat and lack of water. Photo: Huy Thu

On this occasion, when visiting tea growing areas in Thanh Chuong, Anh Son... everywhere you go, you see people talking about buying pumps, water pipes, and preventing "fire" for tea. In the photo: People of Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) buy tea watering machines. Photo: Huy Thu

Ponds, lakes, streams, and streams around the tea hills have been installed with many water pumps by households, pumping continuously from this afternoon until the next morning. Some ponds and lakes have also dried up. Mr. Tran Van Lien (63 years old) in Thanh An commune (Thanh Chuong) said: His family grows 1 hectare of tea, just bought a 24 horsepower pump and 350 meters of pipe, costing 36 million VND. Every time he goes to water, he takes care of the engine, while his wife takes care of watering the fields. "On this occasion, fathers, children, and siblings cannot share a pump, each family must buy a new pump to save the tea" - Mr. Lien shared. Photo: Huy Thu

Around 4 p.m. every day, farmers in tea-growing communes begin carrying irrigation poles and pumps to streams, ponds, and lakes to water the tea. Photo: Huy Thu

Depending on the distance between the tea fields and the water source, many households have to install pipes hundreds of meters long, through village roads, national highways, and over steep terrain. Moving tea irrigation pipes from one hill to another is quite difficult. In the photo: A woman in Thanh An commune (Thanh Chuong) is carrying a water pipe up the hill. Photo: Huy Thu

According to local people, depending on the pump's capacity (15, 24, 30 horsepower), the pipe width, narrowness... the water spray distance is from 15 - 40 meters. Each watering session lasts about 5 hours and the irrigation poles are moved. In places without water sources, families with pumps can only watch their tea hills wither. Photo: Huy Thu

Experience of tea growers shows that when watering, water must be "heavy", if watered lightly, the tea can "burn" and die more severely. Thanks to the system of sprayers creating artificial rain curtains, many tea gardens have survived. Photo: Huy Thu

The prolonged hot weather has forced tea growers in the districts to struggle against drought, which has cost them money and time, and has caused them to lose their appetite and sleep. Many people have fallen ill in the tea fields. Photo: Huy Thu

At night, in tea-growing communes, the buying and selling and assembling of water pipes in tea fields still takes place. People stay up all night to watch the pumps, pour in cool water, move irrigation poles, pipes... Mr. Mai Thanh Tuong (56 years old) of Ngoc Lam Tea Enterprise (Thanh Thuy, Thanh Chuong) said: The stronger the sun is, the more we tea growers suffer. This year, the tea harvest is not enough to cover the costs, and we have encountered drought. We stay up all night to water the tea, to save it from dying, otherwise, having to replant it would be much more expensive. In recent years, the weather has been harsh, making it very difficult for us tea growers. Photo: Huy Thu

Thanks to the efforts and flexibility of the people in taking care of the plants, especially the timely watering, the tea hills near the water source, which are fully watered, continue to be green in the hot sun. Photo: Huy Thu