Farmers in Nghe An province are rushing to harvest onions to escape flooding.

Taking advantage of the dry weather, these days, people in the spring onion growing areas of Quynh Bang, Quynh Luong (Quynh Luu district) and Quynh Lien (Hoang Mai town) are urgently harvesting before the heavy rains.

Having planted 7 sao (approximately 0.7 hectares) of onions, even though harvest is still about 7 days away, on October 10th and 11th, Mr. Ho Duc Hien from Dai Dong hamlet (Quynh Lien commune) hired two laborers to harvest the onions early. He said: "Normally, the harvest is still a week away, but according to the forecast, there will be heavy rain in our province in the coming days, with a high risk of flooding, so I mobilized people to harvest the onions in stages."

According to onion farmers, spring onions are very easily damaged and destroyed by heavy rain. After the rain, when the water recedes, the onion leaves are also muddy and withered, making them difficult to salvage. Therefore, as soon as heavy rain is forecast, people in the growing areas are busy harvesting the onions that are already ripe or about to be ready for harvest.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Quynh Lien commune (Hoang Mai town), said: "During the winter crop season, the commune planted 351 hectares of vegetables, including 32 hectares of spring onions. The heavy rains at the end of September caused flooding and significant damage to many onion fields. Many onion crops were ready for harvest, while others were still 5-7 days away, but people were still harvesting before the rain started and selling them to traders."

In the fields of the Quỳnh Bảng and Quỳnh Lương communes (Quỳnh Lưu district), farmers are also focusing on harvesting spring onions before heavy rains occur. "If spring onions are caught in heavy rain and flooding, the roots will rot, the leaves will wither, and the whole crop will be lost. Therefore, as soon as we hear the weather forecast, we rush to harvest," said Ms. Nguyễn Thị Tâm, a farmer from Quỳnh Bảng commune.

This winter season, the entire Quynh Luong commune planted 20 hectares of spring onions. Spring onions have been identified as a key crop, with higher economic value than other vegetables. After the heavy rains at the end of September, people actively cared for the spring onion fields that were slightly flooded. Before the next rain, farmers are actively harvesting.

Although farmers are harvesting simultaneously, traders are buying up all the harvested onions as soon as they are picked. Notably, the price of green onions at this time is 5-7 times higher than at the beginning of the season.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh, a trader specializing in buying and selling vegetables and fruits in Quynh Lien commune to northern provinces, said: "Every day, my company buys over 15 tons of onions from people in Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai districts. Currently, the price of onions is very high, ranging from 15,000 to 16,000 VND/kg, seven times higher than at the beginning of the season. The supply of onions is currently scarce due to heavy rains at the end of September, which severely damaged many onion crops."

With a growing period of 45 days, farmers in the growing regions plant their crops at different times in a staggered manner. Therefore, for areas that are already ready for harvest or about to be harvested, farmers rush to uproot and sell to traders before heavy rains.

As for the young onion plants, farmers continue to care for them, clear the furrows, prepare drainage plans, and provide shelter to prevent leaf damage during prolonged heavy rains. Mr. Ho Nguyen Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luong commune, said: "This year, the weather has been quite unfavorable for growing vegetables, especially green onions. However, the price of onions is currently high, so farmers are still making a profit. With the current price, on average, farmers earn a profit of 8-10 million VND per sao (approximately 1000 square meters)."

According to weather expert Nguyen Ngoc Huy, in the coming days, the Central and North Central regions of Vietnam will experience several unfavorable weather patterns simultaneously. These include cold air carrying moisture from the circulation of Typhoon No. 4 from Hong Kong, along with offshore disturbances bringing intermittent moisture inland, and the potential formation of a tropical convergence zone or tropical depression near the coast of Central Vietnam.

These three extreme weather patterns are occurring almost simultaneously, resulting in intense, intermittent rainfall from Quang Ngai to Thanh Hoa. The heaviest rainfall will be concentrated in the area from Hue to Nghe An. The rain will last from now until October 20th and possibly longer. This rainfall could cause major flooding similar to the October 2020 rain.