Farmers in Nghe An harvest crops to avoid heavy rain after the storm.

According to forecasts, from this evening (July 23rd) to the night of July 24th, the province will experience moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms, with some areas experiencing very heavy rain. Rainfall is predicted to be 40-80mm in the coastal plains, with some areas exceeding 120mm, such as Nghi Loc and Dien Chau districts. In the midland and mountainous areas, rainfall is expected to be 50-100mm, with some areas exceeding 150mm, such as Ky Son, Tuong Duong, and Que Phong districts. To minimize damage caused by heavy rain after the storm, people are taking advantage of the current dry weather to urgently harvest crops to avoid flooding…

Cultivating nearly 8 hectares of commercial lotus for its flowers, rhizomes, and seeds, combined with fish farming, the family of Mr. Doan Dong in Dien An commune (Dien Chau district) has to mobilize laborers to harvest lotus before the storm hits. Mr. Dong said: “Heavy rain will cause the lotus flowers to become waterlogged, and the seeds in the seed pods will rot if submerged. Therefore, we are hiring laborers to harvest urgently before the heavy rain occurs. Because of the large quantity harvested, there is no time for processing or retail sales; we have to sell directly to traders, so the price will be lower. Even so, we have to accept it because floods are unavoidable.”

In the communes of Nam Giang, Kim Lien, Nam Linh… (Nam Dan district), lotus fields are also being urgently harvested by farmers before heavy rains occur.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, a hired lotus picker in Kim Lien commune, said: "The area of ​​Quan Am lotus is mainly for harvesting flowers to sell fresh to dealers on weekends and holidays, when the price of lotus will be higher, about 5,000 - 6,000 VND/flower."

However, due to the storms, they have to harvest quickly. If they can't sell the fresh flowers in time, they have to separate the lotus seeds and stamens to make tea. For the past two days, pond owners have been hiring by the hour, not only for the previous 8 hours but also throughout the day, charging an extra 40,000-50,000 dong per hour.”

On the morning of July 23rd, taking advantage of the dry weather, people in the coastal areas of Quynh Lien (Hoang Mai town) and Quynh Luong (Quynh Luu district) were busy harvesting vegetables to avoid flooding. The sweet cabbage fields ready for harvest were being pruned by the locals.

"Just one heavy rain is enough to ruin the vegetable leaves. Therefore, this morning, in addition to harvesting and selling according to pre-orders, we also harvested the remaining crops from areas prone to flooding and without protective coverings," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, a farmer from Quynh Luong commune.

In the fields of Quynh Lien commune, the atmosphere is also very busy. Farmers growing scallions in Quynh Lien commune are both speeding up the harvesting process and accelerating the transplanting of scallions from low-lying areas to higher ground.

According to local experience, if there is heavy rain in the near future, the onions will be damaged and flooded, making it difficult to obtain good quality seeds. Furthermore, the higher areas have already been harvested, so planting now and focusing on care will yield an off-season harvest, and the price of onions will also be higher. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Quynh Lien commune, informed that the entire commune has 70 hectares of chayote, 12 hectares of green onions, and 150 hectares of various vegetables.

To cope with the heavy rains and floods, the commune advised people to harvest vegetables that were ready for harvest; to dredge furrows and ditches to drain water promptly; and to cover vegetable crops and scallions to prevent damage.

Normally, households growing jasmine flowers in the communes of Nam Anh, Nam Xuan, and Nam Kim (Nam Dan district) only harvest enough to supply traders for the morning, finishing around 8 am. However, today, upon hearing news that typhoon number 2 was approaching the mainland, and knowing that heavy rain often follows typhoons, the households proactively contacted traders to purchase more and harvest the remaining clusters of flowers that were about to ripen.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, a trader who buys jasmine flowers in Nam Xuan commune (Nam Dan district), said: “Heavy rain will cause the flowers to rot and fall off. Jasmine flowers are at their best when they are just beginning to bloom, not fully open. Therefore, we usually buy them in the morning and ship them to other provinces on the same day. However, today we increased the amount we bought from the farmers and stockpiled them because if heavy rain occurs, the flowers will rot and fall off, making harvesting impossible, and disrupting the supply in the following days.”