Farmers in Nghe An coastal area move green onions to higher ground to avoid flooding

Early this morning (August 18), in the fields of Quynh Anh commune, hundreds of people were busy moving onions under the drizzling rain. Bundles of young green onions that were not yet ripe were hastily pulled up and bundled up to be moved to higher ground. A hurried atmosphere covered the entire field, as farmers were forced to race against heavy rain and rapidly rising water levels.

Mr. Ho Van Tai, hamlet 5, Quynh Anh commune, said that his family has nearly 3 sao of onions that have been planted for more than a month. If the weather is favorable, it will take at least 20 days to harvest. However, due to heavy rains lasting from August 16-17, the onions were deeply flooded, and the risk of damaging the entire onion field is very high.

“This morning I had to mobilize 5 more workers to pull out all the flooded onions and move them to higher ground for temporary planting. Although it would incur additional costs for labor and fertilizer, there was no other way. If the flooding continues and the onions rot, it would be a total loss,” Mr. Tai sighed.

According to him, harvesting onions early causes the yield to be low, the price to be low, and the economic value to decrease significantly. It is even difficult to sell at this time. Therefore, moving onions to higher ground and waiting for the water to recede before replanting is the optimal solution.

In the coastal area of ​​Quynh Mai ward, people also urgently moved onions from low-lying fields to higher ground. Ms. Hoang Thi Minh, Lien Hai village said that more than 2 sao of onions of her family were submerged in water since last night.

“The onions are flooded, if we leave them for another 1-2 days they will rot and spoil. We have to pull them up and move them to higher ground, temporarily planting them to save some of them. But this move incurs many expenses, from replanting costs, fertilizers, to transportation costs,” Ms. Minh shared.

This is a temporary measure to limit risks and ensure vegetable supply after floods. However, replanting will increase costs and increase the risk of pests and diseases.

Besides, the high land resources are limited, not every household can find a suitable place to replant. Many households have to borrow land from other households to plant.

Meanwhile, input costs have increased and agricultural prices have decreased, causing farmers' profits to shrink. "It takes effort to replant, but if we leave it alone, we will be left with nothing. Farmers can only hope for the coming sunny days, hoping that the onions will recover and be ready for harvest," said Ho Thi Hong, a resident of Quynh Mai ward.