Farmers go to the fields to collect duckweed to save rice after the flood

Hundreds of hectares of rice are surrounded by duckweed. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet (residing in Bac Yen hamlet, Long Thanh commune) said: "The entire rice area of ​​the family is in the ear-forming stage but has been flooded for many days, the fields are full of duckweed, and golden apple snails are all over. In the past few days, the whole family has been mobilized to collect duckweed, catch snails, and drain the water. Hopefully, we can save the rice, salvage as much as possible."

People use rakes and baskets to scoop up duckweed to save rice. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Although it was still raining heavily, people had to accept being naked, soaking in water, using long poles to push and push the duckweed to one side, then using long-handled rakes or baskets to scoop the duckweed up to the shore. For golden apple snails, they had to be caught by hand, dug holes to bury right on the edge of the field or brought back to feed livestock. Not only duckweed and snails, but the flood water also brought with it a lot of trash, dry firewood and even broken banana trees, causing a lot of damage to the rice.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duong - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said: "Compared to previous years, this year Yen Thanh suffered the most severe damage. Heavy rains over the past few days, along with floodwaters from upstream, have flooded nearly 5,200 hectares of rice and 200 hectares of crops in low-lying communes of Yen Thanh district.

The head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development went directly to the fields to guide people in overcoming the consequences. Photo: Xuan Thuy

The rice is in the flowering stage and has been soaked in water for many days, so the risk of total loss is high. The district authorities have directly gone to the fields to guide people to overcome the consequences. After more than 1 day of focusing on rescuing the rice, nearly 200 hectares of rice have been cleared of duckweed and golden apple snails. Now we are waiting for the water to recede to replant and fertilize the rice plants to help them recover.