Building on the success of the spring rice crop.

(Baonghean) - Over the past few days, despite the hot weather, farmers in various localities have been busy harvesting the spring rice crop. Although it is hard work, the farmers are truly delighted, because this is the highest rice yield ever.

On May 26th, the sun was scorching, with occasional gusts of hot, dry wind from Laos making the air even hotter. Yet, in the fields of Hamlet 6, Quynh Hau Commune (Quynh Luu District), dozens of families were still out harvesting their spring rice crop. Beside the rice plants, heavy with grain and flattened, Ms. Ho Thi Thong's family was waiting for a multi-purpose combine harvester to arrive. Like many other families, she chose to rent a combine harvester to shorten the harvesting time. Pointing to her family's rice crop, Ms. Thong excitedly said: "You see, the rice in my field was flattened after several gusts of wind because the ears were too heavy with grain. This year, the rice has many ears and the grains are firm…" The rice variety Ms. Thong planted is the multi-generation C-uu variety, which she and many other villagers call "White Bear." In the first season, the yield reached about 3.9 quintals per sao (approximately 390 kg per 1000 square meters).

Farmers in Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc district) are harvesting rice. Photo: Phan Nguyen

Mr. Le Duc Cuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district, said: “In the past spring crop, the entire district planted over 7,600 hectares of rice with high-yield, high-quality varieties. Currently, farmers are harvesting on a large scale, with an average yield of 7 tons/ha. Many areas that were well-cared for have yields of 8 to 8.5 tons/ha. In particular, new pure Vietnamese varieties such as CXT 30, GS747… planted in the first crop have yielded high productivity. The harvest was successful, the people are happy, and we are also pleased…” After inspecting and analyzing more than 10 hectares of CXT30 rice planted in the first crop in Quynh Hong commune, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed that this rice variety can be widely implemented because of its high yield, fragrant and sticky rice quality, short growth and harvesting time of only 95 to 115 days to ripen, which is very suitable for the summer-autumn crop to help people avoid floods.

In Yen Thanh district, a major rice-growing area covering over 13,000 hectares, the average yield reached over 7.3 tons/ha, bringing the total rice production in the area to over 100 tons higher than the 2013 spring crop. The encouraging aspect is that the bumper rice harvests, following the conversion of small plots into larger ones, have facilitated harvesting and preparation for the new crop. Large-scale farming helps farmers reduce investment costs and increase economic value per unit area. Despite the hot and humid weather in recent days, farmers in Yen Thanh are bustling with activity as they harvest their successful crop, from low-lying areas to highlands.

During this period, localities mobilized additional manpower to the fields, and many mechanized machines were introduced to support harvesting, shortening the time and freeing up labor for farmers. Mr. Nguyen Sy Hung – Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Yen Thanh district, happily shared: “The successes of this year's spring crop have affirmed the correctness of the policy in land conversion and crop restructuring. On the one hand, farmers are confident in investing, introducing mechanization into the fields, and boldly planting new high-yield, high-quality varieties; on the other hand, during the production process, all levels of government introduced carefully selected seed sets and transferred techniques and production processes to farmers. Immediately after harvesting the spring rice crop, many areas with readily available water resources immediately proceeded with land preparation, ready for planting the summer-autumn crop...”.

In Yen Thanh district, the spring crop season brought further good news as Vinh Hoa Co., Ltd. in Vinh Thanh commune continued its success in collaborating with local authorities and people to expand the area of ​​high-quality AC5 rice and successfully conduct trial plantings of purple rice – a type of rice considered a medicinal herb with many nutrients, especially Omega fatty acids, capable of resisting cardiovascular disease and cancer. The yield of this rice variety is comparable to other varieties, reaching approximately 3.7 quintals per sao (approximately 370 kg per 1000 square meters), and its economic value is 1.6 times higher than other rice varieties. This is opening up a new direction for intensive farming in the fields.

Sharing in the farmers' joy over the spring crop's success, provincial leaders and officials from the Department of Agriculture and Science and Technology have recently visited the fields to assess lessons learned for future crop seasons. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee expressed genuine delight and highly appreciated the efforts of all levels, sectors, and especially the people of the localities. According to the Chairman, the success of the spring crop – the main crop of the year – was due to favorable conditions – geographical advantages – and human factors. However, the most crucial element was the high level of awareness among the people in applying mechanization to the fields and boldly introducing new varieties into production. This gradually affirms the confidence of domestic varieties, reducing the reliance on imported hybrid rice varieties from China. In addition, all levels and sectors have worked closely with the people, providing good support with scientific and technical measures and timely pest and disease control, resulting in high rice yields, with an average yield of 6.7 tons/ha across the province.

By this time, many localities such as Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen… have basically finished harvesting the spring crop and are preparing for the summer-autumn crop. On the fields, agricultural machinery is operating at maximum capacity to serve the people. Statistics show that the province currently has 13,550 plows of all types and over 9,400 harvesters of all types. All are actively supporting farmers in racing against time, helping to shorten the harvesting period and quickly prepare the land for planting the summer-autumn crop. Many localities aim to complete the summer-autumn planting in the first week of June; on a larger scale, they strive to complete it within the first two weeks of June.

Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, added: “Building on the achievements, the agricultural sector will continue to coordinate with local authorities and people to persistently implement solutions applying scientific and technological advancements in seeds, cultivation, harvesting, and post-harvest preservation to increase efficiency and value in the fields. The goal is to form specialized farming areas oriented towards high-quality commercial production. Specifically for rice, the sector will continue to cooperate with businesses and farmers to strongly shift towards improving rice quality to meet market demands; at the same time, it will promote cooperation in post-harvest processing and preservation and strengthen coordination to effectively address product output…”

Based on the practical experience of the spring crop, Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong directed the Department of Agriculture to strengthen coordination with departments, agencies, and businesses in the province and at the central level to build appropriate support mechanisms to encourage farmers to apply science and technology to cultivate high-yielding, high-quality pure rice varieties. This work needs to be reviewed promptly to quickly improve the value and efficiency of agricultural production. To date, nearly 80% of the population in Nghe An is still involved in agriculture, and this is also an area that needs more attention to successfully implement the project "Restructuring the Nghe An agricultural sector towards increasing value and sustainable development in the period 2013 - 2020 and beyond" approved by the Provincial People's Committee. Developing and enhancing the value of agriculture is a crucial foundation for food security, contributing positively to the successful implementation of new rural development criteria… In the immediate future, we need to learn from the successful spring crop, focus on solutions for water resource management, affirm the use of high-yield and high-quality varieties, and implement effective pest and disease control for the 2014 summer-autumn crop…

Nguyen Nguyen