Nghe An: Summer-autumn rice cultivation area decreases by nearly 1,000 hectares.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of April 19th, the Provincial People's Committee held a conference to implement the production plan and drought prevention measures for the 2016 summer-autumn crop season. Attending the meeting were Mr. Dinh Viet Hong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and representatives from localities throughout the province.

Comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - chaired the meeting.

Due to the impact of severe cold weather at the beginning of the season, the 2016 spring crop will be harvested and finished 7-10 days later than usual. Areas damaged by the cold that require replanting may experience a delay of 20-25 days in harvesting. This creates unfavorable conditions for planning the summer-autumn crop, especially for flood-prone tea. Pests such as rats, brown planthoppers, white-backed planthoppers, small leaf-rolling caterpillars, stem borers, and bacterial blight will proliferate and develop rapidly, causing severe and prolonged damage throughout the season.

In 2016, Nghe An province aimed to achieve nearly 1.2 million tons of food production, with the summer-autumn crop aiming for over 460,000 tons.

Leaders from various departments and localities attended the conference.

According to the summer-autumn crop production plan, Nghe An will plant 94,000 hectares of rice (52,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice and 42,000 hectares of autumn rice). Rice area will decrease, while corn will increase from 16,000 hectares to 18,000 hectares; peanuts from 1,100 hectares to 1,200 hectares; and sesame from 3,700 hectares to 4,000 hectares… In 2016, Nghe An will also plant 500 hectares of tea and 1,500 hectares of rubber.

Regarding rice varieties, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An province proposed including only officially recognized rice varieties that have undergone successful trials in Nghe An. For the approximately 20,000 hectares at risk of flooding, localities should structure the planting of some varieties with a growing period of less than 100 days, such as P6 mutant, Khang Dan improved, PC6, Viet Lai 20, etc., to ensure harvesting before August 30th.

Provincial leaders and relevant departments inspect drought relief pumping station in Hung Chau commune, Hung Nguyen district.

At the meeting, various sectors and districts also discussed solutions for summer-autumn production.

Concluding the conference, Comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - emphasized: This year's summer-autumn production is closely linked to drought prevention. He requested the agricultural sector and localities to do a good job of combating drought and saltwater intrusion; controlling pests and diseases; and to ensure crop yields, to introduce short-day, high-yield rice varieties into production, and to instruct farmers to transplant seedlings to shorten the time.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that relevant departments strengthen market management of fertilizers, coordinate with the agricultural sector to regulate and operate reservoirs and hydroelectric dams, and prioritize electricity supply for drought relief efforts. Nghe An Newspaper and the Provincial Radio and Television Station were asked to allocate airtime to publicize drought relief efforts and summer-autumn production.

PV