Why were nearly 3,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice crops in Nghe An completely destroyed?
(Baonghean.vn) - According to projections, the entire area of summer-autumn rice this year was expected to be harvested before August 30th. However, due to various reasons, by the beginning of September, the province still had over 10,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice unharvested, including nearly 3,000 hectares in low-lying areas submerged by water due to storms and heavy rain.
For the past three days, the weather has been sunny and dry, but nearly 40 hectares of summer-autumn rice crops belonging to residents of Block 12, Hung Nguyen town, remain submerged in floodwaters. Ms. Phung Thi Hien, a farmer in Block 12, Hung Nguyen town, said: “By August 30th, only about 60% of my family's one-acre rice crop was ripe. Knowing it was the rainy season, I, like other farmers, waited for the rice to ripen further to increase yield and value. The floods have submerged all of my family's summer-autumn rice crop for a week now. The rice is sprouting and rotting; it's a total loss.”
Currently, Hung Nguyen town still has 100 hectares of summer-autumn rice that have not yet been harvested, mostly in low-lying areas that have been submerged by floodwaters.
 |
| 40 hectares of rice fields belonging to farmers in Block 12, Hung Nguyen town, were submerged in floodwaters during the harvest season. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Meanwhile, in Nghi Thuan commune (Nghi Loc district), nearly 200 hectares of summer-autumn rice, some of which had just bloomed and others still green, were flooded due to prolonged rain, causing damage estimated at around 2 billion VND.
Mr. Dinh Van Kien, Vice Chairman of the Nghi Thuan Commune People's Committee, said: "Because we are located at the end of the water source, all five pumping stations in the commune are unable to operate due to drought during the rice rooting period. The lack of water, coupled with saltwater intrusion requiring flushing, prolongs the rice growth period by 15 days compared to other areas, resulting in delayed flowering and failure to harvest before the storms. Although we constantly advise farmers that the summer-autumn rice crop is highly dependent on weather and unpredictable rain and floods, and that they should simultaneously harvest the spring rice, prepare the land, and sow the summer-autumn rice crop according to the principle of 'harvesting and sowing immediately,' most people have not strictly followed this advice."
 |
| To date, many areas of summer-autumn rice in Nghi Loc, which had just bloomed and were bearing grain, have been completely submerged and damaged by floods. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
According to statistics from the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the recent floods left over 10,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice unharvested throughout the province, of which nearly 3,000 hectares were severely flooded, causing significant damage, mainly concentrated in Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Vinh City, and Quynh Luu.
“45% of the flooded rice fields have ripened (about 70-80%), but farmers haven't proactively harvested them yet. The remaining 55% is unavoidable because the rice has just bloomed and the grains are not yet fully developed.”
According to Agricultural Engineer Doan Tri Tue - Chairman of the Nghe An Seed Association, this year's summer-autumn rice crop was sown 10-15 days earlier than usual. If planted according to schedule, the harvest would have been basically completed before August 25th, avoiding storms and heavy rain. However, by early September, tens of thousands of hectares of rice remained unharvested, and thousands of hectares were flooded and completely destroyed.
Besides the objective factor of stormy weather, there are also subjective factors.
That is, some localities have not been truly decisive in organizing summer-autumn production, ensuring timely planting has been lax, and in many places, the entire area had not been completed by June 20th. Therefore, this late rice crop will only be harvested after September 10th, making it impossible to avoid natural disasters.
 |
| According to engineer Doan Tri Tue, besides objective factors, the total loss of nearly 3,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice crops was due to subjective factors. Photo: Thanh Phuc |