After Tet, farmers in Western Nghe An go to the fields to sow the spring crop.

Farmers in Tuong Duong district sow rice for the 2023 spring crop. Photo: Xuan Hoang

In early January, the highland peopleNghe AnStart going to the fields to sow spring rice in the joy of welcoming a happy New Year.

Mr. Luong Van Long in Ang village, Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district happily said that his family has about 700 square meters of rice fields. Following the planting schedule that the local authorities had directed before Tet, his family took the opportunity to prepare the land and transport manure to the fields, so after Tet, his family went to the fields to plant the spring rice crop.

"Despite the cold weather, family members still enthusiastically went to the fields to prepare the land for planting. Before that, the family covered the seedlings with plastic so that the seedlings did not die and grew well. It is expected that in about 3-4 days, the family will finish planting their rice field," Mr. Luong Van Long shared.

Farmers in the highlands of Ky Son in the first days of the new year of Quy Mao also started going to the fields to produce spring rice. Mr. Lau Pa Cu in Cha Lap village, Muong Tip commune said that since the end of 2022, his family has gone to the market to buy some production tools to enter the new year with sharp agricultural tools, making it more convenient to work in the fields and garden. After the happy days of Tet, the family focused on going to the fields to plow the land, fertilize, pull out seedlings, and plant rice. Rice cultivation gives high productivity, so the family tries to follow the crop schedule directed by the commune, and at the same time invests in reasonable fertilizers for better harvests," said Mr. Lau Pa Cu.

Highlanders sow seedlings covered with plastic to ensure enough seedlings to plant on time. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Lo Kham Kha - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuong Duong district said: The locality has 960 hectares of rice, concentrated in the communes: Tam Dinh, Tam Thai, Tam Quang, Xa Luong... This spring crop, the district has structured the main pure rice varieties: Song Lam 9, BQ... and various types of sticky rice. Before Tet, the district directed localities to propagate and guide people to sow seedlings and cover them with plastic so that there is no situation of seedlings dying from the cold, ensuring the source of seedlings for people to plant.

"Following the crop schedule, from the morning of the 4th day of Tet, people started going to the fields to produce. It is expected that after 1 week, the ethnic people in the district will finish planting the entire spring rice area," said Mr. Lo Kham Kha.

Ky Son district currently has nearly 800 hectares of wet rice cultivation area. Vice Chairman of Ky Son district People's Committee - Mr. Tho Ba Re said that currently the weather in Ky Son is quite warm (about 20 degrees Celsius) which is favorable for people to go to the fields.spring rice planting. Through understanding the actual situation in the localities, it shows that from January 3, people started to go to the fields to sow rice, in accordance with the province's crop calendar. Some communes have had large areas of sown rice such as Huu Lap, Huu Kiem... With the strong direction of all levels and sectors, it is expected that by mid-January, Ky Son people will finish sowing spring rice.

"Before Tet, people sowed rice with 100% of the rice area covered with plastic so it was not affected by the cold weather. For many years now, thanks to the structure of suitable rice varieties, along with reasonable investment in fertilizers and strict implementation of the crop calendar, the annual rice yield of Ky Son has reached an average of over 40 quintals/ha. However, this year the rice area will change because after the flash flood, some areas were buried by rocks and soil and some irrigation works were damaged and have not been repaired, so there is no water for planting," said Mr. Tho Ba Re.

People in other districts such as Con Cuong, Que Phong, Quy Chau... also started to go to the fields to sow spring rice from the 4th day of Tet. Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection said: The mountainous districts of Nghe An basically followed the province's spring rice sowing schedule, except for some localities in the districts: Nghia Dan, Thai Hoa town, Thanh Chuong... sowing before Tet. If people in the highlands sow according to the schedule, they will avoid risks due to the weather, because 2023 has a leap year of February and the beginning of spring is late on January 14. Therefore, if people sow earlier than the schedule, the rice will bloom at a time of unfavorable weather, affecting productivity and output./.

Xuan Hoang