Summer-autumn rice yield in Nghe An is highest ever
To date, Nghe An has harvested more than 23,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice. Not only has the production area exceeded nearly 2,200 hectares, this is also the crop with a record rice yield, the highest ever.
Productivity hits “record”
This summer-autumn crop, 313 hectares of summer-autumn rice in Khanh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) yielded up to 64 quintals/sao, many fields yielded 3.5 - 4 quintals/sao. The commune leader said that this is still not a record yield, in 2022, the summer-autumn rice of Khanh Thanh commune will average 65 quintals/ha. The land is good, fertile, farmers cultivate well, strictly follow the production process, and prevent pests and diseases. In particular, up to 95% of the area uses the high-yield Khang Dan mutant rice variety, only years when the rice is blooming and encountering intense heat or prolonged rain that cannot pollinate are affected, while this year, the first crop of rice is blooming but not significantly hot, the second crop of rice is blooming from July 17 to 22, the weather is very favorable. The combination of these factors has made Khanh Thanh commune one of the communes with the highest summer-autumn rice yield in the province.
As a district with high expected rice yield in the province, this year the summer-autumn rice in Dien Chau district is estimated to reach 56 - 58 quintals/ha. According to Mr. Vo Khanh Khoa - Deputy Head of the District's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: In the variety structure, Dien Chau district uses new varieties with high yield and quality potential such as H12, TBR 87, TBR 97...; of which, 20% of the area is planted with hybrid rice varieties with very high yield, from 2.9 - 3.2 quintals/sao; more than 80% of the area uses pure rice varieties but basically they are also varieties with both quality and yield; nearly 500 hectares of linked production of both seed rice and high-yield rice. The district has also built nearly 200 hectares of models in Dien An, Dien Tan, Dien Nguyen communes, producing higher quality hybrid rice varieties to be put into production in the following crops, with yields reaching 2.8 - 3 quintals/sao.
“This year’s summer-autumn crop has many advantages. In addition to the advanced seed structure, we also focused on directing the spring rice harvest to prepare the land for summer-autumn planting right after harvesting, 5-10 days earlier than every year thanks to the sufficient water supply from the Northern Irrigation System from the beginning of the crop. The weather throughout the crop was relatively favorable, the heat was not prolonged and severe; although the water source of the dam was not too abundant, the areas that were likely to be affected by drought were not planted, so the basic water supply was sufficient. When the rice was blooming, there was a storm in one season, but the area was small, not affecting the overall yield of the district. If every year the summer-autumn rice was severely damaged by leaf rollers, this year, during the egg formation stage, the hot weather prevented the eggs from hatching, so the pests and diseases were not significant,” said Mr. Vo Khanh Khoa.
By the end of August, Nam Dan district had harvested more than 1/3 of the area, expected to be completed before September 10. Mr. Nguyen Dinh The - Head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: The summer-autumn rice yield is higher than the whole year 2023 is a very good year. Favorable water sources, upstream rain, hydroelectric reservoirs release water to serve production, so some local droughts are handled in a short time. In particular, there are communes like Nam Kim that have not produced the summer-autumn crop for 2 consecutive years despite favorable conditions, this year thanks to drastic direction and material support, the whole commune has been able to plant 160 hectares of QR1 rice, with high yield, creating momentum for expanding the area in the following years.
The synthesis of many factors
This summer-autumn crop, Nghe An planted more than 59,080 hectares, exceeding the plan by nearly 2,200 hectares. By the end of August, the whole province had harvested more than 23,000 hectares, expected to complete the harvest before September 25. Through assessment, productivity in the fields and actual harvest, the average rice yield is expected to reach over 52.5 quintals/ha, the highest ever. Of which, Dien Chau district achieved the highest yield - over 56 quintals/ha, locally in places such as Dien Nguyen commune (Dien Chau) and Khanh Thanh (Yen Thanh), the average yield reached 64 quintals/ha.
According to Mr. Phung Thanh Vinh - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, achieving such results is the result of many factors. As this is a much more difficult production season than the spring crop, the province and localities have paid close attention, directed closely and decisively; regularly established delegations, directly went to localities to accompany, promptly directed, and organized to overcome difficulties and problems, restore and promote production.
The coordination between sectors and levels together with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, mobilizing all resources of the entire political system and having support policies from the Central to local levels; has encouraged and helped farmers feel secure in investing in production. The province and the Department of Agriculture have established delegations, directly going to localities to accompany, promptly direct, organize to overcome difficulties and obstacles, restore and promote production.
Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh - Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Besides, this year's summer-autumn crop production took place in not too harsh weather conditions, although at the beginning of the season there were severe heat waves, with temperatures sometimes reaching 43 degrees Celsius.oC, but the rainfall was average and evenly distributed throughout the crop, with no areas suffering from severe drought like previous years. The agricultural sector and localities have also implemented irrigation, water regulation in drought and saltwater intrusion prevention, as well as timely drainage plans after heavy rains. Thanks to that, the water source is basically sufficient and ensures good growth of rice plants, promoting the yield potential of the variety.
The situation of rice pests and diseases has also been at a lower level. Thanks to the focus on investigation, detection, accurate and timely prediction by the Department of Agriculture, and the serious prevention and control work of localities and farmers, pests have been detected promptly and directed for effective prevention and control, in accordance with the situation in each region. Although some areas have experienced high levels of pests and diseases, they have been detected and controlled on a small scale, preventing them from spreading widely. Therefore, up to now, it can be assessed that the 2024 summer-autumn crop is a fairly disease-free crop.
An important factor contributing to the success of this year's summer-autumn production is that the agricultural sector and localities have effectively implemented the policy of restructuring key varieties, introducing many high-yield, good-quality rice varieties into production and suitable for the specific conditions of each region. Many new technical advances in varieties, intensive farming, fertilizers, and pesticides have contributed to improving the productivity and quality of agricultural products and increasing economic efficiency.
Farmers' intensive farming level has been significantly improved, many stages in the farming process have been mechanized and technology has been applied such as land preparation, planting, fertilization, spraying pesticides with drones... Many localities have actively connected with businesses to deploy and sign production contracts, and purchase products for farmers; accompanying people throughout the crop so that production ensures technical standards and higher productivity.
The management and supply of materials, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides are adequate, timely, and of guaranteed quality, contributing to promoting more favorable and effective production. Not only is there a good harvest, but since the beginning of the crop, summer-autumn rice has been purchased at high prices, with fresh rice at 6,500 - 8,000 VND/kg and dry rice at 9,000 - 10,500 VND/kg depending on the variety.