Vegetable and spice farms in Nghe An have lost crops due to erratic rain and sunshine.

Based on the results of previous years, this winter crop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh's family in hamlet 6, Nam Xuan commune, Nam Dan district has invested and expanded the area to grow spices and vegetables, hoping to increase income.

Thanks to proper fertilization and timely pest control, over 2 acres of herbs, mainly basil and perilla, are growing well.

However, the joy was short-lived as the erratic rains and sunshine in early September caused the entire area of ​​herbs to wither, and even the 1 sao of chili peppers that were in full fruit season and ready to be picked and sold also withered.

"Now I don't know what to do. It's so painful to have to uproot plants that are ready to be harvested," Thanh shared.

Nguyen Thi Thanh's family had to uproot nearly 1 sao of chili peppers that died due to the flood. Photo: Hong Suong

Not far away, Nguyen Van Vinh’s family’s land is in the same situation. All 3 acres of herbs have died, now there are only a few rows of newly sprouted chives that he replanted less than a month ago.

He said: The investment cost for the entire area of ​​​​spices vegetables alone is about 2 million VND, but the family has not yet harvested and sold any crops. Never before has the weather been as harsh as this year, making us unable to react in time. The vegetables have just died from the sun and now they are dying from the flood. Our 3 sao of spices, mainly coriander, coriander, and chives, must be replanted completely, because some plants have died from the sun, while others have wilted from the water.

Many traders came to buy at prices 3-4 times higher than last year but still had nothing to sell. Now my family is continuing to work the land to sow some short-term vegetables to recover some of the costs we just lost.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh, hamlet 6, Nam Xuan commune, goes to the field to take care of the newly replanted chives.

According to statistics, currently the whole Nam Xuan commune has over 1,000 households participating in growing spices, with a total area of ​​over 30 hectares, the commune annually supplies the market with over 5,000 tons of vegetables, the average income per hectare is from 100 - 120 million VND, contributing to creating jobs for about 60% of rural workers. With the advantage of planting time to harvest is just over a month but can be harvested all year round, with few pests and diseases. Therefore, people have gradually expanded the area.

Previously, herbs were only grown sporadically on hill gardens, but now people have moved them to the fields, mainly with vegetable varieties such as: coriander, basil, cinnamon, and Vietnamese balm. However, according to people, at the same time, in previous years herbs brought in an income of 5-7 million VND/sao, but this year the income from herbs has decreased significantly, many households have lost everything. Currently, up to 2/3 of the area of ​​herbs is being replanted by people, due to wilting or waterlogging...

Many vegetable and spice areas of Nam Xuan farmers withered and died.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thuan - Head of the Nam Xuan Commune Agriculture Department said: Due to the prolonged sunny weather this year, followed by continuous rain, many areas of spice vegetables were damaged or if they survived, their productivity was greatly reduced.

We are currently mobilizing people to convert the areas of dead herbs to grow some short-term vegetables such as mustard greens, green beans, squash, etc. At the same time, areas that have water supply will continue to expand the cultivation of herbs for people to sell, especially to prepare for the Tet vegetable market.