Sesame and chili peppers wilt, farmers in Vinh suburbs lose hundreds of millions of dong

Early in the morning, Mrs. Bach Thi Huan (Hamlet 8, Nghi An) hurried to the field to pick ripe chili peppers because the stems were wilted. Like every year, with only 0.8 sao of chili, her family still has an income of 17-18 million VND.

This year, the weather was complicated, the fertilization was more difficult, the investment cost was high, but when the chili plants started to produce fruit, there was a heavy rain, the waterlogging could not be drained in time, so they had to be soaked in water for several days. By the time the water receded, the roots had rotted, the plants wilted and were hit by the hot sun and strong wind, so her chili field slowly died.

Mrs. Bach Thi Huan picks up the remaining chili peppers on the withered tree trunk. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Huan said: “Usually, chili peppers are harvested 3-4 times, lasting until September. However, this year, the first ripe crop was picked and died due to erratic rain and sunshine. The chili peppers were harvested early in the season, with little yield and low selling prices this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so 0.8 sao of chili peppers were only sold for 2 million VND. Now, we are collecting the remaining ripe fruits and clearing the field, which means we have lost tens of millions of VND.”

According to statistics, 1.2 hectares of chili peppers died and had to be uprooted, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only Mrs. Huan's family but also dozens of chili growers in Nghi An commune are in the same situation. After several heavy rains in early June, now the sun has risen, causing 1.2 hectares of chili plants of the people in Kim Binh hamlet to die, unable to be repaired or saved, they had to be uprooted, calculating that the people suffered a loss of 15-20 million VND/sao.chili growing area lost300 - 400 million VND

“The roots are rotten so there is nothing we can do to revive them. We have to pull them out. We have to leave the land bare because it is too late for the summer-autumn crop and the harvest season has not yet arrived,” said Ms. Hoa, a chili grower sadly.

The entire chili field, which is over 1.2 hectares wide, now has only a couple of rows on the high ground that can still be cared for and restored. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Show total areaNghi An people's sesame fields were also flooded., flooded and wilted. The sesame field of dozens of hectares in the Tay Kho area, Kim Trung hamlet, had previously had firm seeds, plump fruits, leaves that had turned yellow and was ready for harvest, but after a heavy rain and strong wind, the sesame fell down. The water receded, the fruits cracked open, the stems wilted and smelled sour, so people had to leave it alone. Many areas of sesame that had just begun to flower were also wilting and dying. The newly planted sesame plants, with only 3-4 leaves, rotted and were submerged in mud after the water receded.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, a resident of Kim Trung hamlet, said: “My family had 2 sao of sesame ready to harvest but it was destroyed by the rain and wind. This year, the sesame crop was good, with an expected yield of about 60kg/sao. With the current sesame price of 60,000 VND/kg, my family lost 7 million VND.”

40/50 hectares of sesame in Nghi An were also flooded due to heavy rain and intense heat. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien - agricultural extension officer of Nghi An commune said: "Sesame and chili are 2local staple crops in the summer-autumn cropDue to the impact of storms and rain, followed by intense sunlight, the entire commune had 1.2 hectares of chili dead, 40/50 hectares of sesame flooded. The roots were rotten, the plants were waterlogged, the leaves were dry and withered, so people could not save them, so they had to uproot them, clean the fields and wait for the next planting season. The total damage to both sesame and chili is estimated at hundreds of millions of dong.