Autumn-winter rice crops flattened by thunderstorms, causing widespread losses for farmers in Hau Giang.

In the districts of Vị Thủy and Châu Thành A in Hậu Giang province, many rice fields were ripe and golden, waiting to be harvested. However, after just a few thunderstorms, the rice plants were flattened.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tung from Vi Binh commune, Vi Thuy district, pointed to his rice field, which was about a week away from harvest, and lamented: "I cultivated 3 hectares and the rice crop looked promising, but today the heavy rain and thunderstorms have caused the rice plants to fall over, affecting the yield by about several tens of percent."

In many rice fields in Hau Giang, the autumn-winter rice crop has been flattened due to thunderstorms.

In the past two rice seasons, the Winter-Spring and Summer-Autumn harvests brought high incomes to farmers in Hau Giang province due to bumper crops and favorable prices. This Autumn-Winter rice crop, harvested early in the season, also yielded high productivity, reaching 650-750 kg per hectare, with some households achieving over 800 kg per hectare (one hectare is 1,300 m²). Farmers are even more delighted as the price of fresh rice purchased by traders at the fields ranges from 7,600 to 7,900 VND/kg, an increase of about 500 VND/kg compared to the same period last year.

With current yields and prices, after deducting costs, farmers earn a profit of 25-30 million VND/hectare. However, for households whose rice fields were flattened or flooded, income has decreased significantly due to reduced yields, while the costs of pumping out water and harvesting have increased. In addition, traders are using the excuse that the rice grains were wet and of poor quality to lower the purchase price.

Farmers in Hau Giang are heartbroken as their rice crops are flattened and damaged.

Mr. Le Van Hung from Vi Binh commune, Vi Thuy district, who just finished harvesting 3.5 hectares of autumn-winter rice, said: “The rice was good, relatively good, estimated at 800-850 kg/acre, but due to the rain and wind, it has now lost about 100-150 kg per acre. The harvesting machine costs 340,000 VND, but because the rice has fallen over so badly, it costs an additional 40,000 VND, bringing the total to 380,000 VND.”

This year, Hau Giang province planned to plant 24,500 hectares of rice during the Autumn-Winter season. However, due to consistently high rice prices from traders since the beginning of the year, farmers in the province have been enthusiastic, so by this time, more than 27,700 hectares have been sown, an increase of over 3,200 hectares compared to the plan.

Hau Giang province is implementing various measures to support farmers in harvesting the autumn-winter rice crop and reduce losses caused by thunderstorms.

According to Mr. Phan Van Binh, Head of the Crop Cultivation and Plant Protection Station of Vi Thuy District, Hau Giang Province, farmers in the district planted over 12,000 hectares of autumn-winter rice this year. Currently, they are entering the peak rice harvest season. Given the situation of thunderstorms causing rice to be flattened and flooded, the district authorities are inspecting and compiling statistics on the affected areas, and simultaneously implementing measures to combat flooding and accelerate the rice harvest to minimize losses for farmers.

“If the autumn-winter rice crop is flattened, the yield will be significantly reduced. We have advised the District and Commune Flood and Storm Control Steering Committees to direct the pumping stations to continue pumping water out to dry the fields. If the fields are dry, there will be no water on the fields, so the rice panicles won't be submerged. Therefore, the yield will decrease, but not significantly,” said Mr. Phan Van Binh.

In anticipation of rising water levels in rivers, canals, and streams in the province due to heavy rain and high tides, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hau Giang province has requested local agricultural departments to strengthen the review and maintenance of dike and sluice gate systems to ensure timely drainage for rice paddies, orchards, vegetable gardens, and aquaculture farms during the autumn-winter season.

Source: https://vov.vn/kinh-te/lua-thu-dong-do-nga-do-mua-dong-nong-dan-hau-giang-thiet-hai-du-duong-post1124903.vov