SGGPO
Every year, from the 7th to the 10th lunar month, floodwaters from the upper Mekong River flood the fields downstream. This year, at the end of the 7th lunar month, the floodwaters in the fields are only knee-high. Farmers in many places in the Mekong Delta are waiting for the flood to come to earn a living.
Seeing the flood approaching, Mr. Nam (Tan Hung district, Long An) rowed his boat across the fields, spread his net, and caught fish and shrimp to improve his family's meals. Every 4 hours, he checked his net once, but only caught a few shrimps and small perch. "Every year, when the flood is big, we catch a lot of fish and shrimp, not only to eat but also to sell to traders. This year, the flood is small, so the harvest is bad...", Mr. Nam said sadly.
Like Mr. Nam, for the past month, many other farmers in Tan Hung district (Long An) have also repaired nets, prepared weapons... to wait for a bumper flood season, but so far it is still just hope!
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Although the flood water is very low, people have started to pull nets and pick vegetables. |
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Low flood, very little produce, just enough for family meals |
Taking advantage of the time when their husbands and children are setting up nets, many women in the Thap Muoi region (Dong Thap) row boats to pull up water mimosa, cut water spinach, and pick sesbania flowers...
Following Provincial Road 831, we arrived in Vinh Hung District (Long An), where around the flooded fields, there were a few farmers rowing boats and pulling nets. Many families used nets as dikes to graze their ducklings so that they could find their own food in the fields, saving them the trouble of taking care of them.
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Not only picking vegetables, women also take advantage of pulling nets. |
Struggling to remove trash and patch up the tear in the wet net, Mr. Hai Nga (Lo Gach hamlet, Vinh Tri commune, Vinh Hung district) said that he had been pulling the net all morning but only caught a few small fish and eels.
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Drying and repairing net |
Mr. Hai Nga said that in previous years, at this time, in the flooded fields, his children and grandchildren had to help remove the nets to bring fresh fish and shrimp to the market to sell. Not only seafood, but also purple lotus flowers bloom in one area, and bright yellow sesban flowers bloom in one corner of the river. The floods have been late for the past two years. "I don't know if the floods will come again...", Mr. Hai Nga worried about another flood season with a failed harvest.
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Mr. Dao Hoang Nam, Vice Chairman of Vinh Tri Commune People's Committee, said that this year may be a leap year so the flood water has not come yet. Currently, the amount of fish and shrimp is very low, people have spread nets and set up many traps but have not caught much. The locality also hopes that the flood season will come to help people earn a living and have more income.
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