Ca Mau farmers achieve success with cash crops on rice fields.

This year, people in the freshwater areas of Tran Van Thoi district have had a bountiful harvest of crops in their fields.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh's family in Tran Hoi commune, Tran Van Thoi district, is harvesting nearly 500 gourd vines grown in their rice paddies, each yielding about 100,000 VND. In addition, on his family's more than 1 hectare of rice land, Mr. Vinh is also growing watermelons. The watermelons are nearing harvest, and with abundant irrigation water, a good harvest is expected. Mr. Vinh said: “Growing vegetables is expensive, but the income is very good. This vegetable crop alone has earned my family twice as much profit as growing two rice crops a year. The most important factor is the weather. Last year, the vegetable crop suffered from a severe drought and early water shortage, so it wasn't as profitable. In general, in this freshwater area, growing vegetables in the rice paddies yields about four times more profit than growing rice.”

Every year, about a month before the winter-spring rice harvest, when the water in the rice fields has receded, many households in Tran Hoi commune sow vegetables such as winter squash and pumpkins in the rice paddies. After the rice harvest, the vegetables are quite large, and the farmers care for them for another month before harvesting. After nearly 20 years of developing vegetable cultivation in the rice paddies, farmers in the freshwater areas of Tran Van Thoi district have mastered the techniques to ensure a successful harvest. This year, the abundant irrigation water has resulted in higher profits than in previous seasons.

This year, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hoang's family in Tran Hoi commune planted pumpkins. Over 11,000 pumpkin vines grown on 5 hectares of rice paddy land brought the family an income of approximately 600 million VND, with a profit of nearly 400 million VND after deducting expenses. “This area often suffers from water shortages. If we plant a third rice crop and the plants lack water during flowering, it's a total loss. That's why people have switched to growing other crops, which is much more effective. Among the various crops, I find pumpkins quite easy to grow because they don't require much irrigation and yield high productivity. Besides that, we also grow legumes, which not only provide additional income but also help improve the soil. The economy of the people in this area has improved thanks to these other crops; before, growing only two rice crops only provided enough to eat,” Mr. Hoang said.

In Tran Hoi commune in particular, and the freshwater areas of Tran Van Thoi district in general, agricultural production depends entirely on rainwater, so water shortages are common during the dry season. The model of growing cash crops, besides yielding high economic returns, also saves irrigation water compared to growing a third rice crop, and is therefore encouraged for development. Mr. Nguyen Viet Khai, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Environment Department of Tran Van Thoi District, said: “In the past, specialized agencies of the province assessed that the third rice crop in Tran Van Thoi District was ineffective due to the large amount of water consumed. This not only risks affecting production efficiency but can also lead to land subsidence and landslides during the dry season. Because when people pump water for production, the canals and rivers dry up, easily leading to land subsidence. Therefore, we strongly advise farmers not to cultivate a third rice crop, but instead plant other crops at an earlier, more suitable time. The district also advises farmers who plant other crops to proactively improve canals, ditches, and deep ponds to store water. This will ensure that the crops are planted effectively and yield higher incomes.”

The freshwater zone of Tran Van Thoi district currently has about 700 hectares of land planted with crops under rice paddies, concentrated mainly in the communes of Tran Hoi, Khanh Hung, and Khanh Binh Dong. This year, the rainy season ended late, and there is still plenty of water in the canals and ditches; people also planted crops early and proactively stored water for irrigation, so most of the crop areas are developing well and yielding higher productivity than in previous years.

Text and photos: HIEU NGHIA

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nong-dan-ca-mau-thang-loi-vu-mau-tren-dat-lua-a184693.html