Every year, when the flood season comes, instead of leaving vacant land, many farming households in the Mekong Delta have proactively switched to adaptive economic models, bringing high efficiency. Taking advantage of abundant water resources to raise aquatic products or grow crops that adapt well to water has helped people have more stable income and improve their lives.
In the past 8 years, farmer Luong Van Dau (Hoa Thuan commune, An Giang province) has often intercropped Taiwanese watermelon instead of rice every time the flood season comes. According to Mr. Dau, growing water caltrops in the flood season is very beneficial thanks to the abundant alluvium, helping the plants grow well and give high productivity, and can harvest 80 - 100 kg/cong/day (1 cong = 1,000m2).
Notably, this model brings quite good economic profits to farmers. While sowing rice during the flood season only earns more than 1 million VND/cong, growing watermelon helps Mr. Dau earn from 5 - 7 million VND/cong, 3 - 4 times more than rice. The wholesale price of 15,000 - 18,000 VND/kg and retail price of 20,000 VND/kg have contributed to creating a stable source of income for this farming family.
Meanwhile, in Can Tho City, many farming households have adapted by raising fish and snails in cages (a type of aquaculture tool often made from mangrove nets) to earn extra income.
Farmer Nguyen Hue Minh (O Mon ward) said that releasing snails into the net is a solution to make the most of the water source during the flood season. The snail farming barge is specially designed, helping people easily control the snail's habitat, avoid loss and protect snails from nature's enemy species.
Scabies are mainly eaten with vegetables and buckwheat, so the input cost is low. Meanwhile, the retail price of chives ranges from 70,000 - 100,000 VND/kg, so it brings farmers quite good income, said Mr. Minh.
The flood season is not only rich in alluvium but also brings abundant aquatic resources, helping many farmers turn the "olling" season into a season for making a living. For more than a month now, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam (Vinh Thuan Dong commune) has had a stable source of income from the profession of setting up forks (a tool used to catch fish).
With 30 maps, Mr. Tam earns dozens of types of fish every day, bringing a steady income of 200,000 - 400,000 VND. Mr. Tam shared: "In the flood season, instead of growing rice ineffectively, we take advantage of buying fishing gear and go fishing in the fields. Although it only lasted for more than 2 months, it brought quite good income to farmers before entering the new crop".
