According to farmers, growing crops during the rainy season is often more difficult than during the dry season. However, if the farming is effective, the income is higher thanks to the high demand and high selling price.
Farmer Le Chi Tam (Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City) said that after the Summer-Autumn crop, entering the rainy season, he planted 0.5 hectares of watermelon because of the good selling price. However, he also had to proactively take preventive measures due to many unfavorable weather conditions.
“Growing melons in the rainy season has a higher price than other times of the year by 2,000 - 3,000 VND/kg, but taking care of them is quite difficult. Heavy rain washes away a large amount of fertilizer for the plants and can easily cause diseases. Therefore, to help the melons grow well, I often cover the beds with straw right after sowing seeds and actively dredge canals around the planting area to facilitate drainage,” said Mr. Tam.
Growing 0.7 hectares of green onions during the rainy season, Ms. Pham Thuy Kieu (O Mon District, Can Tho City) proactively arranged a pump to be ready to drain water on days of heavy rain or high tide. At the same time, between the onion rows, she dug a small trench connecting to the drainage ditch so that when it rains heavily, it will not be flooded.
“The price of growing green onions during the rainy season increases by 20-30% compared to the dry season due to low quantity and high demand. If you take good care of them and take proactive measures to prevent them, you will get higher profits than growing rice in the autumn-winter season. This is the reason why many farmers choose to grow green onions and other crops during the rainy season,” said Ms. Kieu.
According to the assessment from the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, the flood in the upper Mekong River this September is forecast to continue to be 0.2-0.6m higher than the same period in 2023 and combined with high tides higher than the average of every year, it may cause localized flooding in low-lying areas.
It is forecasted that the main flood peak in the Mekong Delta this year is likely to appear in the first half of October. Particularly in the central and coastal areas of the Mekong Delta, due to the strong impact of high tides, the flood peak is likely to appear at the same time as the high tide peak, with a high risk of flooding in these areas, affecting production.
Faced with the complicated flood forecast situation, the Can Tho City Agricultural Services Center (Can Tho City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) recommends that farmers cultivating dry crops such as short-term vegetables need to update information on weather, climate, hydrology and forecasts of pests and diseases that harm crops every week to be able to proactively plan the planting season.
At the same time, it is necessary to equip water pumps, strengthen dykes to prevent floods and proactively respond in case of emergency. In addition, irrigation ditches, irrigation ditches, and surrounding drainage ditches need to be dredged deeply and cleared to drain water quickly in conditions of heavy rain or storms that last for many days....
