In recent days, farmers in the Mekong Delta region have been harvesting the summer-autumn rice crop 2024. However, due to unfavorable weather, rain accompanied by strong winds has caused many rice fields to collapse, resulting in a loss of yield.
After harvesting 5 plots of land, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Trọng (Long Mỹ District, Hậu Giang Province) was not without sorrow due to the loss of capital due to damage, high production costs.
Earlier, despite Mr. Trọng having frequently gone to the field to pump water and tie rice to prevent it from collapsing due to prolonged rain, he was still unable to reduce the risk of loss.
"This crop I sold at 7,100 đồng/kg, higher than the same period last year by 200 đồng. However, due to the rice being wet, lying flat on the field, I suffered a loss, deducting the cost of hiring people to cut by hand, fuel oil for pumping water, and agricultural materials for this crop, I incurred a loss," Mr. Trọng said.
The loss of the harvest not only caused this farmer to lack the funds to cover his family's living expenses but also made it difficult for him to reproduce the crop for the next harvest.
"My house has 3 people, and the main income comes from 5 plots of rice. This crop was unfortunate, so I failed, if I had to pay back the entire cost of materials to the dealer, I would not have any money left to spend, buy seeds for the next crop. Therefore, my family is currently having to ask the dealer to lend us money for the next crop," Mr. Trọng said.
Earlier, prolonged heavy rain also caused 40% of the 6 plots of land of Ms. Nguyễn Hoài Ngọc (Long Hồ District, Vĩnh Long Province) to collapse.
"Sowing early encountered drought, heat, and strong sunlight, while sowing late encountered rain just before harvest. Although the price of rice is high, due to the collapse, I had to hire labor to cut by hand, and the cost increased, this crop I sold, I incurred a loss of around 1 million đồng compared to last year," Ms. Ngọc said.
According to the agricultural sector of Hậu Giang Province, farmers in the province have harvested over 62,000 hectares of land, accounting for nearly 74,200 hectares of summer-autumn rice that have been planted, with an average yield of 6.2 tons/ha.
Given the forecast that heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms will continue to be complex, the agricultural sector of Hậu Giang Province advises people to increase pumping out water from the fields to the outside to avoid flooding and drowning of summer-autumn rice. At the same time, take advantage of the sunny weather to accelerate the harvesting process to minimize damage to the rice fields that have already exceeded the harvest date.
