When many families are still enjoying spring, visiting relatives, in the fields in Can Tho City, the pace of labor has returned early. For farmers, the crop season is not waiting. Each vegetable bed, field, or garden needs to be cared for every day, even in the first days of the new year.
In An Lac Thon commune (Can Tho City), Ms. Ngo Thanh Thuy's plum garden ripens red in the early morning sunshine. The whole family divides among themselves, some picking, some sorting, some packing in boxes. The atmosphere of urgency is no different from normal days.
When the fruit is ripe, it must be harvested, if it is past the ripe age, traders will not buy it. In the first 2 days of the year, my family harvested about one ton of fruit," Ms. Thuy said.
According to Ms. Thuy, at the beginning of the season, beautiful plums were priced at 40,000–45,000 VND/kg, now in the main season, they have decreased to 10,000–12,000 VND/kg. Prices have decreased, but thanks to good output, gardeners still make a profit. "Tet and gardeners are happy to see fruits sold, not damaged," she said with a smile.
On the morning of the 2nd day of Tet, in the vegetable area of My Xuyen ward (Can Tho City), Mr. Lam Van Hung also went to the lettuce field from early morning when the dew was still on the leaves. He quickly cut bunches of lush green vegetables, harvested about 100 kg and sold them at 15,000 VND/kg to banh cong making households in the locality, and then returned home at noon to reunite with his family.
“Being used to farming, Tet cannot leave the field for long. Being negligent about pests and diseases means losing the whole crop. Seeing green vegetables and selling them at good prices is already happy, that is also a New Year's blessing,” Mr. Hung shared.
Besides, Mr. Lam Hoang Phong also took the opportunity to improve 2 acres of land that had just harvested mustard greens and cabbage on December 25th to serve the Tet market. He said that the weather this year is favorable, vegetables are developing well, with a yield of about 4 tons. Price 4,000 VND/kg for mustard greens and 6,000 VND/kg for cabbage.
The price near Tet is lower than two months ago, so the profit is not much, but it still makes a profit. Farmers just hope the weather is favorable and they can sell goods and feel secure," Mr. Phong confided.
In the rice specialized area in Luong Tam commune (Can Tho City), Ms. Nguyen Thi Hiep and her husband visited 1ha of OM18 rice over 70 days old. She said that this is the decisive stage for yield, so she cannot be negligent. Last crop, prices fell low, profits decreased, so this crop the family is even more looking forward to.
The rice is good, with few pests and diseases. I just hope to harvest at a good price to compensate for the previous crop," Ms. Hiep expressed.
