Losing all the flowers on October 20
These days, along the concrete road leading to Tay Tuu flower village (Hanoi), there is no longer a bustling scene of buyers and sellers. Instead, a gloomy, heavy air covered the devastated flower fields. After three consecutive storms, most of the area of roses, chrysanthemums... serving the Vietnamese Women's Day market on October 20 has been submerged in water.
Standing in the pink field with only the golden canopy left, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (owner of Than Nong business) sadly shared: "This year, there are three consecutive floods, the whole tree is flooded, causing this whole area to be flooded, even the banks are flooded".
Having been involved in flower growing for many years, Mr. Hung's family has never had to face such heavy losses. The October 20 flower crop is the main source of income, helping the family cover their living expenses and reinvest in the Tet crop. Now, when the revenue is suddenly cut, the whole family has to save every penny for daily life.
"The family is currently facing many difficulties. When the main source of income is no longer there, having to borrow more to cover living expenses is inevitable" Mr. Hung said in concern.
Not only Mr. Hung's family, but hundreds of other households in Tay Tuu are also in a similar situation. The flower beds were hastily covered with nylon and could not withstand the heavy rain, causing the trees to be waterlogged, rotten roots and die en masse.
Efforts and capital flowing with the water
The flowers that were once at their most beautiful for harvest are now just dry branches, fallen leaves, lying on the mud. Many farmers are forced to cut all to clear the fields, preparing to replant new crops in the hope of weakly removing the grass in the upcoming Lunar New Year crop.
While walking along the village road with a medicine spray on his shoulder, Mr. Nguyen Huu Khoa could not hide his sadness when talking about the heavy damage that his family had to endure. He said that nearly 90% of the cultivated area, equivalent to 5 out of 6 sao of flowers, was completely flooded, causing the main source of income to be considered a total loss.
"The flowers not only died but also had damaged the roots and shoots, and could no longer recover," Mr. Khoa said sadly.
According to local calculations, each sao of flowers is invested up to 40-50 million VND from seeds, fertilizers, and care. With hundreds of hectares affected, the damage to the entire flower village is huge. The ironic situation has caused many traders in Tay Tuu to now import flowers from Da Lat to sell to maintain business through the day.
"Now we can only rely on God, hoping for favorable weather to re- start the Tet crop. But if it continues to rain like this, the land cannot do it, I don't know if there will be a Tet holiday," Mr. Khoa sadly said.
The worry of crop failure and debt is weighing on the shoulders of farmers in the heat and mist. Their only hope now is that the weather will support them in time to replant and save a Tet flower crop - the final consolation after a year of many storms.
