Worrying about storms and floods destroying crops
In the last months of the year, walking around large flower plantations on the outskirts of Hanoi, it is not difficult to see the worried eyes of farmers next to flower beds under special care. The Tet flower crop - considered the most important harvest of the year, bringing hope for a warm and prosperous Tet - this year is facing a harsh challenge from nature. The impact of unusually long storms and heavy rains at the end of the year causes farmers to struggle to grow lao flowers.
In Tay Tuu flower village, many flower areas were crushed and damaged by flooding, even some households were at risk of losing everything. Mr. Nguyen Huu Dinh, an experienced farmer here, shared that these days he and his family seem to "eat and sleep with flowers". Instead of just watering and fertilizing like usual, he had to be on duty in the fields to shield and reinforce the nylon arches to protect the trees from the pouring rain.
"The flower growing profession is most afraid of flooding. Currently, I have to reinforce two layers of nets and nylon to keep the tree. Many nights lying down listening to the rain but unable to sleep, just worrying about the heavy rain and strong winds that will make the platform rain, considering it a year-long effort to pour into the river and tank," Mr. Dinh said sadly.
Mr. Dinh's concern is also the common sentiment of hundreds of households here. They are having to double or trip their work capacity, both overcoming the consequences of storms and floods and finding ways to stimulate the development of remaining flower beds to bring quality products to the market in time for the upcoming New Year and Lunar New Year.
Regularly converting crops
Not only short-term flowers, but also peach and branch gardens in Hong Ha ward suffered heavy losses. According to people's reflection, compared to the flooding of 4-5 years ago only to the back of the trees, this year many peach gardens have almost been wiped out. The dead peach trees were uprooted and lying on the muddy soil, signaling a failed harvest.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy (Hong Ha ward) said that the number of remaining peach trees that can be sold for Tet is very limited. For dead trees, Ms. Thuy was forced to strip them, rebuild the soil to replant, accept the loss of a large source of revenue and wait for the next crop.
"For dead peach areas, people are forced to accept removing the roots and starting to rebuild the seeds for next year's crop. The estimated level of damage is up to 70-80%, even in low-lying areas, many households are in a state of total loss," Ms. Thuy shared.
Many other farmers have taken advantage of the areas of land that have just been stripped of dead peach trees to grow short-term vegetables or easier-to-use flowers such as herbs and violets. This is a temporary solution, earning more income to cover living expenses and partially compensating for lost fertilizer and seedlings.
