On October 9, according to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, after a prolonged heavy rain due to the impact of storm No. 11, many rice fields of farmers in suburban districts of Hanoi fell and were flooded. In that situation, people took advantage of the early harvest to reduce damage and retain some of the efforts of the entire crop.
In Thien Loc commune (Hanoi city), after harvesting flooded rice fields early, people quickly dredged them to avoid sprouting and damage.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, a long-time rice farmer, sighed: "I have 5 sao of land (about 360m2 per sao) to grow rice. When the rice was just ripe, a storm hit, the water rose so quickly. Before harvest time, the whole field was submerged in water. Now we have to cut them early, otherwise if the seeds grow and sprout in a few days, it will be considered a total loss."
According to Ms. Minh, many households in the area had to mobilize all their human resources in their families, even hiring more people to harvest by hand because the harvesters could not enter the flooded fields.
"Before the storm, there was hope to harvest enough, after the storm, we could only hope to get whatever we could. Every talent of rice is now the sweat and the labor of the whole crop, she said.
Not only Ms. Minh, Mr. Le Tuan Thinh (Tien Loc commune, Hanoi) also shared that his family's field of more than 3 sao is still flooded about 60cm.
"The harvesters cannot come, so the whole family has to harvest by hand, it is very difficult. If it is a few days late, the rice will sprout and spoil, considered a grain. After harvesting, my wife and I have to transport each bag of rice onto the main road to dry and dry it, hoping to keep some of the results," said Mr. Thinh.
According to Mr. Thinh, each rice crop is the main source of income for the family. Now the rice is flooded, the quality is reduced, traders are forced to pay prices, so even if there is a harvest, it is only enough to pay for workers.
This year's rice crop, Hanoi farmers face many challenges, from the prolonged heat at the beginning of the crop, pests and diseases in the middle of the crop, to the storms at the end of the crop. My three sao of land is only harvested with 8 bags of rice, which is considered empty-handed, Mr. Thinh shared.
