Proactively harvest and market the summer-autumn rice crop.

Báo Cần Thơ•15/06/2023

Text and photos: KHANH TRUNG

At this time, farmers in Can Tho City have begun harvesting the 2023 summer-autumn rice crop. Machinery and equipment are readily available to facilitate the harvest, ensuring farmers can harvest their crops smoothly.

Harvesting the 2023 summer-autumn rice crop in Dong Thuan commune, Thoi Lai district.

Rice prices are high and it's easy to sell.

For the 2023 summer-autumn crop season, farmers in the city mainly planted high-quality and fragrant rice varieties, especially OM 5451 and OM 18. Currently, many early summer-autumn rice crops in districts such as Thot Not, O Mon, Co Do, and Thoi Lai have entered harvest. The selling price of many types of fresh rice from the 2023 summer-autumn crop is at least 400-900 VND/kg higher than the same period in 2022. Currently, fresh OM 18 rice is being sold by many farmers at prices up to 6,500-6,700 VND/kg, while IR 50404, OM 380, and OM 5451 varieties are priced from 6,000-6,500 VND/kg. Farmers who produce rice for seed purposes can sell fresh OM 5451 and OM 18 rice at prices as high as 7,000-7,500 VND/kg.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dien, residing in Thoi Binh hamlet, Co Do town, Co Do district, has finished harvesting 15 acres of rice from the 2023 summer-autumn crop, sown with OM 5451 variety. The rice yielded nearly 800 kg per acre and sold for 6,000 VND per kg. Mr. Dien said: "Because I received the deposit for the rice sale agreement quite early, when the rice was only sown a little over a month ago, I could only sell it for 6,000 VND/kg, while those who sold later could get prices up to 6,300-6,500 VND/kg. Even so, overall, the selling price of my summer-autumn rice crop this year is still 400 VND/kg higher than last summer-autumn. This season, after deducting expenses, I made a profit of more than 1.5 million VND/hectare. Although the profit is not as high as the last winter-spring crop, farmers are still quite happy. In the 2022-2023 winter-spring crop, I sowed RVT rice, with a yield of nearly 1.2 tons/hectare and sold it at 7,000 VND/kg, resulting in a profit of nearly 5 million VND/hectare." Mr. Nguyen Van Phi, residing in Thanh Hung hamlet, Thanh Phu commune, Co Do district, said: "This season, I rented additional land for rice production, so I cultivated up to 40 acres. I sowed OM 18 rice variety and have already harvested, achieving an average yield of 900 kg of fresh rice per acre and selling it at 6,700 VND/kg, about 800 VND/kg higher than the previous summer-autumn crop. Thanks to the good price and relatively high yield, this season I achieved a profit of about 4 million VND per acre on my own land, while on rented land I earned about 2 million VND per acre."

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, residing in Tan Phuoc area, Tan Hung ward, Thot Not district, although the rice yield this season was not as high as the previous winter-spring crop, the good selling price ensured a profit for farmers. The rice was sold very smoothly; most farmers sold their fresh rice to traders and businesses right in the fields after harvesting. Farmers didn't have to worry about drying and processing the rice. Ms. Hong also said: "In the 2023 summer-autumn crop, my 6 acres of OM 5451 rice yielded over 700 kg and sold for 6,250 VND/kg, 550 VND/kg higher than the previous summer-autumn crop. After deducting expenses, I made a profit of nearly 2 million VND per acre."

Rice harvesting is done smoothly using machines.

The early summer-autumn rice crop is also being harvested quite smoothly, quickly, and cost-effectively thanks to the use of combine harvesters. Farmers proactively drained the rice fields well in advance of harvest, and there hasn't been much rain in recent weeks, so the fields haven't become waterlogged and the rice hasn't been prone to lodging. This has facilitated the harvesting of rice by combine harvesters and the transportation of the harvested rice from the fields to the embankment using mechanized equipment.

Mr. Tran Thanh Danh, residing in Dong Thanh hamlet, Dong Thuan commune, Thoi Lai district, said: "100% of the rice fields in the locality are harvested using combine harvesters. After harvesting, the rice is put into bags by the combine harvester, then lowered onto the field and transported by tractor to the edge of the field for farmers to weigh and sell to traders. Currently, the rental price for combine harvesters and tractors to harvest rice is only about 280,000-300,000 VND per hectare. This price is only one-third of the previous price for hiring laborers to harvest winter rice by hand. Harvesting rice by machine also saves a lot of time and reduces losses." Mr. Nguyen Van Vui, residing in Tan Phuoc area, Tan Hung ward, Thot Not district, also stated: "Currently, combine harvesters and equipment for rice harvesting are generally well-maintained. Besides the local machines, many owners of combine harvesters and straw balers from other provinces have also brought their machines to Can Tho to provide rice harvesting and straw collection services."

For the 2023 summer-autumn crop season, farmers in Can Tho City planted 72,956 hectares, reaching 104% of the plan and 271 hectares more than the same period last year. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho City reported that over 24,200 hectares of rice have been harvested so far, with an estimated yield of 56.72 quintals/hectare, 2.23 quintals/hectare higher than the same period last year. It is expected that in the next few weeks, the summer-autumn rice crop in many districts and communes of the city will begin to be harvested.
The harvest is in full swing.

According to Mr. Tran Thai Nghiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho City, to successfully harvest the remaining summer-autumn rice crop in the Southern region, which has entered the rainy season, farmers need to closely monitor weather conditions, regularly inspect their fields, proactively drain water, and choose sunny periods for harvesting. For rice crops ready for harvest, farmers should minimize the use of pesticides to ensure product quality and safety. Attention should be paid to clearing vegetation along roads and irrigation canals to ensure the transportation of rice and harvesting machinery. At the same time, farmers need to proactively connect with businesses, traders, and owners of machinery and boats to ensure the availability of harvesting and transportation equipment for timely harvesting, drying, and consumption. This will help ensure the quality of the rice grains and reduce losses. Currently, straw baling and collection services are quite developed. Therefore, during the rice harvest, farmers also need to pay attention to straw collection to increase their income and avoid burning straw in the fields, which causes environmental pollution and creates a risk of organic poisoning for the next rice crop.

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