Rice fields are buried, people in Ky Anh district face difficulties in production

The October 2020 flood caused landslides, burying nearly 100 hectares of productive land in the upper communes of Ky Anh district (Ha Tinh). Up to now, the restoration work is still facing many difficulties.

Agricultural fields in Bac Tien village, Ky Thuong commune, at the time they were buried by rocks and soil due to a landslide caused by a large flood in October 2020.

After more than 3 years returning to the fields of Bac Tien village, Ky Thuong commune, one of the places most severely affected by the landslide caused by the great flood in October 2020, we were led by Village Chief Nguyen Dinh Thuan to visit the fields covered with thick rocks and soil that are being abandoned day by day.

Rice fields are buried, people in Ky Anh district face difficulties in production

The layer of sand and rock buried the field surface, many places are meters thick.

Mr. Thuan said: “After more than 15 hectares of agricultural land in the village were buried by landslides, local people and authorities focused on removing the soil and renovating to restore the area. However, due to the large amount of buried soil, rugged terrain, and difficult economic conditions of the people, only a few dozen percent of the lightly affected area could be temporarily renovated, the rest had to be left abandoned.”

Rice fields are buried, people in Ky Anh district face difficulties in production

Current state of Bac Tien village fields after 3 years of being buried by landslides.

For many years, more than 1 sao of rice field has been where Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thich's family in Tan Ha village, Lam Hop commune has produced to ensure food. But since 2020, when the field was buried, Mrs. Thich's family has encountered many difficulties. To have a production area, in the spring of 2024, she had to spend more than 2 million VND to rent an excavator to improve the land.

Ms. Thich said: “Although production has resumed, the sand layer has only been partially removed, not completely, so the soil quality is much worse than before. Not to mention that every time there is heavy rain, the sand and soil flow from upstream to continue to be deposited.”

Rice fields are buried, people in Ky Anh district face difficulties in production

After self-improvement efforts, people in Tan Ha village, Lam Hop commune, repaired their fields to plant spring crops.

Up to this point, of the nearly 100 hectares of agricultural land in the communes of Lam Hop, Ky Thuong, Ky Lac, and Ky Son buried by landslides caused by the 2020 flood, the local authorities and people have only been able to restore less than 50%. It is worth noting that the area that has been restored cannot be restored to its original quality; not to mention the risk of re-accretion if a major flood or landslide occurs.

Rice fields are buried, people in Ky Anh district face difficulties in production

Thousands of cubic meters of sand were removed from the buried fields and moved to shore by people.

According to Mr. Pham Thai Hoa - Chairman of Lam Hop Commune People's Committee, the locality in particular and the communes in the upper Ky Anh region in general have limited agricultural land, which is narrowed by landslides, greatly affecting people's livelihoods.

Therefore, to reduce the difficulties for the people while there is no other feasible solution, the commune will focus on propaganda and mobilize people to make annual efforts to restore areas that can be restored; at the same time, allocate a part of the budget to support land improvement for the people.

“The volume of sand and soil filling the production area is too large, beyond the capacity of the local government. Currently, the restoration for production is only taking place on a small scale among households. Therefore, in the long term, the locality hopes that all levels and sectors will conduct a thorough survey and research to soon have specific policies to support the restoration of the entire buried area, helping people feel secure in production and stabilize their livelihoods,” Mr. Hoa added.

Rice fields are buried, people in Ky Anh district face difficulties in production

Although renovated and repaired, most of these rice fields cannot be restored to their original state.

The 2024 spring crop is underway. Farmers in the upper Ky Anh communes are also making efforts to improve and restore the land to plant crops in time for the season. However, without the help and effective support of all levels and sectors to thoroughly restore, people's production will still be very difficult.

Vu Huyen

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