Dien Khanh: Farmers face difficulties due to lack of rice drying yards.

Báo Khánh Hòa•05/04/2023

Currently, farmers in Dien Khanh district face many difficulties in drying rice, especially during the harvest season. However, the local authorities have yet to find a feasible solution to this problem.

Lack of drying area

These days, farmers in Dien Khanh district are busy harvesting the winter-spring rice crop, and rice is everywhere. People are drying their rice on highways, main roads, alleyways, and sidewalks... Mr. Huynh Van Toan (Nam 1 village, Dien Son commune) said that if the harvested rice is not dried promptly, it will spoil or lose quality and price. Because the cooperative no longer has drying yards, and the communal yards or private yards of his family are also gone, he is forced to dry his rice on the road. Similarly, Ms. Huynh Thi Thu Ha (Thanh Minh village, Dien Lac commune) also dries her rice on the road because there are no drying yards. According to Ms. Ha, the harvest lasts 10-15 days, so farmers will quickly gather the dry rice and return the road surface to traffic. To minimize traffic disruption, people only dry their rice on roads in newly developed residential areas where not many households have moved in yet.

According to Mr. Ngo Phuoc Ngoc, Vice Chairman of the Dien Son Commune People's Committee, drying rice on the road is a real problem because farmers are struggling with a lack of drying spaces. Currently, the cooperative's drying yards no longer exist, and people's yards have been divided into smaller sections or covered with roofs, making them unsuitable for drying. Only a few places still have drying areas, such as temple courtyards or village cultural centers, but these are small and make it difficult for people to gather and dry their rice. The local authorities have not yet found any feasible solutions to address this difficulty for the people.

Ms. Phan Thi Xuan Huong, Chairwoman of the Dien Lac Commune People's Committee, said that previously, farmers from some neighboring communes would dry their rice on National Highway 27C, or people from the commune would dry it on Road D6. The commune has urged and requested people not to dry rice on these roads, as it obstructs traffic, so now these roads are clear and unobstructed...

Try to find a solution.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tho, Head of the Urban Management Department of Dien Khanh District, said that the main responsibility for this issue lies with the local authorities because currently, most cooperatives no longer have drying yards or warehouses due to dissolution or business conversion. Even those with drying yards cannot meet the large demand for drying rice during the harvest season. Therefore, farmers drying rice on the roads is a last resort. However, the district has issued a document requesting local authorities to prohibit farmers from drying rice on major roads to avoid obstructing traffic and ensure traffic safety.

According to Mr. Le Cong Bao, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of Dien Khanh District, during the 2015-2020 period, the policy on developing the collective economy and building new rural areas supported localities in constructing drying yards, but most cooperatives lacked land and therefore did not invest in this item. The program is no longer in effect. Regarding the policy on investing in drying machines, it is currently being implemented, but requires cooperatives to have matching capital, making them hesitant to invest. Furthermore, investing in drying machines also presents several challenges: drying machines are only suitable for the 8th crop (the rainy summer-autumn crop), small-capacity machines cannot meet demand, and large-scale investments are difficult to recoup. Therefore, currently, only 3 cooperatives have registered to invest in the 2023-2024 plan: Suoi Hiep 1, Suoi Hiep 2, and Suoi Tien. The district is encouraging cooperatives to form joint ventures and partnerships with businesses producing seeds and purchasing fresh rice for processing from farmers. Currently, there are about 10 cooperatives in the area with a total area of approximately 1,000 hectares operating under this model. The majority of the remaining area still relies on traditional methods, making it unavoidable for farmers to dry their rice on the roads… It is known that the total area of winter-spring rice in the district is nearly 4,000 hectares; currently, farmers have harvested 3,400 hectares, leaving 600 hectares unharvested.

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