Burning straw in the fields

In some areas of Ha Tinh province, farmers still maintain the habit of burning rice straw in the fields after harvesting.

At this time, in many fields in Ha Tinh, the summer-autumn rice crop has been basically harvested. After the harvest, instead of collecting the straw to use as animal feed or fertilizer, some people burn it right in the fields.

Burning rice straw in the fields - a common mistake many farmers are unaware of!

Burning rice straw in fields adjacent to National Highway 1A (the section passing through Cam Thanh commune, Cam Xuyen district) creates plumes of smoke that obscure visibility, posing a danger to road users.

Traveling along National Highway 1A through the districts of Cam Xuyen, Thach Ha, Can Loc, etc., we encountered scenes of farmers burning rice straw in many fields. The burning straw created towering columns of smoke, causing environmental pollution. In some fields located adjacent to the highway, the smoke spread, obscuring the visibility of road users and posing a potential traffic accident risk.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Anh (Dong Nam Lo village, Cam Thanh commune, Cam Xuyen district) said: “If we leave the straw in the fields, it will be very difficult to prepare the land for the next crop. Therefore, everyone burns the straw to improve the soil and make it more fertile. This also helps to eliminate disease germs in the production area. My family currently doesn't raise livestock and doesn't use straw, so we burn it in the fields for convenience.”

Burning rice straw in the fields - a common mistake many farmers are unaware of!

Burning rice straw directly in the fields causes many negative consequences.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Anh, Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ha Tinh province, said: "The burning of rice straw in the fields has become a custom and habit of farmers in some areas. Farmers still believe this is beneficial for cultivation. However, this is an act of environmental destruction; the topsoil is destroyed and degraded, leading to low crop yields."

According to agricultural experts, burning rice straw directly in the fields depletes soil nutrients, and repeated, long-term burning degrades the soil, making it compacted and hardening. It also kills beneficial insects and disrupts the ecological balance of rice paddies. This is one of the causes of pest and disease outbreaks in the fields, forcing farmers to use large amounts of pesticides for control, thus increasing production costs.

Burning rice straw in the fields - a common mistake many farmers are unaware of!

People in Ha Tinh need to abandon the habit of burning rice straw in the fields after the rice harvest.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Anh, Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ha Tinh province, people should utilize vacant land next to rice fields to store straw for later use, such as: as mulch for crops, as animal feed, for growing straw mushrooms or vegetables. In addition, people can bury straw in the soil and use biological products to treat it, thereby helping to maintain nitrogen and organic matter in the soil.

Utilizing agricultural waste products such as straw in production not only helps reduce costs, increase crop yields, and return organic matter to the soil, but also contributes to the formation of green and clean agricultural production methods. It is suggested that relevant authorities should intensify propaganda and guidance for farmers on how to properly handle straw to avoid waste and environmental pollution.

Quang Minh

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