A bountiful summer-autumn rice harvest.

Amidst the bustling atmosphere of the peak summer-autumn rice harvest season, the fragrant fields of ripening rice reflect the joy of the farmers. Stable yields and high selling prices are bringing substantial profits to rice growers.

Efficient rice crop

In the fields during harvest season, Mr. Le Van Hung, Director of Dien Loc Agricultural Cooperative (Binh Loc commune, Dien Khanh district), meticulously observes each rice pad, its stalks heavy with plump, golden grains. Mr. Hung says this year's rice crop is beautiful and has achieved high yields. With 287 hectares of rice, cooperative members have harvested over 10 hectares, with an estimated yield of nearly 80 quintals/hectare, slightly higher than last year. The good news is that the rice purchase price has jumped more than 10 levels compared to last year's summer-autumn crop. Currently, the price of fresh rice purchased directly from the fields is nearly 7,900 VND/kg, and dried rice is 8,500 VND/kg – the highest ever. With this peak price and stable yield, farmers earn over 63 million VND per hectare of summer-autumn rice, with a profit of approximately 35 million VND after deducting expenses. Furthermore, most of the cooperative's land is used for production based on orders from rice businesses. The harvested rice is purchased directly from the fields at market prices, giving farmers peace of mind. The cooperative also provides almost all services related to fertilization, land preparation, care, and harvesting, so members no longer have to work under the harsh sun as before. This is also a common trend among rice farmers in the province today.

Farmer Nguyen Thu Han in Dien Hoa, Dien Khanh district, is delighted that his summer-autumn rice crop has yielded high results.

Compared to Dien Khanh, farmers in Van Ninh district and Ninh Hoa town are harvesting their rice earlier. In Ninh Hoa, the rice granary, where nearly 8,800 hectares of summer-autumn rice are in the peak harvesting season, farmers have already harvested nearly 5,000 hectares, with an estimated average yield of 58-60 quintals/hectare, mainly using ML48, ML202, and Dai Thom 8 varieties. In Van Ninh, according to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Y - Head of the District Economic Department, out of 3,247 hectares of rice, farmers have finished harvesting about 2,600 hectares. The yield of the early crop is stable, the middle crop is relatively low, and the late crop is very high, with an estimated average yield of about 62 quintals/hectare for the whole district. Mr. Le Le, Director of the Van Binh Agricultural Cooperative in Van Ninh District, shared that this year, thanks to the sharp increase in rice prices, about 1,000 VND/kg higher than last year, most of the cooperative's 788 members made a profit, commonly exceeding 25 million VND/ha. Not only did they achieve high efficiency due to the sharp increase in selling prices, but many member households even outsourced harvesting, weighing, and selling to purchasing units directly in the fields to the cooperative, with landowners receiving payment via bank transfer.

Be cautious with the crop.

When the summer-autumn rice crop yields high results, many people worry that farmers will rush to cultivate the main rice crop to maximize their rice-growing efficiency, which poses many risks that do more harm than good. According to specialized agencies, while the two main rice crops of the year (winter-spring and summer-autumn) cover an area of about 18,000 hectares each, the main rice crop is rarely cultivated by farmers, usually only about 6,000 hectares, because this crop often faces stormy weather conditions, resulting in low yields. Mr. Le Le said that the Van Binh Commune Agricultural Cooperative does not cultivate the main rice crop but instead plows and lets the land rest, planting the winter-spring rice crop towards the end of the year. Similarly, cooperatives in Dien Khanh also stated that the main rice crop is frequently flooded, causing seed loss, so almost no one cultivates it.

Harvesting the summer-autumn rice crop in Quang Thanh field, Team 4, Dien Hoa commune, Dien Khanh district.

However, with rice prices currently soaring and showing no signs of cooling down, it's possible that the area planted with seasonal rice will increase. In Ninh Hoa, the area planted with seasonal rice is usually over 3,000 hectares, but this year local authorities are concerned that this number will increase to over 4,000 hectares. In Van Ninh, although some areas are affected by the North-South expressway project, it is still expected that farmers will plant between 1,200 and 1,500 hectares of seasonal rice, similar to previous years.

According to Ms. Luong Kim Ngan, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, rice farmers always face high risks due to production during the rainy and stormy season, resulting in low yields, so expanding the cultivated area is not recommended. In areas where production can proceed according to plan, specialized agencies have guided farmers on appropriate planting schedules and rice varieties. The main rice varieties are ML 202, ML 48, and TH 41, which are short-day varieties (under 100 days), primarily sown in early October and harvested in early the following year.

According to the leaders of Khanh Hoa Irrigation Works Exploitation One-Member Limited Company, the company is responsible for irrigating and draining water for two rice crops annually, the summer-autumn and winter-spring seasons, but does not supply water for the main crop season. Implementing proactive measures to cope with the year-end floods, the plan is that by September 15th, all sluice gates at the diversion dams will be removed to allow water to flow freely, meaning the water level in the canal system will be reduced to its lowest level. Therefore, farmers' rice production in the main crop season will largely rely on rainwater or river water.

With unreliable water sources and the approaching rainy and stormy season at the end of the year, farmers need to carefully plan their crop production to minimize potential losses.

According to the head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, this year's summer-autumn crop saw 18,138 hectares sown throughout the province. To date, farmers have harvested 9,515 hectares, with an estimated yield of 60 quintals/hectare, and an estimated production of 108,828 tons . It is expected that farmers throughout the province will complete the harvest by early September. Thanks to the sharp increase in rice prices, currently at 8,500 - 9,000 VND/kg, most farmers are delighted with the bumper crop. According to the plan, the 2023 crop is expected to be sown on 6,800 hectares.

HONG DANG

Source