Dien Bien District achieves success in the winter-spring rice crop.

Báo Điện Biên Phủ•19/05/2023

The 2022-2023 winter-spring crop season in Dien Bien district is entering the main rice harvesting phase.

These days, on the Muong Thanh rice fields – the largest in Northwest Vietnam – the rice is ripening to a golden yellow. A bustling and joyful atmosphere of farmers harvesting the rice permeates the entire field. Combine harvesters are operating at full capacity, and farmers stand at the edge of the fields waiting to collect their rice.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, the family of Ms. Lo Thi Tinh in Thanh Xuong commune (Dien Bien district) has finished harvesting their winter-spring rice crop. With an area of nearly 1 hectare, her family harvested over 6 tons of rice; compared to the previous winter-spring crop, the yield was about 300-500 kg/ha higher. Especially, the price of rice increased, making Ms. Tinh's family even more delighted this season. Ms. Tinh shared: "This year's winter-spring crop was bountiful, the price was stable, and even higher than the previous season, so everyone is happy. Although the cost of fertilizer and supplies was high, this is still the most successful rice crop for our family in recent years."

The joy of a bountiful harvest and good prices for this year's winter-spring rice crop has also come to the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh in Thanh Chan commune (Dien Bien district). According to Ms. Hanh, last year's winter-spring crop (2021-2022) saw peak harvesting periods coinciding with continuous rain, causing many areas of ripe rice to be left unharvested; some areas that had already been harvested lacked sunshine for drying, resulting in losses for her family and other farmers. This year's winter-spring crop is both bountiful and has good prices, with favorable weather conditions, so the people are very happy. "My family has harvested over 3,000 ^{square meters} , with an estimated yield of about 67 quintals/hectare, an increase of 3 quintals/hectare compared to last year's winter-spring crop. Currently, my family is taking advantage of the favorable weather to harvest the remaining area; the rice harvest will be finished in about one or two days."

Following the principle of "better to harvest early than late," farmers are rushing to harvest the rice crops that were affected (flattened) by thunderstorms and strong winds.

Not only Ms. Tinh and Ms. Hanh, but many farmers in Dien Bien district are experiencing double joy because of a bumper rice crop and good prices. This is different from many rice seasons, where a good harvest often leads to low prices. Especially in recent years, the high prices of supplies and fertilizers have caused many crops to suffer losses. According to statistics from the Dien Bien District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the 2022-2023 winter-spring crop, the entire district planted more than 4,200 hectares; of which, more than 3,551 hectares were concentrated in the basin area and nearly 650 hectares in the outer areas. The main rice varieties are Seng Cu, Vai Gay, Hana, Dai Thom, Bac Thom, glutinous rice, and a few local pure rice varieties. Currently, the basin area communes are in the main harvesting season. As of today (May 19th), the entire district has harvested about 40% of the planted area. The average yield reached 64 quintals/hectare (an increase of 1 quintal/hectare compared to the 2021-2022 winter-spring crop and the plan set for this year's winter-spring crop), with an estimated production of nearly 27,000 tons (exceeding the plan by nearly 600 tons). In particular, some communes such as Thanh Xương, Thanh An, Thanh Yên, Noong Hẹt, and Thanh Chăn achieved yields of nearly 70 quintals/hectare.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hong Thang, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Dien Bien District, the advantage of this year's winter-spring crop is that the communes proactively developed production plans from the beginning of the year, so the guidance of production was timely and on schedule. In addition, people adhered to the planting schedule and the appropriate crop varieties for each production area in the district. Furthermore, the investigation, forecasting, and control of pests and diseases were promptly implemented by the authorities, minimizing the impact of pests and diseases. Therefore, pests and diseases were managed within safe limits, especially rice blast this year, which had almost no significant impact.

Alongside harvesting the rice, farmers are preparing the fields and tilling the soil in preparation for planting the summer-autumn crop.

In recent years, farmers in the district, especially in the basin area, have consistently adopted and applied technological advancements in production. This year's winter-spring crop saw the widespread adoption of machine transplanting and other cultivation techniques, as well as the selection of new, high-yielding rice varieties. This significantly improved the quality and value of commercial rice. Therefore, despite some negative impacts from weather and rising input costs, farmers still enjoyed a bountiful harvest and good prices this winter-spring season compared to previous years.

Dien Bien District is the largest rice granary in the province. At the beginning of this year's winter-spring crop season, farmers faced difficulties due to weather and pests. However, with the close guidance of the local government and specialized agencies, and the efforts of the farmers, it can be affirmed that this is a successful production season, with both a good harvest and good prices. Currently, communes in Dien Bien District are focusing machinery and manpower on harvesting the winter-spring rice crop and urgently preparing the land according to the principle of preparing the land and planting the summer-autumn rice crop as soon as the harvest is completed, ensuring the planting schedule is met. The success of the 2022-2023 winter-spring crop season has given farmers in Dien Bien District more motivation to prepare the land for the summer-autumn crop.

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