Scarcity of labor for rice planting season, high rental price still difficult to hire workers

This year, the entire Hung Yen province plans to plant over 97,500 hectares of rice. At this time, local farmers are urgently preparing the land, taking care of seedlings and planting rice in the fields to meet the season. However, the problem that worries many families is the shortage of hired laborers, even though wages have increased, it is still difficult to find workers.

The hard work of rice planting for hire

In the sweltering summer sun, on the rice fields exposed to the harsh sunlight, it is not difficult to see the image of farmers still diligently planting rice. For them, this is the "golden" time to earn extra income from hired planting work. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, Tien Lu commune shared: "At this time, the field owners call many people, I can't keep up. Every day, I go to the field from 2-3 am, take a few hours at noon, then work until late at night." According to her, each day a contracted planter can receive from 500,000 - 800,000 VND, depending on the area and working speed. Many field owners also provide lunch and drinking water to keep the workers.

Farmers in An Lac village, Tien Lu commune pull up rice seedlings early in the morning.

The summer-autumn rice crop usually has a short season, so hiring workers to plant rice is increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, the rural agricultural labor force is decreasing, especially young workers. Those who are familiar with the work and have skills like Ms. Tham are always "booked" many days in advance.

Although it brings in a better income than many other seasonal jobs, rice planting is always associated with hardship: wading in the fields from early morning, hands and feet soaked in water for hours, sunburned skin, and a tired body. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau, Hong Quang commune, a long-time rice planter, confided: "Working a lot makes you get used to it, but the older you get, the more tired you feel. After each rice field is planted, your whole body aches, your hands and feet are blistered... Outsiders think it's easy, but when you get in the job, you realize how hard it is."

Struggling due to lack of transplanters

Although it is only the beginning of the season, the shortage of rice planting labor has left many farmers confused and forced to fend for themselves in the harsh hot weather conditions.

In the fields of Hiep Cuong commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh and his wife are planting rice seedlings by hand. He shared: Every year, I only prepare the fields, and hire people to do the planting. This year, we called everywhere but no one accepted, so we had to do it ourselves. We also wanted to hire a few more people to speed things up, but we couldn't find any.

Farmers of Luong Bang commune plant winter-spring rice

According to records, the price for hiring workers to plant rice is currently between 500,000 - 600,000 VND/day or 500,000 VND/sao of contract planting, an increase compared to previous years. However, finding workers is still very difficult. The reason is that the labor force of planters is mainly middle-aged women, whose age is getting older, while the younger generation of workers has shifted to work in industrial zones or work far away.

In Chi Minh commune, Mrs. Tran Thi Minh said: There are only two of us in the house, and when we planted acres of rice fields, I used to hire workers to plant. This year, I called the workers early and offered a high price, but no one accepted.

The lack of labor has forced many households to plant rice sporadically and inconsistently, affecting the growth of the rice plants. Especially if the weather turns unfavorable or pests appear, the risk of reduced productivity is very high. Many farmers are worried that if this situation continues, the efficiency of this year's crop will be affected.

Promoting mechanization in agricultural production is the solution to the problem of labor shortage.

The shortage of rice-planting labor is no longer an isolated phenomenon but has been repeated in recent years, posing an urgent need for innovation in agricultural production. The application of tray-seeding technology and transplanting machines; the accumulation of land for large-scale production; or the organization of agricultural cooperatives to supply seasonal labor are necessary directions.

Many farmers hope that the province will continue to expand its support policy for the development of tray-planting and transplanting services to all localities, and encourage the establishment of teams providing contract labor according to a professional model. This will not only help farmers be more proactive in production, but also contribute to improving efficiency, reducing costs and moving towards modern and sustainable agricultural production.

Huong Giang - Duong Mien

Source: https://baohungyen.vn/khan-hiem-lao-dong-vu-cay-gia-thue-cao-van-kho-thue-duoc-tho-3182347.html