Water break for harvester crew in Huong Phong

"No matter how hard it is, as long as we are warm and full"

Thanh Phuoc rice fields, Huong Phong commune ( Hue city) are unusually bustling these nights, because it is the rice harvest season. The sound of cutting machines and the lights from the fields make the space along the lower reaches of the Huong River light up. Night rice harvesting has become a familiar rhythm of life for the people here. The specific time frame and Rio 2 rice variety help people harvest quickly in the Winter-Spring crop, reducing pressure on the Summer-Autumn crop.

Having eaten early, carrying water with his family's "help team", Mr. Chau Quyen took his motorbike to the field to wait for the combine harvester to gather and harvest the rice. That evening, he estimated that he had to cut 3 out of 12 sao of rice grown at home to dry in time for the sun. "Working at night is cool and convenient, and it doesn't clash with other people's harvest schedules. This year, the rice grains are full, with a yield of about 3.5 quintals/sao. Seeing the high selling price, everyone is very happy," Mr. Quyen shared.

No less busy and hard-working are the harvesters, some shine the lights to help the mowers see the path, some do the operation, some take care of maintenance. The head of the mower team, Phan Huu Nghiep, works while checking his phone to contact, mobilize the mowers and schedule for other field owners. The cooperative's two mowers with a team of 6 people operate continuously. Each person carries a few bottles of cool water in their hands because replenishing water at this time is very important and helps them stay awake to work. "Taking advantage of the favorable weather, the brothers work overtime to keep up with the rice harvest schedule for the people. Sometimes we finish work at 10-12pm. Each day, the harvest team harvests about 10 acres, but this year the terrain is uneven, so the moving time is more than usual," Nghiep said.

Thanh Phuoc District planted 84.4 hectares of rice this year, and has already harvested more than half of the area. In the following days, farmers will harvest JO2 rice and late-ripening rice to ensure productivity and avoid unexpected extreme weather conditions.

Mrs. Cho prepares to deliver the rice to the harvester on the evening of May 1st.

Meanwhile, in the fields of Dong Phu Cooperative, Quang An, Quang Dien on the evening of May 1, rows of rice bags after harvest from dozens of households were pulled to the side of the road. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Cho, 64 years old, and her son-in-law went out to collect the rice to bring home. This year, she planted 2.4 sao of 4B variety, yielding 3.5 quintals/sao (yield 50kg/sao higher than last year). With the price of each kg of 4B rice at about 9,500 VND, she earned about 1 million VND per sao. “The labor cost for cutting each sao is 105,000 VND, excluding ash fertilizer, and the high price of rice, farmers are very happy to have a profit. I worked from afternoon to night without eating a single grain of rice. My stomach was so happy that I forgot about hunger. No matter how hard it is, as long as it is warm and full,” she laughed happily.

Rice cultivation, waiting for the sun

At 8:00 p.m. on the Thuy Duong - Thuan An route, the family of Mr. Hoang Ngoc, 58 years old in Phu My (Phu Vang) mobilized nearly ten people to go to the fields to help collect rice and carry it home. For him, who has been a farmer for more than half his life, this is the time to admire the results after days of "one sun, two dews". This year the weather is harsh, but the farmer uses all his experience in the fields to take care of the rice. Understanding the situation of barefoot farming, his children at this time all go to the fields to help their father. Excited because of the good harvest and good prices, everyone is excited. The harvest night meal is also more "luxurious" because there is meat and bottled beer.

Mr. Ngoc's family grows 4 acres, including 1 acre of JO2 variety, 1.5 acres of Khang Dan variety, and the rest of Ha Phat variety. Waiting for his son to load the rice onto the truck, Mr. Ngoc calculated that the rice price is good, but the yield in this area is not as good as last year. Last year, 1 sao yielded 3.5 quintals, but this year it is about 2.8-3 quintals. In return, the selling price of rice is higher, so farmers are all excited. Yesterday, he sold some Khang Dan rice right after harvesting for about 27-28 million VND. He estimated that the price of rice would increase, so he decided to bring the remaining rice home and not sell it yet.

Parking the rice cart and sitting down by the roadside to drink a glass of water with Mr. Ngoc, Mr. Phan Thanh, 38 years old, a fellow villager, was equally happy because this year the price was good and the harvest was good. His father used to be the head of the cooperative, and his family has been involved in farming since childhood. He and his wife farmed 2 hectares of rice fields left by his father, growing JO 2 and Khang Dan varieties. Researching the market, he has only sold a small amount of Khang Dan rice, and is holding the rest until the price increases. He said that everyone here thinks the same way, so most of them are just testing the waters.

The joy of good prices and good harvests

Engrossed in farming, Mr. Ngoc said he had to sleep next to the Rio 2 rice field because he had only dried it for a day and a night, and he still had to keep the rice to spread out to dry early tomorrow morning. In such a hot sunny day, thanks to the shade of the horse-foot tree on the sidewalk, he kept taking shelter around the shade and then moved to the other side of the street at dusk, taking advantage of the opportunity to turn the rice to dry. His face was dark from the hot sun these days, but he said that this job requires him to work hard in the sun, so he couldn't avoid the sun. On days when the temperature was high, he would go to the house to rest at noon, but at night, "rice on one side, people on the other side". The situation of motorbikes stealing rice also gave people headaches, so keeping watch with sweat and tears was obvious. That's why, walking along this road towards Thuan An beach, it was not difficult to see some farming families sitting on the side of the road having dinner and watching the rice.

This year's Winter-Spring crop, the whole province planted more than 28,000 hectares. Currently, the price of rice on the market is purchased depending on the quality: Khang Dan 8,700-8,900 VND/kg, Ha Phat 8,700-8,900 VND/kg, JO2 is 9,700-10,000 VND/kg, Nang Huong: 9,200 - 9,500 VND/kg... In some areas, the owners of rice granaries go to buy rice from early morning or take advantage of the evening to approach the concentrated rice drying areas to set the price, weigh and collect the rice onto the truck to transport back. The owner of An Hung rice granary in Huong Phong said that his family sent a truck to buy rice in the area and Quang Thanh commune (Quang Dien), and currently the family has bought about 20-30 tons of Khang Dan rice. This year, the high price of rice combined with a good harvest makes both sellers and buyers excited and happy.

Harvesting rice at night in Huong Phong fields

Article, photos, clips: GIANG-THANG