Farmers urgently fix rice crops damaged by storm

QTO - After the impact of storm No. 5, thousands of hectares of summer-autumn rice in the province that were in the stages of drying, milky ripening, waxy ripening and ready for harvest were knocked down and flooded. Currently, functional units are coordinating with local authorities to direct and guide farmers to focus on implementing solutions to minimize losses in productivity and harvest output.

Farmers in Tuyen Hoa commune tie rice into small clusters to help the plants stand upright to reduce damage - Photo: TH

Hoa Trach is one of the most severely affected localities, with about 523 hectares of rice falling. Vice Chairman of Hoa Trach Commune People's Committee Pham Duc Hung said: Of the 673 hectares of summer-autumn rice in the commune, about 250 hectares are in the preparation stage for harvest, and 50%-70% of the rice is flooded; 270 hectares are 30%-50%; the rice area with 50% or more damage is about 73 hectares. The unit has directed and guided people to drain water, drain water, and quickly harvest the ripe rice area to limit germination.

This summer-autumn crop, Mr. Trinh Van Dong's family in Phuc Kieu village planted 0.5 hectares of rice, mainly Khang Dan variety. Mr. Dong said: "Before the storm, because we couldn't rent a harvester, my family didn't have time to harvest the rice. Now 70% of the rice is lying under water, and many places have begun to sprout. The water has receded, but harvesting is still very difficult because the rice doesn't fall in the same direction but swirls in all directions, harvesting by machine will be difficult, and the cost is also higher.

In Tuyen Hoa commune, the whole commune has 272 hectares of rice in the milky ripening and firming stage. However, heavy rain has flooded more than 106 hectares, of which nearly 40 hectares have fallen. As of August 27, 2025, the locality still has 4 hectares flooded. The commune's top priority is to clear the flow and drain water in a timely manner to prevent flooding and avoid the risk of rice germination. At the same time, local authorities recommend that people tie rice into small clusters, helping the plants stand upright to receive light, minimizing pests and diseases and creating conditions for the rice to continue to firm up.

Ms. Ngo Thi Minh, Uyen Phong village said: This year, my family has grown 5 sao of rice, if all goes well, the estimated yield is about 3 quintals/sao. The rice is in the stage of maturity but heavy rain has knocked down all 5 sao. If the rice is not planted quickly, in just one or two days the seeds will germinate, greatly affecting the yield.

According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, after storm No. 5, the whole province had over 2,100 hectares of rice in the stages of drying, milky ripening, and wax ripening that were fallen, collapsed, and flooded. Implementing Official Dispatch No. 07/CD-UBND dated August 26, 2025 of the Provincial People's Committee on focusing on overcoming the consequences of storm No. 5 and the floods, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has issued a document directing localities to mobilize all pumping stations and water pumps to increase the capacity to promptly drain flooded areas, especially fallen and flooded rice areas.

Accordingly, localities focus on human resources, materials, and machinery to speed up the harvest of over 80% of the ripe rice area. For the unripe rice area, it is necessary to direct and advise people to prop up fallen rice by tying 3-5 rice stalks together so that the plants can recover quickly. For the rice area harvested before storm No. 5, people are instructed to take advantage of the sunny weather to dry, dry, and preserve the rice to ensure quality.

Head of the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection Bui Phuoc Trang said: According to preliminary assessments, most of the fallen rice fields in localities such as Hoa Trach, Nam Ba Don... were ripe, so it had little impact on productivity and output.

If the waterlogging is timely and the harvest is quick, the damage will be about 10% - 20%. In some localities where the late-season rice fields are in the milky ripening stage, the damage will be about 30% - 50%, depending on the efforts of the people to overcome it. Currently, the unit is coordinating with localities to count the damage according to Decree 09/2025/ND-CP, dated January 10, 2025 of the Government to promptly support farmers to stabilize production soon.

Thanh Hoa

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202508/nong-dan-khan-truong-khac-phuc-lua-bi-nga-do-do-bao-37b44a8/