Farmers are in the peak season for harvesting the winter-spring rice crop.

Due to low rice yields and prices, the rice trading market has become less active. Photo: NGOC HAN

Rice yields and prices have fallen.

These days, in the Đá Dựng fields of Hòa Tân Đông commune (Đông Hòa town), farmers are harvesting the winter-spring rice crop – the most important rice crop of the year. In contrast to the bustling atmosphere of previous harvests, this year farmers are less cheerful due to low yields and falling prices.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le from Hoa Tan Dong commune said: "This season, my family planted 5 hectares of Dai Thom 8 rice variety. When we first sowed, it rained for many days, and towards the end of the season, brown planthoppers and white-backed planthoppers broke out, causing damage. On average, my family lost more than 200 kg of rice per sao (approximately 1000 square meters). Besides that, the price of rice this year is lower than last year, with many places buying it for only about 7,500 VND/kg, while the costs of cultivation and harvesting have increased significantly."

According to Ms. Vo Thi Tham, Deputy Head of the Crop and Livestock Station of Dong Hoa Town, in the 2024-2025 winter-spring crop season, the entire town planted more than 4,500 hectares of rice, mainly varieties such as Quang Nam 9, Dai Thom 8, PY8, PY10, ML123… By this time, nearly 40% of the area has been harvested.

“This year, the erratic weather has affected the growth and development of rice plants. Currently, the main rice crop is being harvested, so the yield cannot be fully assessed yet. However, given the weather patterns and the recent brown planthopper infestation, a decrease in the yield of the main rice crop is unavoidable,” Ms. Tham informed.

Meanwhile, in Hoa Hoi, Hoa Dinh Dong, and Hoa Thang communes (Phu Hoa district), farmers have finished harvesting their winter-spring rice crop. According to reports from local households, the yield this season was mostly low, and rice prices also decreased compared to the previous season.

Mr. Nguyen Trong from Hoa Hoi commune shared: Due to the impact of cold fronts at the time of sowing, the rice plants developed slowly. In previous years, we only applied fertilizer twice, but this year we had to apply it 3-4 times. With selling prices at 6,000-8,000 VND/kg, a decrease of 2,000-2,500 VND/kg compared to the same period last year, farmers lost about 2 million VND per hectare just from selling prices. Adding in the decrease in rice yield of 200 kg/sao, farmers lost over 3 million VND per hectare in income. This is a significant amount for rice farmers.

Speed up the harvesting process.

To minimize damage from unpredictable weather patterns that may occur due to thunderstorms, local authorities and cooperatives are mobilizing mechanized equipment such as combine harvesters and straw balers to operate at full capacity to support farmers in speeding up rice harvesting with the motto "better to harvest while the rice is still green than to let it ripen too much in the field".

Despite it being nighttime, Mrs. Tran Thi Hien from Hoa Tri commune, along with many other households in the hamlet, still went to the fields to harvest rice. Holding a freshly cut rice stalk in her hand, Mrs. Hien said: "There has never been a year when the winter-spring crop has suffered so much damage, affecting rice yield as this year. In previous seasons, an average of 8-9 bags of rice per sao (approximately 1000 square meters) yielded 8-9 bags, but this season we only got 5-6 bags, a loss of over 30% of the yield. Therefore, for the remaining rice fields, my family proactively hired a combine harvester at night to harvest the rice and transport it home overnight. By the next morning, we had time to dry it before selling it."

According to the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Livestock, as of now, the entire province has harvested 7,457 out of 26,000 hectares of the 2024-2025 winter-spring rice crop. The average rice yield is estimated at 65 quintals/hectare, a decrease of 7-9 quintals/hectare; the selling price fluctuates from 6,000-8,000 VND/kg, 2,000-2,500 VND/kg lower than the same period last year.

Mr. Ho Quang Nam, Director of Dong Hoa An Agricultural Service Cooperative, said: This season, the cooperative planted 214 hectares of rice, and has already harvested over 40 hectares, with an average yield of over 80 quintals/hectare, which is 4 quintals/hectare lower than last year's winter-spring crop. To avoid rice losses due to unpredictable weather conditions, the cooperative is contracting with combine harvester owners to speed up the process and urgently complete the harvest of the remaining rice crop.

According to the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Livestock, for the 2024-2025 winter-spring rice crop, farmers in the province mainly planted high-yield, high-quality rice varieties such as: DV108, Dai Thom 8, PY10, Ha Phat 3, BDR57, BDR999, OM269-65, PY8, CH133, ML232... with a total area of over 26,000 hectares. Currently, many areas of early and main season winter-spring rice in Tay Hoa, Phu Hoa, Tuy An, Dong Xuan districts, etc., have been harvested.

“From now until May 15th, localities will focus intensely on harvesting the winter-spring rice crop. The Department of Agriculture and local authorities will continue to closely monitor weather forecasts to direct and accelerate the harvesting process, and regulate harvesting machinery appropriately across regions. They will also advise farmers to proactively adjust harvesting times to avoid heatwaves and thunderstorms, minimizing the impact on yield and quality of the rice after harvest. In addition, people need to proactively manage water retention, land preparation, clearing and unblocking waterways, and prepare for the upcoming summer-autumn production season,” said Mr. Tran Quang Truong, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Livestock.

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