New life in the flood-stricken areas.

Despite the many difficulties, people are still striving to restore production and stabilize their lives. Everywhere, people are busy in the fields cleaning up the land and sanitizing the environment. Workers in the production area have also returned to work after two flash floods.

Factory workers making rice paper are working on the drying yard.

Recovering after the floods

Nguyen Thai Hung's rice paper production facility in Phu An neighborhood (Ham Thang ward, Lam Dong province ) has resumed production today. Nearly 20 workers were busy drying, cutting, and stacking the rice paper for delivery to customers.

Hung's rice paper production facility is located in a low-lying area, so the recent flood submerged it in more than a meter of water. "Today is the first day back in operation after the flood, so things are still not stable. The workshop is only operating temporarily to keep the workers employed," Hung said.

Workers return to work at the rice paper production facility.

Having continued the family business for over 25 years, Mr. Hung said: "It was truly terrible. The first flood was very severe; machinery, equipment, and raw materials were submerged, but we couldn't move them because we were powerless. Moreover, before we could even clean up the damage, the second flood came, and all the machinery was severely flooded."

It took several days for the workers in the factory, and Hung himself, to clean up and then hire trucks to transport the machinery for repair.

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As the owner, I can recover from losses, but if the workers are constantly out of work, there's no income, and how can I bear that?

Mr. Nguyen Thai Hung, Owner of the rice paper production facility.

Hung estimates that the two recent floods have caused nearly 200 million VND in losses to machinery, raw materials, and products. The rice paper produced for wholesale orders was submerged, and firewood was also swept away by the floodwaters.

Helping farmers overcome the damage caused by floods is not easy.

Similarly, in Kim Binh neighborhood, Mr. Le Buu Khanh is also urgently digging drainage ditches, treating the soil, adding root stimulants and various biological preparations to his apple orchard. At the same time, he is pruning all the branches, replanting the trees, and rebuilding the collapsed support structure.

During the two consecutive floods, more than 1.7 acres of land with 50 mature apple trees, all in their harvesting season, were affected. Mr. Khanh said: “The flood at the end of October damaged about 50% of the apple trees, causing fruit to fall off, and part of the trellis collapsed and was damaged. Just as the family was starting to recover, the subsequent floods in early December were even more serious, completely destroying the remaining area.”

Installing electricity to provide lights for the dragon fruit garden.

Not far away, Mr. Nguyen Van Truc's garden, with 300 dragon fruit plants that had just been treated with off-season artificial lighting and were bearing young fruit, was also almost completely destroyed after the recent floods. The high water levels over several days submerged Mr. Truc's dragon fruit garden, submerging even the planters.

Even though the floodwaters have receded, mud remains in the garden. Branches and fruits are still covered in mud. More than 500 light bulbs that had just been installed in the garden and hadn't been moved yet were also damaged. A preliminary estimate puts the family's losses at nearly 40 million VND.

According to Mr. Truc, this is the most serious damage ever. Although the water has receded, because of the deep flooding and prolonged submersion, the pillars have started to rot at the roots, and many branches are withering. Now, even washing away the mud won't save them.

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Things are still very chaotic and confusing, but we must try our best to save as many dragon fruit trees as possible.

Farmer Nguyen Van Truc

The dragon fruit orchards that remained after the flood.

Efforts to revive

Mr. Tran Ngoc Hien, Chairman of the Ham Thang Ward People's Committee, said: The entire ward has more than 520 hectares of agricultural land, including fruit trees, perennial crops, rice, vegetables, dragon fruit, etc., that have been damaged.

Currently, the authorities are coordinating with specialized agencies to quickly review and compile statistics on the extent of impact on each household in order to implement timely support plans.

Despite the heavy rains and floods causing significant damage to many crops, farmers quickly began restoring production as soon as the weather stabilized.

In the dragon fruit orchards of Ham Kiem and Ham Thanh areas, people are busy clearing mud and soil, cleaning pathways, unblocking drainage ditches, installing electricity, setting up heating systems, and dealing with flooded areas.

Ms. Le Thi My Hanh hopes that this time, with the good price of dragon fruit, she will have the opportunity to invest again.

At the dragon fruit orchard of Ms. Le Thi My Hanh (Dang Thanh village, Ham Kiem commune), four workers are trimming the fruit, preparing to unload the fruit for the wholesale market.

Ms. Hanh has been involved in dragon fruit farming for over 30 years. During the recent floods, her family was fortunate that only half of their 800 dragon fruit plants were submerged; the remaining area was unaffected and is now entering the harvesting stage, with an estimated yield of 4 tons of fruit.

With the current price of dragon fruit, ranging from 24,000 to 28,000 VND/kg, Ms. Hanh hopes to sell it in time to invest in and renovate the trees that were submerged in the recent flood.

Ms. Hanh shared: "Immediately after the floodwaters receded, the whole family mobilized to dig drainage ditches, reinforce the base of the trees to prevent waterlogging; at the same time, we cut off damaged branches and applied chemicals to treat the roots to prevent rot. As long as the trees recover in time, there is hope for the upcoming production season."

Take care of the remaining dragon fruit plantations to generate income to restore production.

Many local farmers said that the recent floods coincided with the time when they were using electric lights to irrigate off-season dragon fruit – a crop that usually has high economic value. However, currently, production is low, and in some areas there is no dragon fruit to sell, leading to a supply shortage and unexpectedly driving up prices. The high prices of dragon fruit are also motivating farmers to strive to restore production.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Linh (Dan Cuong village, Ham Thanh commune) has nearly 2,000 dragon fruit trees. However, due to the recent heavy rains and flooding, the dragon fruit was affected by mold and had to be harvested early, resulting in a loss of 4 tons at the then-current price of 15,500 VND/kg.

Currently, Mr. Linh is busy mowing the grass, cleaning up his dragon fruit garden, and preparing to install lights and bulbs for the 800 plants, hoping for a successful harvest for Tet (Lunar New Year).

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Off-season dragon fruit is currently fetching good prices, so we're just hoping for favorable weather to ensure this artificial lighting period is successful, generating profits to compensate for previous losses and to be ready for the Tet (Lunar New Year) season.

Farmer Nguyen Ngoc Linh

The prolonged heavy rains and floods in late October and early December caused severe damage to local agricultural production. Many areas growing vegetables, fruit trees, and dragon fruit, which are the strengths of these localities, were submerged by floodwaters, causing crops to rot, fall over, and be damaged.

Not only in Ham Thang but also in other localities such as Ham Kiem, Ham Liem, Ham Thuan, Luong Son, Song Luy… damage to agricultural production was recorded. Just during the recent floods, more than 4,100 hectares of various crops in Lam Dong province were submerged and affected.

To help people quickly stabilize production after the floods, local authorities and the provincial agricultural sector organized technical guidance on soil treatment and disease control after flooding. They also recommended measures to help plants recover quickly.

Although the process of restoring agricultural production after the floods is still fraught with difficulties, with their hard work and creativity, farmers have reason to hope for a better tomorrow, with dragon fruit orchards illuminated by lights, and apple trees that, after being knocked down by the floods, will rise again and bloom.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/suc-song-moi-noi-vung-lu-di-qua-409828.html