In early December, taking advantage of favorable weather, Ms. Nang Xuan Lu Hiep, resident of Binh Giai village, Phuoc Minh commune, Bu Gia Map district, and her fellow villagers went to the fields to harvest rice. In just one day, the 2 hectares of upland rice that she rented from Phuoc Binh rubber farm and Phu Rieng Rubber One Member Co., Ltd. to grow were almost harvested. Ms. Hiep said that this year the weather was not favorable but the rice yield was still quite good. She and her fellow upland rice growers were very excited, expecting to harvest nearly 4 tons this crop. “Upland rice is not difficult to grow, easy to care for, just weeding, no need to fertilize or spray pesticides. Upland rice cooks well, does not get moldy when stored for a long time, is filling, and lasts longer than buying rice in the market,” said Ms. Hiep.
Upland rice is cultivated once a year, starting from the first rains until the dry season when the rice ripens. From sowing to harvesting, people only have to work on weeding, the plants grow and nourish themselves according to the natural laws. After 5 months of planting, if the weather is favorable, the plants will flower, forming large and firm rice grains. When the rice is ripe, the grains are yellow and heavy with flowers, people go to the fields to harvest.
This season, Ms. Thi Hanh's family in Binh Giai village planted 3 hectares of upland rice. Ms. Hanh said that upland rice can only be grown once a year, and if they want to grow it in the next season, they have to rent new land. The process of growing upland rice is very simple. At the beginning of the season, people choose a gentle hill or rent land from young rubber plantations that have not yet closed their canopy to grow upland rice. When it rains, the soil becomes softer and looser, and people take the selected rice seeds and sow them into the soil. There is no need to plow like in wet rice cultivation, just one person in front digs a hole, the person behind puts the rice seeds in and then covers the soil. Upland rice cultivation has been around since ancient times, with grandparents passing down seeds for planting. Everyone in the village has known how to grow upland rice since childhood. Depending on the weather, some years have a good harvest, some years have a bad harvest. During the 5 months the rice grows, people work for hire, work on cashew, rubber, and pepper plantations to earn extra income, so people's lives have improved in recent years. “Traders currently buy upland rice for 12,000 VND/kg, but we don’t sell it. This rice is only grown for eating. If anyone in the village or hamlet is having difficulties, we will give them some,” Ms. Hanh shared.
It is harvest season, the rice is ripe and golden all over the rubber hills. Villagers exchange labor to harvest the rice, so the harvest goes very quickly. After harvest, the rice plants decompose to become fertilizer for the rubber trees. After harvesting, there is a threshing machine on site, when the rice is dry, the villagers choose the big, round grains to save as seeds for the next crop.
Mr. Dieu O in Binh Giai village, who is in charge of threshing rice for the villagers in the direction of exchanging labor, said that now, rice farming is much easier than in the past because of the support of machines. When milled into rice, the grains are separate and have a sweet, rich taste. Nowadays, many people from all over the place come to buy upland rice, because the rice is grown completely naturally in an organic direction, without using fertilizers or pesticides, and has high nutritional content. Therefore, although the yield is lower, the price of upland rice is higher than that of rice.
Upland rice is an important food for ethnic minorities in communes that do not have conditions for wet rice cultivation. Rice grains are crystallized from the quintessence of heaven and earth, not only bringing prosperity but also an inseparable cultural feature of the people. And the upland rice harvest season is considered the happiest occasion of the year.
Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/4/166369/vao-mua-lua-ray
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