The 2023 summer-autumn rice crop in Ha Tinh has concluded with much joy. The main rice varieties in the fields continued to demonstrate outstanding yields as farmers ensured adherence to the planting schedule, focused on care, and effectively controlled pests and diseases.
For farmers in the area outside the Duc Tho dike, summer-autumn rice production is always accompanied by worries about the weather. They worry whether their careful cultivation will bear fruit when floods are always lurking, and in many years they have had to endure the situation of "the weather gives us a harvest but not a crop."
However, this year, Mr. Le Tuan Anh (Phuc Loc village, Bui La Nhan commune), like thousands of farmers in the area outside the dike, is delighted because the weather has been favorable, resulting in a bountiful rice harvest and good prices.
Farmers in Bui La Nhan commune (Duc Tho district) harvest the summer-autumn rice crop. (Photo: Archival image)
Mr. Le Tuan Anh excitedly shared: “As an area outside the dike, frequently heavily affected by natural disasters, heavy rains, and floods, we always proactively manage our production. This season, my family cultivated 1.7 acres of rice fields. Throughout the season, we carefully monitored the water levels, fertilized, and tended to the rice plants, and finally, we harvested a 'golden crop.' Thanks to adhering to the planting schedule and choosing high-quality, short-day varieties such as Glutinous Rice 98 and BT09, the rice yielded a high harvest, reaching about 2.8 quintals per acre. Not only was it a bumper crop, but the fresh rice was also bought up by traders right at the fields at the highest price in many years (around 6,500 VND/kg). This further motivates farmers to stay and work in the fields.”
Along with Bui La Nhan commune, farmers throughout Duc Tho district are also rejoicing at the comprehensive success of the summer-autumn rice crop in terms of variety structure, planting schedule, and yield and quality. Mr. Bui Khac Phong – Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Duc Tho district, said: “This year's summer-autumn crop saw the entire district cultivate 3,977 hectares with high-quality, high-yield rice varieties such as Lai Thom, Nep 98, Nep 97, Huong Binh, etc.”
Local authorities at all levels and specialized departments have focused on closely directing and urging farmers to plant crops according to schedule and effectively control plant diseases. Furthermore, thanks to the tradition of intensive agricultural production and the care of the farmers, the summer-autumn rice crop in Duc Tho achieved a yield of 47.08 quintals/hectare (1.08 quintals/hectare higher than the 2022 summer-autumn crop) and good quality rice. This serves as motivation for local authorities and farmers to continue implementing the land consolidation policy for the 2024 spring rice crop.”
The yield of summer-autumn rice in Can Loc district reached 53.48 tons/ha. (Photo: Archival image)
Besides Duc Tho, other localities with good intensive farming practices have achieved high and fairly uniform yields of summer-autumn rice, such as Cam Xuyen, Can Loc, and Thach Ha... This year, Can Loc district planted nearly 9,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice. The locality prioritized the selection of key rice varieties with outstanding advantages in yield and quality such as Hoa Phat 3, Bac Thinh, Nep 98, and Huong Binh...
Mr. Phan Cao Ky, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Can Loc district, informed: “Favorable weather, appropriate crop variety arrangement, proactive water management, and good pest and disease control have resulted in good growth and development of the summer-autumn rice crop. At the end of the season, the rice yield reached a high of 53.48 quintals/hectare (higher than the 2022 summer-autumn crop and higher than the provincial average yield of the 2023 summer-autumn crop by 3.2 quintals/hectare)."
Can Loc is a "bright spot" in Ha Tinh province regarding land consolidation, breaking down field boundaries, and concentrating production on large-scale model fields with uniform varieties and scientific and technical methods... aiming to improve crop yields. To date, the entire district has over 3,000 hectares of concentrated rice production, with pioneering localities such as Thuan Thien, Vuong Loc, Khanh Vinh Yen, Tung Loc, and Nghen town... This process has also created momentum for people, cooperatives, and agricultural associations to invest heavily in production and develop agricultural economy towards a commodity-based approach.
In 2023, the summer-autumn rice crop was purchased by traders directly from the fields at high prices.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trung – Director of Ha Vang Agricultural Trade and Service Cooperative (Vuong Loc commune, Can Loc district) happily stated: “Land consolidation is a major policy that helps farmers embark on commodity production and increase product value. This season, the cooperative is producing according to the land consolidation approach on an area of over 30 hectares with high-quality, high-yield rice varieties, producing 3-3.2 quintals/sao (1 sao = 360 square meters). The rice harvest was good and the prices were also good, so farmers basically sold their rice fresh and received payment immediately in the fields.”
According to Mr. Nguyen Tri Ha, Head of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection in Ha Tinh province, due to the complex and unpredictable weather conditions during the summer-autumn crop season, the selection of rice varieties has been carefully considered by the specialized agencies from the beginning of the season. Focusing on using stable varieties and continuing to produce new, high-quality rice varieties suitable to the ecological conditions of each locality is one of the important factors determining the success of this crop season.
Accordingly, in the 2023 summer-autumn crop season, the entire province cultivated 44,568/44,891 hectares of rice, achieving 99.3% of the plan. Regarding the crop varieties, localities mainly planted varieties with a growth period of less than 110 days. Of these, the group of widely adaptable and stable varieties such as Huong Thom 1, Thien Uu 8, Xuan Mai, and Nep 98 accounted for 79.5% of the area; the group of promising varieties such as Ha Phat 3, ND502, and HD11 accounted for 10.9% of the area, with the remaining area planted with other varieties.
Immediately after the summer-autumn rice harvest, many localities launched campaigns to consolidate and convert farmland in preparation for the 2024 spring crop.
Overall, this year's summer-autumn crop season took place under relatively favorable weather conditions; some pests and diseases such as the small leaf-rolling caterpillar and brown spot disease appeared in small areas and were quickly controlled, so the crops grew and developed well.
Towards the end of the season, localities proactively accelerated the harvesting process to ensure safety before the rainy and stormy season. This year's summer-autumn rice crop was a complete success, with an estimated average yield of 50.28 quintals/hectare across the province (equivalent to the 2022 summer-autumn crop) and an estimated production of 224,093 tons.
Thu Phuong
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