Farmers work on a winter-spring rice paddy in the northwestern province of Dien Bien (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - Farmers in thesouth have begun harvesting their winter-spring rice crop, earning largeprofits because of high yields and prices.
So far 300,000ha out of the 1.9 million hectaresplanted have been harvested, with the average yield being 5.9 tonnes perhectares, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In the Mekong Delta, the country’s rice granary,farmers have 1.55 million hectares under the crop, 2.6 percent higher thanplanned.
Paddy prices are up slightly from last month,according to the ministry.
Low-quality IR50404, one of the main varietiesgrown in the delta, is now bought at 5,900 – 6,100 VND a kilogramme whilehigh-quality grains such as OM 5451, OM 6976, OM 4218 fetch 6,400 – 6,600 VND.
Tran Van Het, who has 1ha under high-qualityrice in Vinh Long province’s Tam Binh district, said he would harvest his paddyin the next few days but a trader has bought it all in advance.
Nguyen Van Dong, director of the Hau Giang province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said farmers wouldhave a bumper harvest and get high prices.
Traders offering to buy paddy in advance at highprices is a common practice now, he said.
With the current price of 6,000 VND forlow-quality paddy and 7,400 VND for fragrant varieties, farmers would make aprofit of more than 30 percent, he said.
Rice harvested later is expected to have evenhigher yields, he said.
Nguyen Van Tot, a member of the Bac Xa NoCooperative in Hau Giang’s Vi Thuy district, said: “Farmers here are very gladbecause companies have offered to buy Tai Thom 8 rice in advancesince they sowed 300ha.”
The cooperative is one of the province’s firstto grow organic rice.
Hau Giang is implementing a plan to improve theoperation of cooperatives and cooperative teams and create links betweenfarmers and companies to zone high-quality rice growing areas.
It offers many incentives, includingpreferential loans and low land rents, to encourage companies to invest inagriculture.
In Hau Giang’s Chau Thanh district, localauthorities have been supporting farmers who used advanced techniques to growrice on 400ha for exports during this winter-spring crop.
Meanwhile, in the central and northern regionsmost farmers have finished sowing their nurseries for the winter-spring crop,according to the ministry.
By mid-February farmers from Thua Thien- Hueprovince to the north had planted seeds for sowing 935,000ha.
They are expected to finish transplanting by theend of this month.-VNA
VNA
