Support onion harvesting, protect newly sown rice fields before storms

Faced with the complicated developments of floods and rains, departments, branches and localities in the Dong Thap Muoi region of Tay Ninh province are making efforts to deploy many solutions to protect production and limit damage, especially for the newly sown Autumn-Winter and Winter-Spring rice areas.

At the meeting to assess the flood situation and its impact on agricultural production held on October 21, the People's Committee of Tay Ninh province assessed that flood water levels in the coming days will continue to rise, potentially causing spills and dike breaks that will affect thousands of hectares of rice in the Autumn-Winter 2025 and Winter-Spring 2025-2026 crops.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc, Director of Tay Ninh Hydrometeorological Station, said that the water level on rivers and canals in Dong Thap Muoi area is rising rapidly due to a combination of heavy rains in the area, high tides and floods from upstream, with an average increase rate of 1 - 3 cm/day and night. The current water level at stations in Dong Thap Muoi area is measured to be 4 - 49 cm higher than the same period in 2024.

Floodwaters are forecast to continue to rise and peak around October 23-24, possibly approaching or exceeding alert level II, especially at upstream stations in the North of Tay Ninh province. According to forecasts, the highest water level in 2025 could reach 3.4 m at Hung Dien B station; 3 m at Tan Hung (0.20 m higher than alert level II); 2 m at Moc Hoa (equal to alert level III); at Kien Binh and Tuyen Nhon stations, it is forecasted to be approximately 0.05 m higher than alert level III.

The rising floodwaters in recent days have not only directly caused damage to rice fields and fruit trees but also continue to threaten thousands of hectares of rice fields of people in the communes of Dong Thap Muoi region. Many dyke locations in these localities are at risk of overflowing and breaking; the water level difference in canals is more than 2 meters higher than the field surface.

Mr. Do Huu Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Tay Ninh province, said that the province has sown nearly 92,000 hectares of autumn-winter rice, of which nearly 28,800 hectares have been harvested. In the Dong Thap Muoi region alone, more than 74,200 hectares have been sown, nearly 28,700 hectares have been harvested, the remaining 45,600 hectares are in the flowering, tillering, and milk-ripening stages. In addition, the province has nearly 37,300 hectares of newly sown 2025-2026 winter-spring rice, of which the Dong Thap Muoi region alone accounts for more than 27,800 hectares.

According to initial statistics, floodwaters have damaged nearly 252 hectares of rice in Tay Ninh province, of which nearly 230 hectares were completely lost; 22 hectares of fruit trees and 1.5 hectares of vegetables were also affected. Concentrated mainly in communes such as Khanh Hung, Vinh Thanh, Vinh Chau... In particular, the province has more than 7,200 hectares of autumn-winter rice and 100 hectares of winter-spring rice at risk of being flooded and damaged by floods.

In Vinh Thanh commune, rising floodwaters in recent days have caused the dike to break, damaging 37.5 hectares of rice and 17.5 hectares of fruit trees. Mr. Nguyen Hong Kha, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said that local forces are coordinating with local people to reinforce the dike to protect more than 400 hectares of rice in the locality to be basically safe. However, the most worrying thing now is that some dikes have weak bases, and if the water level continues to rise, it will be very dangerous. We are mobilizing all forces to reinforce and at the same time recommending that the province soon invest in upgrading vulnerable dike sections.

In Vinh Chau commune, floodwaters have overflowed some sections of the dike, inundating 70 houses, damaging 4.5 hectares of fruit trees and 7 hectares of rice. Mr. Nguyen Van Chi, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: "The government and people have coordinated to reinforce and raise nearly 180 km of dike, using land and Melaleuca piles, with a total value of more than 9 billion VND. The dike surface is currently 10-30 cm higher than the water level, but if the flood continues to rise, it will cause many dangers. The commune has arranged forces and means to be on duty 24/24 hours, and the dike will be reinforced as the water rises. In case of an incident, we will be ready to respond and support people to protect production."

Faced with the complicated situation of floods, Mr. Nguyen Minh Lam, Vice Chairman of Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee, requested localities not to be negligent or subjective, especially in the coming days. Units and localities must be on duty regularly, monitor the situation and have solutions to absolutely protect the safety of important dykes and agricultural production areas of the people.

“During this period, communes must maintain a 24/7 duty regime, ready to respond according to the '4 on-site' principle. The Party Secretary and Chairman of the Commune People's Committee are directly responsible for inspecting, handling and overcoming dike incidents. There must be specific plans for each situation such as dike overflow, landslides or dike breaks. If it is beyond capacity, it must be reported immediately to the province for timely support,” the Vice Chairman of the Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee emphasized.

The Vice Chairman of Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to coordinate with sectors and localities to closely monitor the hydrometeorological situation and water resources developments to promptly notify the people; conduct reviews and assessments of the dyke system, drainage pumping stations, and proactively respond to incidents. The transport sector is required to strengthen warnings, ensure safety of roads, bridges, and wharves; prepare boats for rescue and relief. Military and police forces continue to maintain their numbers on duty, ready to support in case of incidents, help people evacuate and overcome the consequences after floods.

The Vice Chairman of the Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee acknowledged the efforts of the commune authorities in mobilizing forces to be on duty and support people in promptly overcoming dike breaches, minimizing damage to people. However, he noted that many rice fields are currently sown outside the crop schedule, not following the recommendations of the professional sector, leading to high risks when floods come, and low rice prices, causing double damage to farmers. Localities need to learn from experience and increase propaganda so that people sow and plant rice on time, avoid floods to minimize damage.

Onion harvesting is taking place very urgently. Photo: VNA

Meanwhile, in Ly Son special zone, Quang Ngai province, to respond to storm No. 12, the Ly Son special zone Military Command mobilized 18 soldiers to help people in the special zone harvest onions to "run the storm".

Throughout the fields in the special zone, soldiers and people were busy harvesting, gathering, and transporting onions to warehouses to dry. The atmosphere was very urgent and bustling.

According to Commander of the Ly Son Special Zone Military Command, Le Dinh Chinh, prolonged heavy rains will cause the onions to spoil quickly. Therefore, the unit is ready to provide maximum support in terms of human resources and means if people need it.

Ms. Doan Thi Cuu, Dong Ho village, said that each onion crop usually lasts nearly 2 months, so people have to spend a lot of time and effort taking care of it. Although it is not yet harvest time, people have to pull out the onions early because they are afraid that the storm will cause great damage.

Onion harvesting is taking place very urgently. Photo: VNA

Chairman of the People's Committee of Ly Son Special Economic Zone Nguyen Van Huy informed that up to now, more than 86% of the area has been harvested, with only 50 hectares remaining unharvested. According to forecasts, in the next few days, the province will continue to have heavy to very heavy rains. The People's Committee of the Special Economic Zone is directing relevant agencies to urge people to speed up the harvesting process to avoid impacts.

Ly Son Special Economic Zone is known as the "capital" of onions and garlic in the country with a production scale of up to more than 320 hectares. According to statistics, each sao (500 m2) of onions gives an average yield of nearly 100 kg of bulbs. This main crop has been bringing a stable source of income to local people. After confirming the geographical indication, Ly Son Special Economic Zone has also built 13 3-star OCOP products related to onions and garlic.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/ho-tro-thu-hoach-hanh-bao-ve-dien-tich-lua-vua-gioo-sa-truoc-bao-20251021180337488.htm