Kinh Mon farmers overcome difficulties, focus on winter crop preparation

Kinh Mon farmers take advantage of the dry weather to prepare the land to grow onions and garlic.

The fields in Hiep Hoa commune are bustling with the sound of tractors and the chatter of farmers. Mr. Bui Van Bac in Chau Bo village, Hiep Hoa commune said that every year the soil is loose and easy to work. After renting a tractor, he only needed 2 days to finish making ridges for 1 sao. "This year the soil is crumbly and heavy, making it difficult to work. It took my family 4 days to finish making ridges for 1 sao," Mr. Bac said. If the weather is favorable, farmers here will finish the land preparation in a few days.

People gather machinery to prepare land for winter crop production.

For more than 5 years providing land preparation services, on average each winter crop, Mr. Pham Van Tam in Pham Thai ward takes on about 18 hectares of land to grow onions and garlic for the people. “In previous winter crops, as soon as the rice was harvested, people hired me to prepare the land. During peak times, the rice harvester went first, followed by the land preparation machine. However, this year, most of the harvested area had to be left to dry before the machine could be used. Some areas of land were still soft, so we had to plow through once, wait for the soil to loosen, then come back to chop it up and make ridges,” said Mr. Tam.

The rice fields in Hiep Thuong area, Hiep Son ward are low-lying areas of the town. During the storms in early September, the water level rose to 2/3 of the rice plants. There is still a lot of water in the soil. "If the weather continues to be sunny and dry like these days, the machines will be able to till the soil in about 1-2 days," said Ms. To Thi Hoi, resident of Hiep Thuong area, Hiep Son ward.

Because the land is not dry yet, the land preparation process takes more work than in previous years.

Winter crop is always the most anticipated crop of the year for Kinh Mon farmers because of its high economic value, especially onions and garlic. Despite the difficulties, these days, people here still take advantage of favorable weather, mobilizing maximum means, machinery and manpower to plow the land.

This year, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu's family in Quang Tri residential area, Pham Thai ward planted 2 hectares of onions and 1 hectare of garlic. Right after harvesting the early season rice, the family proactively dug small ditches around the field to dry the soil quickly. By mobilizing machinery and manpower, his family has prepared the basic land and started planting onion and garlic seeds.

Farmers collect straw and dry the fields to make the soil dry and easier to work.

Plowman Pham Van Tam is optimistic: "If I can't work during the day, I will work all night in the next few days to serve the people."

Another advantage for onion and garlic growers in Kinh Mon is that at this time, the cost of labor, machinery, and fertilizers has not increased. Onion and garlic seeds are left over from the previous crop, so farmers can plant them right after finishing the land preparation.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ha, Head of the Economic Department of Kinh Mon town, although this year was affected by storms and floods, the area of ​​winter crops planted in the locality did not decrease. The town plans to plant 4,430 hectares of winter crops, an increase of more than 20 hectares compared to 2023.

The winter crop area is large because farmers proactively overcome difficulties and concentrate resources on winter crops. Some banana, cassava and other crops in the land outside the dike that died due to storms and floods were reclaimed by people and used to grow winter crops.

People destroy cassava roots that died after the storm, plant onions and garlic in the area outside Lac Long commune.

Mr. Le Van Dien, Vice Chairman of Kinh Mon Town People's Committee, said that the town will implement measures to support people to overcome difficulties and strive to complete the winter crop planting area within the best crop schedule. The Town People's Committee requested departments, offices, and People's Committees of communes and wards to promptly complete documents to support farmers affected by storms and floods. Special attention should be paid to dredging canals and clearing streams to ensure adequate water supply for winter crops and timely drainage when flooding occurs. Farmers need to take advantage of favorable weather, clean the fields, treat and prepare the soil urgently to be on time for the crop...

Autumn Spring - Le Huong

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nong-dan-kinh-mon-khac-phuc-kho-khan-tap-trung-lam-dat-vu-dong-395610.html