Facing that situation, the Điện Biên provincial agricultural sector and localities are actively deploying many synchronous solutions to best prepare production conditions, striving to ensure crop productivity and quality and minimize damage caused by natural disasters.

According to the forecast of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, from December 2025 to February 2026, cold air is likely to be strongly active, with widespread severe cold and damaging cold. This is a factor directly affecting agricultural production, especially for rice and spring crops. On that basis, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has issued a document requiring localities to proactively build winter-spring production plans close to actual conditions, arrange reasonable seasonal schedules, select suitable varieties, and strengthen cold prevention and control measures for crops.

Chu Thị Thanh Xuân, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said that arranging the rice sowing schedule is determined as a key task in this year’s winter-spring crop. Therefore, the Department has requested localities to limit the early planting area; base on the growth time of each rice variety and the conditions of each microclimate sub-region to arrange a suitable sowing schedule, ensuring rice plants grow in favorable conditions, avoiding late cold spells.

For direct-seeded rice, the early crop is sown from late December 2025; the main crop is sown in January 2026; the late crop finishes sowing in February 2026. For transplanted rice, cold climate areas implement seedling sowing with nylon covers, proceeding to transplant when seedlings reach 3 - 6 leaves; at the same time, do not sow or transplant on days when the air temperature drops below 15°C.

Along with seasonal scheduling, selecting rice varieties is considered a very important factor. With an expected cultivation area of over 9,714ha of rice, the agricultural sector recommends localities select 3 - 4 key varieties with clear origins, suitable for the ecological conditions of each region, with good cold tolerance, drought tolerance, and pest resistance. Arranging varieties according to growth time and concentrated planting for each crop batch to create favorable conditions for care and pest control is also being deployed synchronously.

Parallel to that, land preparation, irrigation, and ensuring irrigation water sources serving winter-spring production are being focused on by localities. Many communes have organized troops to dredge in-field canals, inspect and repair irrigation works, and proactively plan for economical and effective water regulation. Fields at risk of water shortage are reviewed to timely switch to growing dry crops such as: Corn, soybeans, peanuts, and various vegetables... to improve production efficiency and reduce risks.

Lò Thị Hiên, Việt Thanh village, Thanh Nưa commune shared: In recent years, the winter-spring weather has been very erratic. This year, being guided carefully by agricultural officers from the land preparation stage and variety selection to the sowing time, we feel more reassured. My family has proactively prepared the land early and prepared short-term rice varieties to timely respond if severe cold or damaging cold occurs.

Along with preparing good conditions at the beginning of the crop, pest control work is deployed throughout the production process. The agricultural sector focuses on monitoring and forecasting the pest situation, guiding people to apply safe and effective control measures, limiting the use of chemical plant protection drugs, and step-by-step shifting to biological drugs and environmentally friendly farming measures. Many scientific and technical advances such as: Integrated Plant Health Management (IPHM), smart rice farming adapting to climate change, production according to GAP standards, organic... are also encouraged for application.

Regarding irrigation for crops, the Sub-department of Irrigation and Disaster Prevention coordinates with localities to review the cultivation area, determine irrigation needs according to each region and each growth stage of crops, serving as a basis to adjust the water supply schedule suitable for weather developments. Priority is given to supplying water to key areas, areas far from sources, and 2-crop rice production areas.

Phan Văn Vượng, Acting Head of the Sub-department of Irrigation and Disaster Prevention, said that units managing irrigation works are required to operate according to procedures and regulate water daily to ensure sufficient irrigation sources, not letting local water shortages occur during the peak dry season. Large reservoirs in the area implement early water accumulation, ensuring useful capacity before entering the dry period; headworks, pumping stations, and canals are inspected, dredged, and maintained regularly to limit loss and improve water conduction efficiency.

Along with that, the Sub-department of Irrigation and Disaster Prevention guides people to apply water-saving irrigation measures, dredge in-field canals, and convert a part of the area in regions with difficult water sources to dry crops such as: Corn, soybeans, fodder grass... These solutions will reduce pressure on the irrigation system and improve economic efficiency on the same unit of area.

With the drastic involvement of the agricultural sector, localities as well as the proactive spirit of the people, the preparation of production conditions for the 2025 - 2026 winter-spring crop in the province is being deployed synchronously. However, because this production crop harbors many weather risks, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment notes that localities should proactively monitor the situation and prepare response plans suitable for actual conditions. The agricultural sector will continue to stick close to the grassroots level, coordinating closely with communes and wards to timely remove difficulties, striving to ensure a safe and effective winter-spring production crop.