In this year’s winter-spring crop, the entire province sowed and planted 9,780.32 ha of rice, an increase of 17.08 ha over the same period last year, reaching 100.68% of the set plan. To date, the harvested area is estimated at 1,500 ha, which is 710.74 ha faster than the same period. The average yield is estimated at 63.20 quintals/ha, and the total output is estimated at 8,722.44 tons, up by 4,586.68 tons compared to the previous year. Against the backdrop of erratic weather developments and the wide-scale emergence of various pests, this result is evaluated as a promising sign for the province’s agricultural production.

During the final days of May, on the Mường Thanh field, the rice harvesting atmosphere took place urgently. The sound of combine harvesters echoed continuously across the golden, ripe fields as residents took advantage of favorable weather to quickly harvest mature rice areas. In Thanh Nưa commune, this winter-spring crop saw the cultivation of 1,114 ha of rice. To date, the locality has harvested around 500 ha, with the yield estimated at around 63 quintals/ha. Despite being affected by some late-season pests, the majority of the rice area grew well, featuring firm grains and a lower rate of empty husks compared to previous years with adverse weather.

Nguyễn Văn Thanh, a resident of Thanh Nưa commune, shared that his family sowed nearly 2,000m² of rice. Right from the beginning of the crop, the family proactively prepared the soil early, adhered to the seasonal framework, and stepped up pest monitoring in the fields. During times when rice blast or brown planthoppers appeared, his family received timely guidance from agricultural cadres to spray pesticides, so the rice area was basically protected, keeping the yield stable.

Thanh Yên commune has harvested around 300 ha out of a total of 809 ha of winter-spring rice, with the yield estimated at around 64 quintals/ha. Many areas utilizing high-quality rice varieties delivered good yields. Accelerating mechanization in the harvesting stage helped farmers significantly reduce labor costs while shortening the harvest time, limiting damages when the weather turned bad.

To achieve those results, right from the beginning of the crop, the provincial agricultural sector enhanced its guidance for farmers to adhere to seasonal schedules, utilize appropriate seed structures, and synchronously deploy pest prevention and control measures. Localities frequently dispatched technical cadres to the fields to inspect pest developments, promptly recommending that residents handle outbreaks when hotspots emerged.

However, this winter-spring crop faced numerous difficulties as a series of pests emerged and caused damage. Among them, neck blast disease continued to appear in several areas with a common infection rate of 1.5%, reaching 6% to 15% in higher areas, and locally peaking up to 50% in Điện Biên Phủ and Mường Thanh wards and Thanh Nưa commune. Planthopper populations appeared across many rice areas with a common density of 35 to 350 insects/m², hitting 400 to 550 insects/m² in higher spots, and locally soaring to 650 to 2,500 insects/m² in Thanh Nưa and Thanh An communes.

In addition, bacterial leaf blight continued to develop across many rice areas, with some localized spots seeing 60% to 70% of leaves infected. Sheath blight appeared in many localities with an infected area of 323.40 ha. Meanwhile, grain discoloration tended to increase during the late-season stage. Nevertheless, thanks to the synchronous deployment of prevention and control, most infected areas were controlled, limiting wide-scale spread. This also stood as one of the vital factors helping the province-wide rice yield remain stable.

The difficulties did not stop at pests, as extreme weather continued to affect production. Around the time the rice ripened, heavy rains accompanied by squalls and hailstorms occurred in several local communes such as Sam Mứn, Thanh Yên, and Pu Nhi, affecting dozens of hectares of rice. Specifically in Sam Mứn commune, a hailstorm on the evening of May 2 caused around 27 ha of rice that was about to be harvested to lodge and strip grains. Immediately after the natural disaster occurred, the local government mobilized forces to support residents in harvesting the lodged areas. The locality’s proactive response helped partially alleviate the losses for the farmers.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, this winter-spring crop took place under weather conditions with many erratic developments, alternating between hot weather, rain, humidity, and squalls, which created favorable conditions for various pests to emerge and cause damage. However, thanks to the proactivity of the specialized sector and localities in forecasting, predicting, and guiding prevention, the majority of the rice area was safely protected. Concurrently, the agricultural sector stepped up field inspections, regularly updating pest developments to promptly recommend that residents handle them at the right time. Beside this, localities actively mobilized farmers to accelerate the harvest progress for ripe rice areas to limit damages caused by late-season rainstorms.

In the context of increasingly visible climate change where agricultural production faces many risks, the results achieved in this winter-spring crop stand as a testament to the flexible adaptation of the people and the local agricultural sector. Moving from proactively managing seasonal schedules and applying technical advances to upgrading forecasting capacities for pests and natural disasters, all contributed to helping the rice plants overcome difficulties and maintain productivity. Currently, localities across the province continue to concentrate on harvesting the remaining rice area under the motto of harvesting slightly early is better than leaving it overripe in the field, while preparing conditions for the next monsoon production season.