Mrs. Thi Phung’s garden of watercress, lettuce, and Mexican coriander in Minh Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district, Kien Giang province was damaged by 80-100% due to the prolonged heat. Photo: Van Si/TTXVN
As one of the households with a long-standing engagement and a large area of vegetable cultivation in Minh Hung hamlet, Minh Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district, Kien Giang province, Mrs. Thi Phung’s household cultivated on an area of about 1,200 m2 with 4 types of vegetables in the second vegetable crop of 2024 (seeded from mid-February): Mexican coriander, watercress, lettuce, and Vietnamese coriander.
All 4 types of vegetables were affected and damaged by the continuously hot weather over the past several days. In particular, lettuce and watercress were 100% damaged, Mexican coriander was 80% damaged, and Vietnamese coriander was affected with slow growth.
Mrs. Phung said that in her over 20 years of vegetable cultivation, except for the drought and salinity in the dry season of 2016, this was the second time her family’s vegetables had been damaged to such an extent. Her family usually maintains 1,200-1,600 m2 of cultivation area for various types of vegetables to avoid the situation of “unsold goods piling up” and will harvest and sell about 2 million VND worth of vegetables each week on average.
“This vegetable crop can be considered a total loss because for the past two months, despite my efforts to pump water into the reservoir and run the sprinkler three times a day, the vegetables still withered and died, and the rest grew slowly and could not be sold. My family has lost income from the vegetables and also had to spend money to buy fuel for the machine and electricity for the sprinkler. Currently, my husband and I are hoeing the vegetable beds to dry the soil and waiting for the rain to come to sow the seeds. I haven’t reported the damage to the local authorities yet,” said Mrs. Phung.
Mr. Danh Linh in Minh Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district is trying to water a part of his surviving scallion garden to use as seeds for the next crop. Photo: Van Si/TTXVN
In a similar situation, Mr. Danh Linh’s scallion garden in Minh Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district has also suffered losses for over two months. Mr. Linh said that in recent years, due to his old age, he and his wife have made a living by growing scallions. With an area of 400 m2, when the weather is favorable, the scallion beds can generate an income of 4-6 million VND per month. In this year’s first scallion crop, due to concerns about drought and salinity, he and his wife only planted on an area of over 200 m2.
“My scallions are over two months old now, but the heat has caused the leaves to wilt and they have also produced fewer shoots, so they cannot be sold. Since planting, I have watered them three times a day, in the early morning, at noon, and in the late afternoon, but the scallions still haven’t grown. Because the planting area is small, I haven’t reported the damage to the authorities. Now I’m trying to care for them in the hope of saving some to use as seeds for the next crop,” added Mr. Linh.
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Huong in Dong Tho B hamlet, Thanh Tri commune, Tan Hiep district, said that because her family was aware of the predicted heat and El Nino phenomenon in this year’s dry season, they proactively skipped the second vegetable crop of the year to avoid damage.
Aware of the predictions of prolonged drought, many gardeners in Thanh Tri commune, Tan Hiep district, have skipped the 2024 dry season vegetable crop to avoid losses. Photo: Van Si/TTXVN
“My family specializes in growing bitter melon and cucumber on an area of 1,500 m2. If the conditions are favorable, each crop can yield a profit of 8-10 million VND. At first, my husband and I hesitated about whether to skip the crop or not because it’s a shame to leave the land fallow for three months with no income. However, after hearing the predictions of extreme weather and the rising prices of electricity and gasoline, my family decided to skip the crop. As a result, we didn’t suffer any losses or damages this time. My family is currently drying the soil and waiting for rain to sow bitter melon seeds immediately,” said Mrs. Huong.
According to Ms. Huynh Ngoc Dung, Chairwoman of the Minh Hoa Commune Farmers’ Association, Chau Thanh District, there are about 100 households in the commune that grow various vegetables such as bitter melon, cucumber, green mustard, lettuce, chili, and herbs, with a total area of nearly 11 hectares. The farmers’ production is facing many difficulties due to the prolonged heat, and about 50% of the area has been affected and damaged.
According to the Kien Giang Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the province currently has over 1,800 hectares of vegetable cultivation, scattered across various localities. The province does not have any specialized vegetable cultivation areas, and most households grow vegetables independently on a small scale, ranging from 200-1000 m2.
“To help vegetable cultivation become more effective, our department regularly coordinates with related agencies and localities to organize training sessions, provide technical guidance on selecting varieties and caring for vegetable crops, and及时发布, predict weather conditions, and arrange appropriate production schedules. For the recent damages, the department will coordinate with localities to assess the situation and develop more suitable production plans for the future, especially during the annual dry season,” added Mr. Tran Quang Giau, Director of the Kien Giang Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection.
