Mekong Delta reports bumper rice crop

Farmers harvest summer-autumn rice crop in Vinh Hanh Commune, Vinh Hung District in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. This year's rice output is estimated to reach more than 8 million tonnes despite unfavourable conditions. — VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

CUU LONG DELTA — The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country's rice granary, has harvested a bumper summer-autumn rice crop this year, despite unfavourable conditions earlier in the year, Tin Tuc (News) newspaper has reported.

The Delta has harvested more than 1.4 million ha of rice with an average paddy yield of 4.94 tonnes per ha.

The Delta cultivated a total of 1.6 million hectares for this year's summer-autumn rice crop and total paddy output is estimated to reach more than 8 million tonnes, meeting the Delta's target.

Each Delta province has planted four to five key rice varieties. Low-quality rice varieties accounts for less than 15 per cent of the total.

The cultivation area of fragrant-rice varieties and speciality rice varieties has also accounted for less than 15 per cent of the total rice area in each Delta province.

The remaining area of the Delta's rice cultivation land, about 70 per cent, has been used for growing high-quality rice and long-grain rice varieties.

For this crop, Delta farmers planted rice varieties that were resistant to rice pests and well-suited for the ecological condition of each area.

They also carried out various measures to prevent and control rice diseases and pests, including brown planthoppers, ragged-stunt rice disease and yellow-stunt rice disease.

Provinces affected by droughts and salt-water intrusion have reacted quickly to prevent and control droughts and salt-water intrusion through proper use of irrigation networks and irrigated water.

The Delta's provinces gave farmers a total of VND220 billion (US$11.5 million) for irrigation and provided loans worth a total of VND250 billion ($13.1 million) for farmers to buy input materials for rice cultivation, including fertilisers and pesticides.

This year the summer-autumn crop in coastal provinces was cultivated on a 70-kilometer stretch of land inundated by salty water.

Prolonged droughts and rice diseases have also damaged more than 700,000ha of rice. — VNS