Lâm Đồng Province’s agricultural officials inspect damage caused by hoar frost to crops in Lạc Dương District. — VNA/VNS Photo Đặng Tuấn

LÂM ĐỒNG — The Lâm Đồng Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will provide financial support for Lạc Dương District farmers whose coffee trees were damaged by hoar frost, Nguyễn Văn Châu, deputy director of the department, said.

The department will also provide facilities to monitor the temperature and humidity. In damaged coffee areas not suited to coffee cultivation, farmers are encouraged to switch to other crops like fruit.

On February 6 – 7, hoar frost occurred in Lạc Dương District’s Đạ Chais, Đạ Nhim and Đạ Sar communes, causing damage to leaves and fruit of coffee trees and other crops. 

About 434ha of coffee and 34ha of other crops of a total of 800 households in the three communes were affected by hoar frost, with total damage worth about VNĐ50 billion (US$2.15 million), according to the district's People’s Committee.

The district’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development in co-operation with local agricultural officials have encouraged farmers to spray water on trees to remove hoar frost in the morning when the temperature is not high.

Vũ Bá Hòa, who has 3ha of coffee trees that are bearing fruit in Đạ Chis Commune, said that buds, leaves and fruits had fallen from about 80 per cent of his coffee trees because of the hoar frost.

He has sprayed water on the leaves and trunks of coffee trees but it has not been effective. “If the situation [hoar frost] lasts long, most farmers here will suffer severe losses.”

In the last coffee crop, Hòa harvested more than 12 tonnes of coffee beans and earned a profit of VNĐ150 million ($6,400).

Liêng Giang K’Sáu, chairwoman of the Đa Sar Commune Farmers Association, said that last week's hoar frost had caused the most damage to agricultural production since 2015.

The coffee orchards that were most affected are located in areas of high humidity and at the foot of hills, with 25 – 30 per cent of the areas damaged, she said.

The Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province rarely has hoar frost. The last hoar frost occurred in early 2015, causing damage to more than 1,000ha of coffee.

Located between 1,500 – 2,200 metres above sea level, Lạc Dương District has the highest location in the Tây Nguyên region.

Lạc Dương is one of the largest coffee growing areas in Lâm Đồng. — VNS