HCM CITY – Farmers in the south have begun harvesting their winter-spring rice crop, earning large profits because of high yields and prices.

So far 300,000ha out of the 1.9 million hectares planted have been harvested, with the average yield being 5.9 tonnes per hectares, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country’s rice granary, farmers have 1.55 million hectares under the crop, 2.6 per cent higher than planned.

Paddy prices are up slightly from last month, according to the ministry.  

Low-quality IR50404, one of the main varieties grown in the delta, is now bought at VNĐ5,900 – 6,100 a kilogramme while high-quality grains such as OM 5451, OM 6976, OM 4218 fetch VNĐ6,400 – 6,600.

Trần Văn Hết, who has 1ha under high-quality rice in Vĩnh Long Province’s Tam Bình District, said he would harvest his paddy in the next few days but a trader has bought it all in advance.

Nguyễn Văn Đồng, director of the Hậu Giang Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said farmers would have a bumper harvest and get high prices.  

Traders offering to buy paddy in advance at high prices is a common practice now, he said.

With the current price of VNĐ6,000 for low-quality paddy and VNĐ7,400 for fragrant varieties, farmers would make a profit of more than 30 per cent, he said.

Rice harvested later is expected to have even higher yields, he said.

Nguyễn Văn Tốt, a member of the Bắc Xà No Co-operative in Hậu Giang’s Vị Thủy District, said: “Farmers here are very glad because companies have offered to buy Tài Thơm 8 rice in advance since they sowed 300ha.”

The co-operative is one of the province’s first to grow organic rice.

Hậu Giang is implementing a plan to improve the operation of co-operatives and co-operative teams and create links between farmers and companies to zone high-quality rice growing areas. 

It offers many incentives, including preferential loans and low land rents, to encourage companies to invest in agriculture.

In Hậu Giang’s Châu Thành District, local authorities have been supporting farmers who used advanced techniques to grow rice on 400ha for exports during this winter-spring crop.

Meanwhile, in the central and northern regions most farmers have finished sowing their nurseries for the winter-spring crop, according to the ministry.

By mid-February farmers from Thừa Thiên- Huế Province to the north had planted seeds for sowing 935,000ha.

They are expected to finish transplanting by the end of this month.– VNS