VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi’s agricultural sector has faced many challenges due to climate changes and a reduction in agricultural land.

A farmer works on her garden in Thuong Tin District, Ha Noi.

In Chuong My District’s Nam Phuong Tien Commune, about 20 ha of vegetables have been planted this season, but prolonged torrential rains and hot weather recently severely damaged the vegetables, said chairman of the commune People’s Committee Nguyen Chien Thang.

Dang Huu Hung, a local farmer, said he was worried about his pomelo garden after the historically hot weather hit the city in June, the time his pomelo trees were about to blossom.

He said he was deeply concerned about his pomelo crop this year.

In Dan Phuong District’s Ha Mo Commune, dozens of ha of flowers were also affected by hot weather and prolonged torrential rains, Ha Noi Moi (New Ha Noi) newspaper reported.

Nguyen Dang Tien, a lily grower said he earned hundreds of millions of dong from his lily field in previous years. But this year, there was no profit.

Head of Cultivation Office under the Ha Noi’s Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Thoa said besides the weather, the city’s cultivation sector also suffered from a reduction in agricultural land due to rapid urbanisation.

Data from the department found that there 2,550 ha of agricultural land in the city was lost since this spring crop season due to urbanisation, she added.

Solutions

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, said local agencies should closely watch weather forecasts to issue warnings to local farmers about the right time to plant.

This would help minimise damages on crops caused by weather, he said.

For example, farmers should be advised to plant their flowers every 5-7 days instead of planting them all at the same time. This method will protect them from losing all their flowers due to bad weather, he said.

Additionally, the local agricultural sector was told to carefully select rice seedlings for higher productivity in the context of urbanisation reducing farm land, he said.

Ha Noi should use hi-tech technology to develop its agricultural sector, he said.

Agreeing with Cuong, Do Duc Trung, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Hoai Duc District said hi-tech agriculture was believed to be the best choice to help farmers adapt to climate change.

The district applies hi-tech to 55ha of vegetables in Tien Yen Commune. It has also encouraged local farmers to apply hi-tech in growing Canh oranges and Dien pomelos in the future, he said.

Statistics from the agricultural department showed that the city has run 38 hi-tech agriculture models.  Thanks to the models, famers could earn between VND400 million (US$17,600) and billions of dong per ha each harvest season.

Chu Phu My, head of the city’s agriculture and rural development department said constructing large-scale hi-tech agricultural areas was another solution to fix the situation the city administration should consider. 

VNS