Farmers earn more growing vegetables during flood season
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Farmers in Đồng Tháp province, Vietnam, are earning 20 to 30 percent more for their vegetable crops during the annual flood season.
The Hội An Đông agricultural cooperative manages enclosed dike systems that allow farmers to grow vegetables even when surrounding areas flood. These systems include pumps to drain water during heavy rain and high tides, protecting the crops. This farming method contrasts with other areas in the Mekong Delta where farmers allow floodwaters to enter their fields.
By using the dike systems and rotating between three years of vegetable farming and one year of allowing floods, the cooperative meets market demand and provides higher incomes to farmers. Ông Dẫn reports that each vegetable crop lasts three months and yields 10 million đồng per 1,000 square meter plot after expenses, three to four times more than rice farming.
While growing vegetables during the flood season requires close monitoring of weather and water levels and adds to pest control costs, farmers ultimately receive better incomes.
