Nearly 5,000 ha of agricultural land abandoned in Hanoi
Nearly 5,000 hectares of agricultural land have been abandoned in Hanoi, badly affecting the city's agricultural development plan.
A woman by an abandoned field in Thanh Oai District. Photo by Kinhtedothi
A farmer in Dan Phuong District's Tan Lap Commune, Nguyen The Diep said that a field spanning over 10 hectares has been left uncultivated in his village.
"We used to work on it all year round but now our children and grandchildren are dropping farm work," the 62-year-old man said. The field has been covered by wild grass for many years."
Diep said that many farmers in his village have abandoned part or all of their rice farms and turned to other work which brings more money.
"I'm now only growing rice on a farm area of some 700 square metres to have good quality rice for our family," he said. "Growing rice is hard work while bringing less income compared to many other jobs."
Another local farmer, Pham Thi Lan, said that she has just left her farmland of over 2,000 square metres and went to work for a garment company to earn more.
"I used to earn only VND 3 million (USD130) in six months if I had a good crop," Lan calculated. "Now I'm earning VND 5 million a month as a worker at the garment company. That's why many young people in my area are all turning away from growing rice."
The same situation is occurring in many other districts in Hanoi. Thanh Oai District has some 200 hectares out of 8,300 hectares of agricultural land being left unused. While in Ung Hoa District 700 of 13,000 hectares lies fallow. The whole city has nearly 5,000 hectares of abandoned agricultural land.
According to the Hanoi Department of Agricultural and Rural Development, the city has encouraged farmers to turn from growing rice to other plants and raising fish. So far, nearly 40 out of 80 hectares of farmland are being used for fish farming or growing vegetables or fruit trees which are bringing better profits than growing rice.
However, the strong development of the industry and service sectors is still attracting farmers who continue to leave their work and abandon farmland.
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