The rain in Vientiane at the end of last week was still not enough for farmers hoping to grow rice in what should be the wet season.
Vientiane farmers, many of whom are in the process of planting their rice, are dismayed at the continuing dry weather. The heavy downpours that lashed the area at the beginning of the month have petered out in the last couple of weeks, playing havoc with their planting schedule. Mr Chaleunphet Thipphavong of Khouphin village, Xaysettha district, expressed his frustration at the lack of rain.
“It's the worst it's been in five years, so this year's rice planting is late.”
He said farmers usually start planting rice seedlings around May 1, but it wasn't possible this year.
If there is more rain next week he will plant his rice and it should be able to grow enough to survive heavy rain and possible flooding in the next two months.
If there is no rain, however, he will have serious problems.
“I don't like how the weather has changed in Vientiane,” he complained.
Many wet season rice paddies around the country have already been ploughed and harrowed, especially in irrigated areas.
According to the Vientiane provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department, some farmers in Phonhong district, Vientiane province, started ploughing and harrowing their fields after heavy rain last Saturday.
Normally, farmers have finished ploughing the land with buffaloes or tractors by early May, before transplanting rice seedlings.
“I finished my ploughing three weeks ago, but I couldn't plant my rice because there was no rain here,” Mr Chaleunphet said.
Farmers are very unhappy about their dependence on rainfall for a good crop. They hate it when the crop withers in the ground because of erratic rainfall. This month they are anxiously scanning the sky every day, hoping to see clouds that could bring rain.
Mr Chaleunphet said he usually harvests about four tonnes of wet season rice every year. He sells three tonnes to markets in Vientiane and he and his family eat their way through the rest of the crop during the year. Farmers typically harvest 2.5 to 3 tonnes of rice per hectare.
This year, he is afraid that if the rain continues to hold off while he is starting to plant his rice crop, he may not be able to produce the four tonnes he is hoping for.
If his rice doesn't grow well this year, he says he won't sell it to markets but will keep all of it for his family.
Another farmer from Nakhuay village in Xaysettha district, Mr Somboun Nouanaloun, said farmers don't like to keep all their rice for their family. They prefer to sell it to markets to earn money, and then buy better quality rice for their own consumption.
“Many people like to eat good quality rice because of its pleasant aroma and pure white colour,” he said.
