The first edition: The paddy grain on Xa No current

Xa No canal was dug by French colonialists a half century ago to exploit the uncultivated land of Hau Giang region. With 40km in length, the great value of alluvium supply, alum removal for thousands of hectares of rice paddy has been brought since its formation.

* * The paddy grain in the uncultivated time

Xa No canal with 40 km in length rises from the rivulet mouth (Phong Dien district, Can Tho city), crosses Hau Giang territory consisting of such districts as Chau Thanh A, Vi Thuy, Vi Thanh town and finally flows into the big river. This canal has had a very great value of , transport, alluvium supply, alum removal for thousands of hectares of rice paddy since its formation. In 1930s-1940s, there were a lot of large plantations established, among them is the largest plantation of a french named Albert in Bay Ngan with the area of around 30,000 hectares and more than 3,000 families of tenant farmers. Albert had a big barn built in Bay Ngan, which used to be called as a white store, Mr. Kho store. According to old residents in Nga Bay town, Chau Thanh A district, there used to be boundless rice paddy fields, Albert harvested millions of bushels of rice per year and the paddy grain was firstly exported from the south Vietnam. Albert had two big vessels and many small boats used to collect tenant farmers’ rice. The farmers who were tenants for Albert had to work hard from all year round but didn’t have enough to eat. The tenants’ life was very difficult and they were thoroughly exploited by usury, borrowing seed rice at high interest rate and series of other evils to carry off the farmers’.

The old farmer, Nguyen Van Muoi, 76 years old in 4A hamlet, Bay Ngan town used to be a tenant for Albert, he still remembers exactly his past hard time. He told me: “ we were said to be tenants but we were really slavery for the French. At that time, the best rice crop could be harvested up to 7-8 bushels per 1,200 m2 of the soil, but we had to pay 4 bushels. There would not be any rice left for living if we didn’t conceal some. At the beginning of the crop, we had to borrow seed rice, rice for living so the farmers were very poor”. At that time, Mr. Muoi farmed 5 hectares, but there was only one ten month rice crop a year, the life was very hard and needy. We had no chance to live on the rice produced by us, we had to borrow the broken rice which couldn’t be exported from the French rice mill. In the anti-American resistance war, the farmers had to pay a heavy tax to the old regime. Mr. Nguyen Van Sach, 63 years old, residing in hamlet 3, Vi Dong commune, Vi Thuy district says: “ my father used to be a tenant, and in my time I also had to pay the old regime heavy tax so we had not enough rice to eat”. At that time, Xa No canal brought fresh water to the fields, the cross canals for alum removal were dug, but the paddy grain was carried off right after it produced so the farmers had to be slavery for the French colonialists.

Mr. Au Van Manh, 86 years old residing in Mot Ngan town was in the same destiny as thousands of tenants at that time. He was also the others who were in poverty and had to be tenant for the french. His all childhood attached to Xa No canal as his flesh and blood. It was Xa No canal supporting his all family in the hard time of a tenant incarnation. Mr. Manh told me: “ At that time, everyone was miserable, short of food and clothing. We had to go in the field to hoe land, weed, transplant rice seedlings from cock crow but we got a little for living, almost the products had to be paid for the french”. The farmers sweated blood for living at this time. The rice paddy field is “boundless”, but there was only a ten month rice crop and the French colonialists carried off.

* And now...

So far, the rice has brought a great economic value to the farmers on Xa No canal. After the liberation of the South Vietnam, the national unity, the irrigation was done and there are three rice crops a year. The output is higher and the most importance is that farmers can own their rice fields without being exploited and oppressed as before. Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi has eight children who are farmers along Bay Ngan canal (a small branch of Xa No canal). His children, everyone owns from 20-30 “cong = 1,000 – 1,200 m2” of soil and they are very successful in farming. Mr. Muoi is living with his youngest child, he farms 30 “cong” of rice field after the division for all his children. When meeting us, this farmer was speaking sonorously and was still going to the field to work like many other people despite the old age. Mr. Muoi was proud to show off: “Thanks to modern machinery and advance technology, we produce over 70 tons of rice annually, many times more rice than before. All the people in the region have become well off and many of them have bought machines or vehicles”.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Van, Mr. Muoi’s third child, now is planting 20 “cong” of rice. His generation does the farming with only machines and counts rice by tons but not by bushel (20-22 kg) like their parents did. Mr. Van said: “Now we have three rice crops in a year and all the crops are granted to be bumper thanks to the system of dykes around the fields and modern technology. Silt from Xa No Canal has raised the level of the field making more rice and the farmer’s life better off”. His family is expected to invest in more machines to produce more rice with higher quality to serve export.

Nowadays, going along Xa No Canal and meeting any family there, we find that they live on planting rice and are proud to live near Xa No Canal. Mr. Pham Van Sach, from Hamlet 3, Vi Dong Commune compared: “In the past, we worked from early morning to midnight and could not make ends meet. Now, using modern technology and machinery we have bumper crops to ease the difficulties of life in a great deal. Our rice is exported to many countries in the world”. Mr. Ngo Van Gioi, from hamlet 4A, Bay Ngan Town, cultivating 13 “cong” of rice added: “Our family has done the farming for many generations, since people planted rice strains of winter-spring crop, then ‘Than Nong”, then IR36, and now the generation of OM, HG, BN rice strains. Having done the farming for tens of years, he has learned by heart the rice planting methods, the way to fertilize, to spray pesticides to have good crop and high quality. Mr. Gioi said: “In this region, the irrigation system is very good. There are tens of inner-field canals both vertical and horizontal as if they are in a chess board to wash the soil out of alum effectively and provide the fields with silt. The fields here all give very good crops.”

Xa No canal like a virtuous mother gives sweet milk to make the rice of this land grow. Its length of 40 km can not be compared with other great and long rivers. However, Xa No current has given silt to thousands of hectares of rice as a source of life for a number of generations in this region. As usual in generations after generations, Xa No current has brought silt to the immense fields to help this region’ rice soar …

Mr. Nguyen Van Dong, Director of Hau Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: Xa No Canal can be compared as a rice way in Hau Giang’s region. Since the ancient time, the canal has carried with it great economic values, especially for people who plant rice. From a desolate and wild land, the area along Xa No Canal has become high-yield rice field producing high quality rice for export. The agricultural sector has developed a lot of projects to make this land more fertile and the farmers’ rice more profitable. Apart from irrigating over 40,000 ha, Xa No Canal also serves as a way to transport rice of Hau Giang’s region.

By HOANG MAI (to be continued)
Adapted from www.baohaugiang.com.vn