It seems cultivation is like playing a game of chance as most Vietnamese farmers are uncertain whether they can sell their output at harvest or not. However, watermelon growers in the central region have never won the game for years. They are often empty-handed even after a bumper crop as prices slump to dirt-cheap levels.

Every year, when watermelons enter harvest time, they usually end up being stuck at Tan Thanh Border Gate in the northern province of Lang Son to wait for customs clearance in order to export their watermelons to China or abandon them on the field until they are rotten. Or the price is so low that farmers do not want to harvest them. Many have to return home with more than half of their watermelons unsold.

This year is not an exception. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the price of watermelons in key growing areas, including Quang Tri, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces on the central coast, has dropped to VND500 to VND800 per kilo in many areas. Last year, the price of watermelon ranged from VND4,400 to VND5,000 (US$0.2) per kilo. Many farmers have attributed the slumping prices to lackluster consumption in China, their main market.

Tran Thi Tam, farmer in Quang Ngai Province and owner of a 7,200-square-meter watermelon plantation, is quoted by Vietnam News as saying that the low price has left all watermelon growers empty-handed. Farmers could earn some pennies if the price ranged from VND1,500 to VND2,000 per kilo. In order not to waste effort, some farmers have used watermelons as feed for cattle which now have been fed up with watermelons. Tam and other farmers are now struggling to find money to invest in the next crop and then pay for bank loans.

Watermelon cultivation has been a bit of a gamble for farmers – who, unfortunately, are always losers. Earlier, many farmers expected that the price of watermelons would be VND5,000 per kilogram this crop but the price was only one tenth of the expected level in reality. Farmers usually have to put much money and effort into each crop but the result depends on the wheel of fortune.

More tears were shed as unexpected flash floods inundated thousands of hectares of crops late last month. Citizens around the country have launched a campaign to call on people’s support for flood-ravaged farmers by buying their watermelons at better prices. In recent days, tons of watermelon has been transported to large cities and provinces and sold within hours at VND4,000 a kilogram, which will go to farmers to help compensate them for their losses.

Local media has highly appraised the drive. Nonetheless, many experts say that calling for the kind heart is not a sustainable solution but the Government needs to take action to solve the root of the problem.

Le Muon, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Nam Province, says in Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper that planning for cultivars and seeking consumption markets for farm produce are kind of beyond provincial capacity as it involves several provinces. The ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Industry and Trade should collaborate and do research to work out an appropriate cultivation plan.

Dao Minh Huong, deputy director of Quang Ngai Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, says that for years, farmers have grown watermelons at high costs and that local agriculture authorities have not encouraged them to expand cultivation as prices are unstable and consumption relies on China. Border trade has become a norm as partners choose not to sign contracts with local farmers. Moreover, watermelons easily turn rotten.

Economist Le Dang Doanh says on VTC News that the Government must intervene. The first thing is to help farmers take part in the supply chain and gather information about market demand. In the current context, farmers should be well informed of what they should and should not grow, and who will buy their products. If not, they cannot avoid risks. Watermelon growers have suffered losses year in, year out due mainly to a lack of professionalism.

Director of the agricultural ministry’s Cultivation Department Nguyen Tri Ngoc says poorly planned cultivation is to blame for price falls at the height of harvest.

It is necessary to make good forecasts about market demand so that farmers can set out their farm produce. The absence of well-planned cultivation can easily lead to an oversupply.

The connection between the Government, farmers, scientists and distributors is important. The Government needs to develop policies to help farmers sell their products. Besides, the Government should work with China over the possibility of signing agricultural import and export agreements, and help farmers tap more regional markets such as Laos and Cambodia.