Born into a farming family in the countryside, I’m still proud to be part of the Vietnamese farmers – the largest workforce here, even though I’ve worked in the tourism industry.
As an agricultural country, the peasantry provides eighty percent of laborers in the rural regions, and they play very important roles in contributing to developing life and maintaining enough food for domestic needs and exports.
In the article, I will cover all the main things about farmers in this country. Now, go deeper below!
1. How are the works of farmers in Vietnam?
When Vietnam is mentioned, many guests think of the big rice fields. The country exports over 7 million tons of rice annually to other countries.
Of course, the main works of almost all farmers are in the rice fields: growing rice, taking care of it– for example, watering it, cleaning grass in the paddy to help rice plants grow better, fertilizing it, spraying insects if necessary, and harvesting.
Besides working in the rice paddy, many farmers in Vietnam spend their time in coffee farms – typically in the Central Highlands, where lots of coffee trees are grown to export. Also, they work in vegetable farms to care for various vegetables for everyday life.
The farmers’ working day begins at 5:30 a.m. when the sky is still cool. They take a break when it’s too hot at noon and return to work until 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.
2. What do they use for work?
Machines for plowing the rice paddy before a new crop or harvesting rice can now be used in various regions of the country. However, a few buffaloes may work in small land sections for rice or vegetable farms. This is because buffaloes are still cheap and convenient in small remote areas.
Human labor is also needed in the fields and on farms. The farmer’s handwork takes over the rest of the work that the machine cannot do, such as fertilizing, watering small lands, fixing big spaces in the paddy, cleaning old leaves in vegetable farms, collecting sweet potatoes, and harvesting coffee fruits.
Two small tools, hoes and sickles, are vital for the Vietnamese working on the farm. They use hoes to make the soil soft, dig holes for plants, and clean grass around the trees. Sickles are used for cutting rice and grass, collecting vegetables, and picking fruits.
In general, although farming machines have come to Vietnam, many farmers still use human power. This is because machines are expensive, and families in the countryside own small lands in scattered regions.
3. Experiences of Vietnamese farmers
A lot of Vietnamese farmers work based on their experiences, not using any modern tools. They still guess the weather by looking at the sky, animals, or the moon to know when to prepare the seeds for growing new crops or collecting their products.
- “Tháng 8 dòm ra, tháng 3 dòm vào” means in English, “The eighth lunar month needs to see the North sky, the third lunar month needs to see the South sky.” This means that looking at the sky following around the months mentioned, if you see a cloud in that area, it may rain soon.
- “Chuồn chuồn bay thấp thì mưa, bay cao thì nắng, bay vừa thì râm” means when you see the dragonflies fly low (from 1 – 1.5 meters from the ground), it may rain soon; they flies at high (above 2 m from the ground), it is sunny; they flies medium level (over 1.5 – 2 m from the ground), it may be cloudy with title rain.
- “Trăng quầng trời hạn, trăng tán trời mưa” means the round light around the moon, it may be sunny. The light spreads from the moon, and it may rain.
- Looking at the ants. They move up the wall with their eggs from underground, it may rain and flood soon.
These are the basic experiences, telling farmers about the weather, which can help them prepare to grow new plants or collect crops on time to escape from bad weather.
4. What do the farmers in Vietnam often cook and eat?
When you come to the restaurants in Vietnam to taste food, the dishes are almost not the same ones that the farmers eat every day. Their food is not fancy, not very colorful, and does not have nice decorations like in shops.
In everyday life, they steamed rice, added fish sauce, and boiled, fried, or stewed one to three other dishes, including vegetables, eggs, fish, or meats (pork, beef, or chicken).
In general, farmers eat more rice, vegetables, and fish than other foods. Although they can fill their stomachs with plenty of steamed rice, it does not provide enough energy and protein to work hard in the field, so most of them are very thin.
Farmers eat breakfast early, 5:30 a.m. – 6:30 a.m., before going to the farms. Lunch can also be early, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. An important Vietnamese meal comes at dinner when the whole family stays together from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. However, between each meal, they can have brunch in the morning and drink Vietnamese tea with cakes in the afternoon.
5. What do Vietnamese farmers grow in their gardens?
Most houses in the countryside have big gardens. In addition to working in the fields and farms, people grow many plants and animals in their gardens to obtain more food, which can improve the quality of meals.
You can find a lot of free-range chickens in gardens in the villages in Vietnam. Pigs, cows, and buffalos are cared for in big caves like small houses.
Plenty of green Vietnamese vegetables, such as salad, cabbage, sponge, lemon, and eggplant, can supply them with vitamins. Easy-growing trees, such as bananas, grow everywhere. Of course, you can also look at various Vietnamese herbs that are often present in their fragrant food.
If possible, having a family dinner in the countryside in the Mekong Delta can give you an excellent chance to go into the gardens. Or, staying at a homestay (authentic homestay), you may know more about their local culture.
6. What do farmers wear when working?
Working mainly in the rice field under the hot weather, the costumes of farmers often have these features:
- They are simple, which helps them work and move easily.
- Clothes have dark colors to reduce dirt looking.
- The shirts often have long sleeves to protect their skin from the sun and others.
- They like to wear conical hats that help them avoid hot, sunny heat.
- In the past, most Vietnamese farmers went into the mud in the rice fields with bare feet. Many use plastic boots to protect themselves and avoid cold water during winter, typically in North Vietnam.
When you travel to Vietnam, you can see an image of farmers with conical hats and brown or dark clothes working in the paddy fields.
To improve the experience, many travel companies in Vietnam run eco-tours, which allow you to become a farmer, explore his work, and wear traditional dresses.
You can find a few tours, such as:
- In Hoi An (Central Vietnam), you can join a half-day tour in Tra Que vegetable village to learn how to grow rice.
- In the Mekong Delta (South Vietnam), you can learn how to catch fish in the mud.
- An eco-tour in Hanoi (North Vietnam) helps you learn how to grow and water vegetables.
These eco-tours cannot cover all the activities of farmers in Vietnam and their lives, but the tours can help you experience little or more of what they do. These activities will become bonus feelings for you to understand more about the farmer’s life.
