The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai is in the midst of coffee harvest season. But farmers are facing a shortage of seasonal coffee pickers due to Covid-19.
Coffee is one of Gia Lai’s primary crops, with roughly 88,000 hectares concentrated in Chu Prong, La Grai, Dak Doa, Mang Yang, and Chu Se districts, producing 254,440 tons per year.
Workers from the south-central provinces of Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, and othershave not returned to Gia Lai in their former numbers due to Covid-19 fears, forcing farms to hire local pickers.
“I phoned everyone and was able to hire eight workers in Krong Pa District,” Hoa said.
Before entering his field to pick coffee, workers must show Covid-19 vaccination certificates and submit health declarations.
They had both intended to ride their motorcycles more than 150 kilometers to La Grai District to pick coffee. However, Covid kept them at bay while farm owners only accepted workers whohad received at least one vaccine dose.
Da and her husband asked six other individuals to hire a car to go to Hoa’s to harvest coffee after getting vaccinated. They’d been working here for four days.
“We’ve been here a few times before to collect coffee, but in earlier crop seasons. However, renting a car is more difficult this year,” Da said, adding they had planned to work until Christmas and then return home.
Nay O (left), 27, was having difficulty because it was his first time harvesting coffee. Because he didn’t thoroughly lay out his tarp, many coffeeberrieswere strewn on the ground,which it tooka while to gather up.
“After a few days of practice, my brother and I are now the fastest coffee pickers in the group, pickingeightquintalsdaily,” O boasted.
It is projected that his coffee farm would be entirely harvested in roughly a week.
“I recruited 30 employees for the last crop, and they finished harvesting in two days. However, the protracted picking this year caused the berries to ripen and lose weight.”
They say they try to save money for their children and to shop for Lunar New Year, around two months from now.
After eating, the group took a break for 15-20 minutes below a coffee tree. In the evening, they eat and stay for free in the farm’s huts.
Pham Thi Thu Hang,deputy head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of La Grai District, said owing to the effect of the pandemic, over 5,000 coffee pickers in the region were lacking this year.
Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producer behind Brazil. Last year, its exports were worth $2.74 billion.
By Tran Hoa for E.VNExpress.net
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Farmers are working very hard … I will think at them every day drinking my Coffee 🙏
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Great article ! Now we know how hard Farmers and are contributing for our Morning Feeling when we DRONG our Vietnamese Coffee ❤️
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