Unfavourable weather conditions shrank winter-spring rice yield by 300,000 tonnes. However, southern localities are estimated to enjoy a surge in rice production of 400,000 tonnes. They have already harvested 1.08 million hectares of rice, or 56.2%.The Cultivation Department said that rice fields in the north are developing well while the rice output of the autumn-winter crop in the Mekong Delta region is forecast to increase by 250,000-300,000 tonnes from the same crop last year.Diseases on rice coupled with impacts of downpours in the north and floods in the south cause great concern to the agricultural sector. Thus, the sector needs to draw up measures to ensure safety for rice production.