Kien Giang (VNS/VNA) - Because of climate change, Kien Giangprovince is struggling to maintain its place as Vietnam’s biggest rice producer– a distinction it has held for nearly two decades.

The province is well positioned to produce rice. Located on the coast, in anarea in Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) with some of the country’s richest soil, KienGiang is home to more than 357,000 ha of rice paddies. It produces an averageof over four million tonnes of rice each year.

But ever-rising seas have deposited saltwater deeper into the province,contaminating the three key production areas of Long Xuyen Quadrangle, West HauRiver and U Minh Thuong and killing off hundreds thousands of hectares of riceover the last few years.

“Climate change is affecting the growth of local agriculture,” said deputydirector of the province’s agriculture and rural development department Do MinhNhut.

He cited drought and the intrusion of saltwater as factors that had damagedmore than 56,500 ha of fields in 2016 alone, reducing that year’s yield by morethan 481,200 tonnes compared to the previous year.

Saltwater intrusion continued in 2017, destroying over 30,455 ha. Heavy rainand flooding damaged an additional 7,150 ha.

Agriculture in Kien Giang is not only about rice. As a seaside province, it hasdeveloped its aquaculture by focusing on farming shrimp, fish, crabs, andclams.

According to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,aquaculture areas have grown steadily since 2015, producing more than 217,000tonnes of seafood last year.

“Aquaculture has helped increase the value of Kien Giang’s agriculture sector,lifting farmers out of poverty and raising their quality of life,” saiddepartment director Nguyen Van Tam.

“However, annual productivity has not yet reached its potential, especially inshrimp farming. One important factor is certainly the negative impact ofclimate change.”

Tam said prolonged drought and the intrusion of saltwater had cost farmers morethan 22,188 ha of shrimp farms in the 2015-2016 season. Similar environmentalfactors caused the loss of 6,000 ha in 2017 and 10,000 ha so far this year.

With its economy threatened by climate change, Kien Giang is pushing ahead withnew irrigation facilities to manage the rapid invasion of saltwater.

The province is investing 950 billion VND (42.2 million USD) to finance newsluice gates along the An Bien-An Minh coastal dyke that will prevent saltwaterintrusion and retain as much fresh water as possible. The funds will also gotowards a massive network of irrigation channels in the Long Xuyen Quadrangleand West Hau River agricultural areas.

Although the province had already invested much of its own money, Kien GiangPeople’s Committee Chairman Pham Vu Hong said it would need more financialsupport from the central Government to protect its agricultural sector fromclimate change.-VNS/VNA