About 50,000 hectares of farmland across Vietnam, mostly in the southcentral coast region, are no longer cultivable due to a severe drought,said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Deputy General Director of the MARD’s Directorate of Water ResourcesNguyen Van Tinh said Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces, both located inthe south central coast, are experiencing the worst drought over thelast 40 years.
Reservoirs in Ninh Thuan have almostcompletely dried up with the remained amount of water below 10 percentof their designed capacity. In Khanh Hoa, only 17 percent of water leftin reservoirs.
About 34 percent of farmland, or10,229 hectares, in Ninh Thuan will not be cultivated this summer-autumncrop while Khanh Hoa will have to suspend cultivation on nearly onequarter of its farmland, or 10,400 hectares, he added.
At the worst moments of drought, some 122,000 hectares of farmland inthe Central Highlands, southeast region, and south central coast wereaffected by the drought. Around 61,000 hectares of that area were in DakLak and 17,000 hectares were in Dak Nong – another Central Highlandsprovince, Tinh noted.
As the drought seriousnesswas predicted, the MARD’s Department of Crop Production has askedprovincial authorities to help local farmers switch to drought-tolerantcrops instead of rice. More than 4,950 hectares of rice land wereplanted with other food crops during the 2014-2015 winter spring cropand the 2015 summer-autumn crop, compared to the targeted 8,527hectares.
However, many drought-resistant food plants cannot grow well due to water shortage for a long period of time.
Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production Tran Xuan Dinhsaid localities have employed various measures to cope with the droughtsuch as digging ponds, seeking underground water, dredging canals,requesting hydropower plants to release water from their reservoirs, andasking residents to save water.
According to thedepartment, Ninh Thuan has asked the MARD for seed supports forpost-drought cultivation while the other central provinces of BinhThuan, Nghe An and Quang Tri also requested the Government’s financialaids for settling drought aftermath and take prevention measures.-VNA
Deputy General Director of the MARD’s Directorate of Water ResourcesNguyen Van Tinh said Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces, both located inthe south central coast, are experiencing the worst drought over thelast 40 years.
Reservoirs in Ninh Thuan have almostcompletely dried up with the remained amount of water below 10 percentof their designed capacity. In Khanh Hoa, only 17 percent of water leftin reservoirs.
About 34 percent of farmland, or10,229 hectares, in Ninh Thuan will not be cultivated this summer-autumncrop while Khanh Hoa will have to suspend cultivation on nearly onequarter of its farmland, or 10,400 hectares, he added.
At the worst moments of drought, some 122,000 hectares of farmland inthe Central Highlands, southeast region, and south central coast wereaffected by the drought. Around 61,000 hectares of that area were in DakLak and 17,000 hectares were in Dak Nong – another Central Highlandsprovince, Tinh noted.
As the drought seriousnesswas predicted, the MARD’s Department of Crop Production has askedprovincial authorities to help local farmers switch to drought-tolerantcrops instead of rice. More than 4,950 hectares of rice land wereplanted with other food crops during the 2014-2015 winter spring cropand the 2015 summer-autumn crop, compared to the targeted 8,527hectares.
However, many drought-resistant food plants cannot grow well due to water shortage for a long period of time.
Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production Tran Xuan Dinhsaid localities have employed various measures to cope with the droughtsuch as digging ponds, seeking underground water, dredging canals,requesting hydropower plants to release water from their reservoirs, andasking residents to save water.
According to thedepartment, Ninh Thuan has asked the MARD for seed supports forpost-drought cultivation while the other central provinces of BinhThuan, Nghe An and Quang Tri also requested the Government’s financialaids for settling drought aftermath and take prevention measures.-VNA
