Tra Vinh to dredge irrigation canals to better cope with dry season
The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh will dredge its 18 main irrigation canals that run a total of 162 km in the next four years at a cost of 387 billion VND (16.7 million USD) to improve the supply of water for irrigation during the dry season.
Farmers tend vegetables in the 2020 - 21 winter – spring crop in Tra Vinh province’s Cau Ngang district. (Photo: VNA)
Tra Vinh (VNA) - The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh will dredgeits 18 main irrigation canals that run a total of 162 km in the next four yearsat a cost of 387 billion VND (16.7 million USD) to improve the supply of waterfor irrigation during the dry season.
The money will come from the Government and the province.
The canals provide freshwater to the major agricultural districts of Cang Long,Cau Ke, Tieu Can, Chau Thanh, Cau Ngang, and Tra Cu and Duyen Hai town.
The dredging will increase their capacity and help prevent the severe shortageof freshwater caused by saltwater intrusion during the dry season in recentyears.
Pham Minh Truyen, Director of the province Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said over the past four years the province had been severelyaffected by climate change, especially in the dry season, including impacts onagriculture and people’s lives.
Saltwater intrusion caused damages worth more than 1.1 trillion VND (47.5million USD) to agriculture in 2015 – 16 season and 1 trillion VND (43.2million USD) in 2019 – 20.
Of the 1 trillion VND damage in the latter season, loss of rice crops accountedfor 919 billion VND (39.7 million USD).
The two dry seasons saw record levels of saltwater intrusion.
With a coastline of 65 km, Tra Vinh is one of the provinces hardest hit in recentyears, and is forecast to face severe saltwater intrusion in the current dryseason.
The salinity levels have been 1 – 7.7 grammes per litre since December. To putit in perspective, most crops can only tolerate a salinity level of up to 1gm.
The province has closed all 50 saltwater prevention sluices to protect its ricepaddies.
It has nearly 185,000ha of farmlands, or 70 percent of its total land area.
To sustainably develop agriculture, in recent years local authorities haveencouraged farmers to cultivate other crops on unproductive rice fields,including fruits, or switch to aquaculture.
In 2021 – 25 the province plans to do so with more than 8,000ha of such fields./.
Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta in the 2020-2021 dry season will be less severe than in the 2019-2020 dry season, with the highest level expected to be in February and March in Mekong River estuary and in March and April in Vam Co and Cai Lon rivers.
Kien Giang, the country’s largest rice producer, has more than 7,140ha of ‘mua’ rice crop damaged by 30-70 percent because of salinity, according to the province’s Plant Cultivation and Protection Sub-department.
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Farmers tend vegetables in the 2020 - 21 winter – spring crop in Tra Vinh province’s Cau Ngang district. (Photo: VNA) 
