VNExpress-Oct 2
The Mekong Delta region is scrambling to protect millions of hectares of crops from drought and saltwater intrusion that could be as severe as in 2016 and 2020.
At the end of September Nguyen Van Can, 50, of Hoa Luu Commune in Hau Giang Province’s Long My District prepared to sow winter-spring rice in his three-hectare farm. He said he was sowing earlier than usual fearing a possible drought once the rainy season ends in October. The dry season in southern Vietnam lasts from November to April. “Land in this area is at risk of salinity from the sea and with the forecast that the rainy season will end early this year, farmers have started the winter-spring crop earlier than normal.” Tran Ba Hoang, director of the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, said at a seminar in Can Tho City on September 14 that the total rainfall in the delta this year is forecast to be around 1,350mm, or 13% lower than normal. The Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Station said the flow in the dry season from the Mekong’s upstream areas would be 20 – 25% lower than normal. In Hau Giang Province, 12,000 ha of winter-spring rice and more than 18,500 ha of fruit orchards are likely to be affected by saltwater intrusion up rivers. In Ben Tre Province, Vo Van Duc, 64, of Chau Thanh District is closely following the rain and drought forecasts to protect his durian farm. According to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, almost all locals have made preparations to store water for both household use and irrigation and dug canals to lead water from rivers into their farms after learning from the shortages of 2016 and 2020. In the 2020 dry season the delta, home to 12 provinces and Can Tho City, was hit by the worst drought ever that caused historic levels of salinity in its rivers as water flowed inland from the sea. Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/environment/mekong-delta-braces-for-severe-drought-river-salinity-4658565.html
