Salt water intrusion and drought are threatening thousands of hectares of crops in Mekong Delta.
As much as 800,000 ha of rice in the delta may be affected by the end
of the month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
Water with a salt content of 0.4 percent had now entered as far inland
as 30 km in Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces,
according to the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research. Crops
in the provinces of Ca Mau, Kien Giang and Hau Giang have also been
affected by similar levels of intrusion.
To add to their worries, the Hydro-Meteorological Bureau of Ben Tre
province has predicted that salt water may encroach 60 km inland as the
drought peaks.
Duong Quoc Viet, head of Soc Trang’s sub-department of irrigation, said
that drought and salt water intrusion would continue until the
beginning of May, adding that more than 50,000 ha of the province’s
crops are at high risk of being lost from lack of fresh water.
Initial losses caused by salt water intrusion to winter-spring crops
were estimated to total 70 billion VND (3.6 million USD), said Tran
Quang Cui from the Kien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
The ministry’s Cultivation Department has instructed provinces in the
region to save fresh water for farming in reservoirs and canals and
close sluice gates to prevent further salt water intrusion.
Provinces in the region are strengthening measures to respond to salt
water intrusion as the region faces a severe drought this dry season./.