About 12,000 hectares of crops in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong—mainly coffee and rice—are suffering from the effects of prolonged drought.

According to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the damage has been estimated at millions of USD with the most heavily-affected areas in the Krong No, Dak Mil, Cu Jut and Dak Song districts.

To cope with the drought, the province directed competent sectors to apply rotational water supplies for areas using mobile pumps.

In addition, local authorities have guided community members to dredge ponds and reservoirs and free the flow of streams to make full use of water resources.

Dak Nong is home to 142,000 hectares of crops, including 132,700 hectares of coffee and pepper and 4,500 hectares of rice.

The province has 206 irrigational facilities supplying water to about 23 percent of the total cultivated area.-VNA