A rice field hit by drought in Cu M'ta commune of M'Drak district, Dak Lak province (Photo: VNA) Dak Lak (VNA) - Over recent months, more than 1,000 ha of plants of crops have withered and died due to a serious drought in M’Drak district, the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
The Ea Pal reservoir, which has a capacity of more than 410,000 cu.m and supplies water for 80 ha of rice fields in Krong Jing commune and M’Drak town, is 90 percent empty.
Besides agricultural damages, residents' daily lives are also heavily affected by the water scarcity.
Phan Thi Thanh from Cu M’ta commune said that during the past three months, her family has had to buy canned water for daily use.
She has spent 20,000 VND (0.86 USD) per day on water. She considered having a well drilled, but realised she could not afford it since it would cost about 40 million VND (1,700 USD), not a small number by any mean.
Nguyen The Thap, head of the M’Drak district Agriculture and Rural Development Division, said most of the reservoirs in the district have dried up.
More than 1,000 households in the district are in dire need of water.
The division will ask for support from the provincial People’s Committee to repair the reservoirs to increase their capacity.
The division will help local residents buy and plant small crops for the coming season, and give guidance to them on how to cultivate varieties that can adapt to climate change, said Thap.-VNA
VNA
