Ca Mau farmers regularly dredge their ponds but there is not any place for dumping the mud. (Source: sggp.org.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mauhas established its first ever “soil bank”, also the first of its kind in theMekong Delta, according to the government’s e-newspaper at baochinhphu.vn.
The move is prompted by the fact that local farmers have todredge their shrimp ponds every year but there is not any place for them todump the mud. With 290,000 ha of water surface for aquaculture, the volume of muddredged up is quite huge.
Some farmers dumped the mud into local canals and rivers,blocking the water flow.
In addition, the dredging of irrigation networks also addsto the problem.
At the same time, there is great demand for sand and soil tobe used in construction work in the province, as the province is shoring up itssea dyke systems and building settlement areas to relocate residents from areasthreatened by coastal erosion.
The soil bank can be a solution to both questions.
Ca Mau has zoned 11 ha of land in Tran Thoi commune of CaiNuoc district and allocated 20 billion VND to establish the special “bank”.
Deputy director of the provincial Department of Agricultureand Rural Development To Quoc Nam told the Sai Gon Giai phong newspaper thatwork is underway to build infrastructure for the soil bank. When completed,sand and mud dredged up at sites in the province will be transported there forstorage and distribution to construction sites.
According to Nam, the province is collaborating withuniversities and research institutes to research materials replacing sand usedin construction, as sand resources are gradually depleted.
The official said Ca Mau learnt the soil bank model from theNetherland. He added that if the first soil bank proves to be successful, itwill be multiplied in the province.-VNA
