Vietnamplus

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on September 23 announced a plan to develop vast farm estates across the archipelago to ease the nation’s reliance on imported food.

The recent ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) by the National Assembly has created a window of opportunity for Vietnamese farm produce, especially rice, to enter the European market. To fully take advantage of the trade deal, however, Vietnamese producers must improve the quality of their produce.

Many farmers in Kien Giang province’s Tan Hiep district have begun to earn steady incomes after turning unproductive rice fields into guava orchards.

Many crop growing areas in Ca Mau province’s freshwater zones are facing a severe shortage of water because of a prolonged dry spell.

More rice farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have switched to other crops as part of efforts to adapt to climate change.

Cambodia will lift a ban on the exports of fish, white rice and paddy rice to ensure local food security during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent government’s statement released.

Meteorologists expect La Nina, an ocean cooling phenomenon, will occur in Thailand in August and September.

Authorities have instructed farmers in the Mekong Delta to sow the summer-autumn rice crop on established schedules to mitigate the damage of drought, saltwater intrusion and disease.

More farmers in the Mekong Delta have restructured their crop cultivation to adapt to the effects of climate change.

Farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang have adopted many new farming models to adapt to climate change, which has helped them cope with the severe saltwater intrusion.

Authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have encouraged farmers to restructure their crop cultivation to mitigate the impact of drought and saltwater intrusion.

Rice farmers in the Mekong Delta are earning higher incomes from selling rice straw left over from the harvested 2019 – 20 winter-spring rice crop.

Saltwater intrusion has affected many fruit growing areas in the Mekong Delta as local farmers struggle to secure irrigation water for their orchards.

The south central province of Binh Thuan has set up concentrated cultivation areas for key farm produce after six years of restructuring agricultural production.

Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta comes earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-16 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious as authorities and farmers have taken measures to cope with the situation in the 2019-20 dry season. The whole region is getting a good winter-spring crop, with a good price.

The People’s Committee of the southern province of Dong Nai has called on relevant agencies and the public to take proactive measures to ward off a freshwater shortage as drought and saltwater intrusion in rivers cause an increasing shortage.

More rice farmers in Can Tho city have switched to other crops or have rotated the cultivation of rice with other crops to increase income and cope with drought.

Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta was predicted to come earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-2016 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious as authorities and farmers have taken measures to cope with the situation in the 2019-2020 dry season.

Saltwater has intruded early this year into the Mekong Delta’s coastal provinces, affecting the availability of freshwater for irrigation and household use.

At least 2.6 billion baht (86.6 million USD) must be added to the subsidy scheme for rice farmers after the number of participants gets higher than expected, according to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives of Thailand (BAAC).