Vietnamplus

Mekong Delta farmers are struggling with the worst water shortages and saltwater intrusion in nearly a century.

Prices of paddy and rice are on the rise as a result of increased exports to Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as rising orders from China.

The Mekong Delta provinces of Hau Giang and Tien Giang are exerting every effort to save locals from drought and saltwater intrusion.

Local people in the southernmost coastal province of Ca Mau have created 500 embankments to shield their farming fields from saltwater in an effort to deal with unprecedented severe saline intrusion.

The Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLDRRI) has introduced 20 of its newly developed crossbred rice varieties, proven to be high-yielding, and disease- and pest-resistant for export purposes.

Drought and saltwater intrusion are predicted to continue damaging parts of the south central, Central Highlands and southern regions this month due to the El Nino impacts.

The Netherlands is ready to share its experience in countering severe saltwater intrusion with Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, Dutch Ambassador Nienke Trooster said.

The Government considers the prevention of drought and saltwater intrusion its urgent task, said deputy head of the Government Office Nguyen Khac Dinh at a regular Cabinet press conference on Feb 29.

Long-lasting drought and saltwater intrusion over the past month have worried farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Ca Mau.

The Mekong Delta provinces of Hau Giang and Long An are taking measures to cope with severe saltwater encroachment.

The Prime Minister has decided to allocate 85.1 billion VND (3.8 million USD), sourced from the central State budget reserve in 2015, to six drought-hit localities.

The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang is in urgent need of about 100 billion VND (4.47 million USD) to cope with severe saltwater intrusion and protect crops during the dry season.

While saltwater has intruded deep into the Mekong Delta, it is also affecting water sources for production and daily activities in nearby Ho Chi Minh City.

A meeting was held on February 24 to step up the implementation of a project on building infrastructure serving agricultural restructuring in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle.

Experienced Dutch specialists are joining their Vietnamese peers at a two-day conference in Can Tho city to outline solutions and build plans to adapt the Mekong Delta to climate change.

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is working to cope with drought and saltwater intrusion, with a focus on developing and upgrading irrigation works to ensure 2016 crops grow efficiently.

Measures to adapt the Mekong Delta’s agricultural activities to the impacts of climate change, particularly drought and saltwater intrusion, lay at the heart of a forum on February 19.

Over 1,000ha of winter-spring rice in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang has been damaged by saltwater intrusion, according to the provincial agriculture sector.

Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta at present is comparable to a once-in-a-century disaster, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Cao Duc Phat said on February 17.

HCM City will face its most severe drought in six decades over the next few months.