Farmers in Ben Tre province’s Cho Lach district are boosting production of seedlings for all kinds of crops to make up for those damaged by drought and saltwater intrusion during the just-ended dry season.
Many fruit farmers in the Mekong Delta have suffered losses this year due to crop failure caused by drought and saltwater intrusion and lower demand for fruits.
All residents in rural areas of the Mekong Delta must have access to clean water, Nguyen Hoang Hiep, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a seminar held in Soc Trang province on May 27.
The southern region is entering the peak harvest season for many fruits like durian, mango, rambutan, avocado, mangosteen, and jackfruit, but farmers are suffering from poor harvests.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked authorities in the central and Central Highlands regions to take action to deal with the prolonged heat wave, drought and saltwater intrusion.
The Mekong Delta province of Long An, which has been hit by severe drought this year, needs more fresh water, but can only supply about 50 percent of demand from its 35 fresh water treatment plants and stations.
The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRC)’s Central Committee launched a humanitarian month on May 5 in response to World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on May 8.
As many as 6,756 collectives and individuals had donated more than 153 billion VND (6.5 million USD) to Ho Chi Minh City’s COVID-19 prevention and control fund as of May 4 afternoon, according to the Vietnam Fatherland Front chapter in the city.
Switching to high-value crops and adopting advanced techniques have helped farmers in Soc Trang province’s Cù Lao Dung district cope reasonably well with the effects of climate change and ensure steady incomes.
The Kenh Lap Reservoir in Ben Tre province, the largest in the Mekong Delta, is drying up due to drought and saltwater intrusion, leaving thousands of households facing a water shortage.
Tan Phu Dong, an islet district in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, has developed specialised farming areas to enable local farmers to adapt to climate change.
Officials from provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta – the country’s rice granary - and rice exporters have urged the government to resume rice exports without setting limits, saying many firms face difficulties because of this.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on April 20 ordered advancing the export quota of 100,000 tonnes of rice from that set for May in order to ease difficulties for firms that have rice stuck at ports but are unable to submit customs declarations.
Many universities in Ho Chi Minh City plan to provide scholarships to students whose families’ livelihoods have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or who live in the Mekong Delta and are affected by drought and saltwater intrusion.
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.
Since drought and saltwater intrusion are becoming severe in the Mekong Delta in the dry season, localities in the region have actively developed plans, scenarios, and implemented solutions to prevent and control drought and saltwater intrusion in order to stabilize the people's life.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has recently proposed an aid package worth 515.3 billion VND (22 million USD) to deal with drought and saltwater intrusion in 2020.
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