Dry field…

Hundreds of hectares of rice are in their “maturity” and should be at their most vigorous and green, preparing to produce heavy, high-quality rice grains. However, in Tanh Linh this rice crop, that image is no longer there, instead there are yellow rice fields due to lack of water, people are heartbroken to see their efforts and assets in the fields being “eaten away” by the drought day by day…

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nuoi is pumping water to save the rice.

Staying up all night… to save rice

What is Mr. Son doing?

I'm sleeping, what are you doing at 8pm?

Water comes in, out to bring water into the fields urgently.

Are you kidding or serious? I've been waiting in the field all day but haven't seen you. I just came home to sleep and the water has come back.

Seriously, come out quickly…

That was a phone call between Mr. Thanh and Mr. Son in village 1, Dong Kho commune, people whose rice fields are suffering from drought are waiting for irrigation water...

I returned to Tanh Linh amid phone calls and text messages from farmers reflecting on the lack of water for production. At times, the rice fields were 40-50 days old but the soil was cracked and the rice was limp and lifeless. At noon, I arrived at the Lon field in Dong Kho commune. The sun was blazing hot but I still saw many farmers sitting on the edge of the field. After getting acquainted with Sinh, I asked him why he didn't go home for a nap and why wait so hard, and this kind of heat can easily cause illness. Wiping the sweat dripping down his forehead, he said sadly: We have grown 8 hectares of rice, poured out a lot of capital, but now there is a drought, a lack of water, so the rice fields are cracked. If we don't wait for water to come back, how can we eat well and sleep well? As he spoke, he pointed to the field in front of him. The rice was still in its maiden stage but was yellow, and in many places the soil was cracked and split the rice bushes in two, making it heartbreaking to see. Mr. Sinh added: Now there are few people waiting, but in the evening hundreds of rice farmers sit and wait for water, which is more crowded than going to the market. Only when you go out can you see how hard it is for farmers to wait for water...

Mr. Binh was adjusting the water pump at 8 pm.

At Mr. Sinh's suggestion, at 8 pm, I was led by Mr. Trinh Cong Tu - Vice Chairman of Dong Kho Commune People's Committee, in charge of agriculture, to the field of village 1. Although I knew the information in advance, I did not expect so many people to go to the field. The flashlights were shining brightly across the sky. The sound of water pumps echoed throughout the field. Mr. Tu said: This winter-spring crop, Dong Kho planted 642 hectares, of which 50 hectares in village 1 were lacking water, which greatly affected the growth of rice plants. Mr. Le Van Binh - Head of the Rural Water Team 1, who was adjusting the pump, confided to me: The team has 5 people, managing irrigation for 160 hectares, but this crop lacked water, so 50 hectares were seriously affected, and it is forecasted that the rice yield will decrease by 40 - 50% due to drought. In the dim light of the flashlight, I saw his tired face and dark eyes, so I blurted out: "Do you stay up all night? You look so tired. Oh, we have to take turns working day and night to bring water to the fields to help the people. Seeing the people struggling to wait for water is unbearable..."

Waiting for hydroelectric power plant to release water

Dong Kho is considered the center of Tanh Linh's rice granary, where there was a famous poem:

Lac Sea Fish, Dong Kho Rice

Binh Thuan army and people ate well and won the battle…

Dong Kho is also considered the source of water from La Nga River, where there is Ta Pao spillway, with the main South and North canals leading water to the south and north of Tanh Linh and Duc Linh districts, but why is there a shortage of water? Bringing this question to Mr. Nguyen Huu Phuoc - Vice Chairman of Tanh Linh District People's Committee, Mr. Phuoc said: Because Da Mi Hydropower Plant does not discharge water evenly, the water flow is low and not enough for irrigation. According to the schedule, 1 week of water discharge on the self-flowing canal, 1 week of water discharge into the river. But this crop has little water, so the discharge time on the river lasts from 10 to 12 days and vice versa on the canal. This rotation is long, so farmers on both sides lack water.

The next day, I followed the rice fields from Dong Kho to the fields of the communes in the district. Along the canals and ponds, people everywhere placed pumps. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nuoi was using a pump placed next to a pond to pump water for his 5-hectare rice field. He shared: A few years ago, this season, natural water and irrigation water came in a lot, but this year, the irrigation water source was low, and the weather was severely dry, so the amount of water was limited. Pumping for 1 day and resting for 3 days, so the rice was severely lacking water. In Gia An, the rice fields in the south and north of the river lacked water, which was understandable. The rice fields growing mung beans and peanuts were also severely affected. Peanuts are usually quite drought-resistant, but seeing the bright yellow fire was heartbreaking! In Duc Phu, the last commune with water source of Tanh Linh district, I met Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Vice Chairman of Duc Phu Commune People's Committee and Mr. Nguyen Truong Toan - Director of Duc Phu Agricultural Service Cooperative inspecting La Nga field. Mr. Hoa said: This crop, the commune planted 360 hectares, of which the Agricultural Service Cooperative planted 170 hectares, but 50 hectares were lacking water. Mr. Toan said bitterly: In Dong Kho, the upstream, there is still a lack of water, but in Duc Phu, the downstream, there is no shortage of water. It is a pity that the rice is at the age of preparing to bloom, but if there is a lack of water, where will the strength to "give birth" to the flowers!

According to the People's Committee of Tanh Linh district, the total area for annual crops in the winter-spring crop is 11,552 hectares, of which the rice area is 9,019 hectares. Currently, about 2,000 hectares of early winter-spring rice in Duc Phu, Mang To, Bac Ruong, Duc Thuan, Lac Tanh, Huy Khiem and Gia An are in the ripening - harvesting stage, the remaining area is mainly in the heading stage. Water for production of the 2023 - 2024 winter-spring crop irrigation area comes from electric pumping stations and self-flowing dams on over 7,382 hectares. However, from the beginning of January 2024 until now, in the conditions of prolonged hot weather, the discharge flow of Ham Thuan - Da Mi Hydropower Plant is low, fluctuating around 25 - 27 m3/s (not in accordance with the agreed working content of 32 m3/s), the water level of La Nga River is low, causing difficulties in pumping irrigation to serve production for the winter-spring production areas of 2023 - 2024 in the district. Currently, some areas of the fields are lacking water, and there is a possibility of drying up if irrigation water is not supplemented in time. Through reviewing the area with water shortage of about 470 hectares, the rice plants are 40 - 70 days old, the water shortage period is about 5 - 7 days, in some areas there is a water shortage of over 10 days. Among the fields lacking water, Gia An is the commune with the largest area lacking water at 200 hectares, Duc Phu 170 hectares, Dong Kho 50 hectares and Lac Tanh, Mang To each commune 25 hectares. Therefore, the district really hopes that Ham Thuan - Da Mi Hydropower Plant will release water at the right flow rate to save the rice to help the people...

A sleepless night with the people and 2 days walking on the dry fields, looking at the rice fields lacking water, I felt sad. Somewhere the words of the farmers still echoed in my ears: Thousands of rice farmers all put their hopes on the winter-spring crop, because the summer-autumn crop often encounters storms and floods, resulting in crop failure. If the winter-spring crop can be proactive with water as our grandparents used to say: "First water, second fertilizer..." then it will be successful, but this year the lack of water is considered...

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