Thousands of hectares of crops damaged by drought

Recently, affected by climate change, Dak Lak province has been experiencing prolonged drought, causing great damage to agricultural production. In fact, thousands of hectares of crops have been damaged...

Thousands of hectares of crops affected

In Cu M'gar district (Dak Lak), one of the localities with large industrial crop areas in Dak Lak province, there has been damage due to drought. Cu M'gar district has about 73,000 hectares of agricultural land. However, the prolonged heat has negatively affected agricultural production in the area. Many crop areas have been damaged.

Many farmers have to carry water very far to save their crops.

In Ea M'droh commune, more than 2,300 hectares of crops such as coffee, pepper, durian have reduced productivity or are at risk of being lost due to lack of irrigation water. Of these, 162 hectares are at risk of being lost. Buon D'hung and the villages of Doan Ket, Dong Tam, Thach Son... have the most affected crop areas. Or in Ea Tar commune, similar damage has occurred. According to preliminary statistics from local authorities, more than 2,085 hectares of crops are affected by drought.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cu M'gar district, the water level at local reservoirs and dams is decreasing, negatively affecting irrigation for agricultural production. Out of a total of 68 irrigation works (51 reservoirs, 17 dams) in the area, by the end of April 2024, only 2 reservoirs had a water level of about 100%, 11 works had an estimated water level of over 71% and 6 works had fallen to dead water level, no longer able to drain...

Many damaged crop areas are likely to be lost.

Not only Cu M'gar district, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Krong Pac district, two natural disasters have just occurred in the area, causing damage of over 47 billion VND. Specifically: during the drought in the dry season, the whole district had over 501 hectares of various crops damaged by drought, including: 390 hectares of rice, of which 223.5 hectares were completely lost; 107.9 hectares of coffee (30 hectares completely lost); 3.3 hectares of lychee and dổi trees (2.1 hectares completely lost). The total damage was over 22.1 billion VND.

The hailstorm on the afternoon of April 26 in Ea Kly and Ea Kuang communes caused damage to 340 hectares, with total estimated damage of over 25 billion VND.

To cope with the natural disaster, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Krong Pac district has coordinated with the Branch of Krong Pac District Irrigation Works Management Company Limited to pump irrigation from the dead water level of reservoirs and Krong Pac River to irrigate rice plants in Vu Bon commune within the irrigation capacity; mobilize people to implement drought prevention measures to minimize the level of damage.

In particular, in Krong Buk district, there are currently 1,047 hectares of crops lacking irrigation water due to prolonged drought; concentrated in the communes of Ea Sin with about 775 hectares, Cu Pong with about 145 hectares, Cu Ne with about 127.7 hectares... Of which, Ea Sin commune is the most severely affected locality in this drought. More than 4,185 hectares of crops in the commune use irrigation water mainly from irrigation works, spring water and dug wells, but the amount of water has decreased seriously. Currently, nearly 200 households in Ea Sin commune in Ea Pong, Cu Kanh, Ea Sin, and Cu M'tao villages are also facing a shortage of domestic water.

Actively implementing many solutions to "save" crops

Faced with the above situation, the Ea Sin Commune People's Committee has implemented many measures to combat drought. The locality has established working groups to inspect and evaluate the remaining irrigation water reserves in lakes, dams and domestic water in villages and hamlets. At the same time, it has stepped up propaganda to raise people's awareness and responsibility for drought prevention and control; promoting the spirit of using water economically and effectively to cope with the immediate drought...

Many measures to cope with drought have been implemented by farmers.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Krong Buk district, the locality has more than 27,000 hectares of various crops. Of which, the area of ​​crops requiring irrigation water is about 25,000 hectares, including 20,415 hectares of coffee and more than 4,000 hectares of various fruit trees. Meanwhile, the area has only 43 irrigation works, meeting about 30% of the irrigation needs for crops, the rest depends on natural streams, ponds and lakes dug by the people themselves.

Currently, surface water, groundwater, flows in streams, tributaries, ponds, lakes in the community, underground water in dug wells, and drilled wells are low, lower than in previous years. Water levels in irrigation works have dropped at an alarming rate, including 11 lakes that have dried up, 21 reservoirs with water reserves below 50%, 5 reservoirs below 70%, 4 reservoirs below 80%, 2 reservoirs above 90%...

According to the forecast of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Krong Buk district, if the drought continues in the coming time, the damaged crop area will be up to about 1,000 hectares. To minimize the damage caused by drought, the People's Committee of Krong Buk district has directed specialized departments, People's Committees of communes and towns to coordinate with relevant agencies and units to regularly monitor and closely follow the water situation and agricultural production situation in the area.

Most of the lakes have dried up.

Thereby, promptly grasp the damage caused by drought and propose solutions to support and remove difficulties... The district's agricultural sector has proactively coordinated with localities to promote propaganda, recommending people to take measures to cover straw and dry leaves at the base of trees to avoid evaporation and water loss; water sparingly; do not water massively at the same time...

Currently, Dak Lak is still in the dry season. If there is no rain in the coming time and the weather continues to be hot and sunny, the water level in reservoirs and streams will decrease sharply. The risk of widespread drought will be very high. In the face of the complicated weather situation, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Lak province and functional units, together with localities and people, are actively implementing drought prevention solutions to minimize the damage caused by drought.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/hang-ngan-hecta-cay-trong-bi-thiet-hai-boi-kho-han-151578.html