Thousands of hectares of rice in Soc Trang are at risk of damage due to lack of fresh water.

In Long Phu district - a locality with over 6,000 hectares of third-season rice, 3,408 hectares are currently suffering from water shortage and saltwater intrusion, of which 641 hectares are suffering from water shortage combined with alum poisoning.

Mr. Danh Ngoc Trieu, in Long Phu commune, said that this crop he cultivated nearly 10 hectares of OM5451 rice variety, which is now over a month old. In recent days, the rice has lacked water and some areas have dried up.

"Because of the salty water, the local authorities have closed the sluices. The fresh water reserves on the river are running out, so I am taking advantage of the situation to pump out the last drops of water to save the rice. But if the salty situation continues, these 10 hectares of rice will be considered a total loss," Mr. Trieu said sadly.

Mr. Son Tung - Head of the People's Committee of Nuoc Man 2 Hamlet, Long Phu Commune (Long Phu, Soc Trang) - said that the entire hamlet has 360 hectares of third-season rice, of which about 10 hectares of rice died due to alum poisoning and organic poisoning due to lack of irrigation water.

“Last year, the salinity situation was not as severe as this year, and rice prices were quite high, so people subjectively planted the third crop even though we advised people not to grow rice this season,” said Mr. Tung.

The fields are dry and the rice plants are dying. Photo: Phuong Anh

Similarly, in the fields of Tran De district (Soc Trang), many farmers are also having a headache because the rice is "thirsty" but the water is salty.

Mr. Tran Van Diem in Dai An 2 commune said that in previous years, he did not grow the third rice crop, but this year, seeing everyone around him planting rice, he also rented 1.7 hectares of land to do so. The rice is 48 days old but has been lacking water for more than a week, so some places have rotted roots and burnt leaves. To save the rice, Mr. Diem had to pump water with a salinity of 1g/l into the field with the hope that "where there is water, there is hope".

“The cost of this crop is quite high, the rent for 1.7 hectares of land is more than 10 million VND, the cost of land improvement, seeds and fertilizer is also over 2.5 million VND/1,000m2. Now I just hope this crop breaks even,” Mr. Diem said.

All the canals in the fields have run dry. Photo: Phuong Anh

Not far away, Mr. Chau Rach Ca Na in Lieu Tu commune said that this late winter-spring crop, he cultivated 1.6 hectares. After about 20 days of sowing rice, there was a lack of water, so he pumped water from the river and the rice was poisoned by alum, causing the leaves to turn yellow, some areas died, so now he had to pull out the thick rice and cover the dead areas.

“I know this crop is difficult to do because of drought, salinity and acid sulfate soil contamination, but seeing many people doing it, I also do it with the hope of earning some capital for the next crop. But with the current situation, I only hope to break even,” said Mr. Ca Na.

Mr. Chau Rach Ca Na in Lieu Tu commune (Tran De, Soc Trang) is pulling out thick rice and covering dead rice due to alum poisoning. Photo: Phuong Anh

According to Mr. Lach Pha Rich - Head of Long Phu District Irrigation Management Station, the salinity situation in the past few days has been complicated, at times the highest salinity measured at Dai An ferry (ferry from Long Phu district to Cu Lao Dung district) was up to 12g/l. The entire district has over 30 salinity prevention sluices that have been closed to ensure that salinity does not penetrate into the fields.

Mr. Rich said that the salinity is currently at a high level, and the canals in the fields have run out of water. The district's agricultural sector has announced that when the salinity is below or equal to 1.6 g/l, the Cai Quanh sluice will be opened to let in water.

"People need to proactively check and measure salinity before taking water to irrigate crops, and at the same time use water economically and effectively," said Mr. Rich.

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