Farmers "cry for help" because water sources are contaminated with salt
On November 4, many farmers at Nhon Hai Onion Cooperative, Ninh Hai District (Ninh Thuan) expressed their frustration to Dan Viet reporters about the serious salinity of irrigation water, which has affected the yield of onions.
Many locals said that the above situation has been occurring for more than a year, since a nearby snail farm started operating.
Farmer Luu Thanh Ngoc harvests purple onions but the yield is much lower than previous years. Photo: Duc Cuong
Many households have written complaints to local authorities, but the matter has not been resolved yet, greatly affecting production and people's lives.
Mr. Le Ngoc Giau in My Tuong 1 village, Nhon Hai commune, Ninh Hai district (Ninh Thuan) said that his family only depends on 3 sao of purple onions (3,000 square meters) to make a living.
However, for more than a year now, the well water used for irrigation has been contaminated with salt, causing the onion plants to become stunted and productivity to decrease by nearly 50% compared to before.
According to Mr. Giau, most local farmers dig wells and use the underground water from the wells to irrigate their onion plants. However, since the nearby snail farm started commercial snail farming, the well water of the people in the area has become salty.
“Farmers are all restless. Many households have had to stop production and accept leaving their land empty because of continuous losses…”, Mr. Giau said.
Farmer Le Ngoc Giau in My Tuong 1 village, Nhon Hai commune holds a tool to measure water salinity. )Photo: Duc Cuong
To illustrate, Mr. Giau pumped water from the well to measure the salinity. The results showed that the salinity of the water was at 11/1000. “With this salinity, the onion root ball will not develop. Previously, 1 sao of purple onion yielded nearly 3 tons, but now it has decreased to 1-1.5 tons/sao…”, Mr. Giau sighed.
Due to the high salinity, Mr. Giau had to invest 30 million VND to dig a pond and install a fresh water pipe more than 1km from the residential area to the field to "save" the purple onion plants.
“Every time we water onions, we have to mix saltwater from the well with fresh water to reduce the salinity. This increases costs and wastes the farmers’ efforts…”, Mr. Giau was upset.
Many farmers are very upset because the groundwater is salty, making it impossible to produce shallots as effectively as before. Photo: Duc Cuong
Not far away, although he was harvesting shallots, farmer Luu Thanh Ngoc was not interested because the last crop failed.
Mr. Ngoc said that his family has an underground water well right next to the Hung Hoa snail farm. Every time the farm releases water, the water in the well rises.
“Currently, the well has been abandoned because the water is salty and cannot be used to water the onions. The family has to draw water from the residential area to water the onions, so the cost is very high…”, said Mr. Ngoc.
Onion farmers in Ninh Thuan are calling for help because the underground water is heavily contaminated with salt. Reported by Duc Cuong - Quang Dang
Farmers abandon land because of salty groundwater
Many farmers with years of experience growing purple onions at Nhon Hai purple onion cooperative said that currently in the winter-spring season, the price of purple onions is increasing (40,000 - 45,000/kg). The inability to produce purple onions makes many households "impatient". Many households have land but do not dare to invest because of continuous losses due to saline groundwater.
Purple onion is the main crop in Nhon Hai commune. Photo: Duc Cuong
Farmer Pham Phu Nien said that a few years ago, My Tuong village produced purple onions very effectively. The productivity and quality of purple onions produced by farmers were not inferior to those of other places. However, the productivity of purple onions has gradually decreased, and farmers are in dire straits because their traditional livelihood is increasingly affected by the salinity of groundwater.
“Last year, nothing has been done. My family has lost more than 100 million VND due to the loss of onion crop due to salinity. This crop was very promising, but in the end, we had to leave the land empty because there was no fresh water to irrigate…”, Mr. Nien said with a sigh.
Farmer Pham Phu Nien had to abandon his land because the groundwater was contaminated with salt and he could not produce crops. Photo: Duc Cuong
Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau, Director of Nhon Hai purple onion cooperative, said that the cooperative was established in 2022 and now has 23 members with a total onion growing area of about 15 hectares.
According to Ms. Chau, purple onion is the main product of Nhon Hai farmers, the purple onion product has been granted 3-star OCOP certification at the district level. This is also one of the few agricultural products that have been exported abroad.
Farmer Pham Huu Nam (in white shirt) digs a pond to store fresh water to mix with well water to reduce salinity for watering onions. Photo: Duc Cuong
However, currently most cooperative members are facing salinity, making it difficult to produce shallots.
“The incident has been complained to the local authorities but has not been resolved yet, causing farmers to not dare to produce…”, Ms. Chau said.
Farmers are sitting on hot coals because the price of purple onions is high but no one is bold enough to produce them. Photo: Duc Cuong
The government will report to superiors to resolve the issue.
To get objective and multi-dimensional information, Dan Viet reporter contacted Hung Hoa snail farm.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, representative of this facility, said that his facility operates with a business license and affirmed that his facility does not cause groundwater salinity in the area.
The entrance to Hung Hoa snail farm that farmers complained about. Photo: Duc Cuong
“There are hundreds of farms there, and people say that I discharged waste causing salinity, but who can prove it? Meanwhile, I do not use seawater, but only use well water taken locally, so blaming me for causing salinity is baseless…”, Mr. Hung said.
Regarding this issue, Dan Viet reporter contacted the leaders of Ninh Hai District People's Committee and was instructed to work with the Commune People's Committee to provide information.
Specifically, Mr. Nguyen Cong Dai, Chairman of Nhon Hai Commune People's Committee, said that the local government has received complaints from people and organized dialogues (twice) to resolve them.
Nhon Hai is one of the localities with the largest onion growing area in Ninh Thuan province. Photo: Duc Cuong
According to Mr. Dai, the local authorities have also stepped in and verified. The inspection showed that Hung Hoa facility has 3 wastewater tanks. However, this facility only uses underground water to raise snails and does not pump in seawater, so it is difficult to determine the cause.
“In the coming time, the locality will report to the superiors so that the leaders of Ninh Hai District People's Committee can direct specialized departments to inspect and verify. From there, find the cause to completely handle the incident…”, Mr. Dai said.
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)