After more than 5 years of Resolution 120/NQ-CP coming into effect, local authorities and people in the West have been gradually building "nature-friendly" production models, creating sustainable livelihoods.
In March 2023, the peak of the dry season, saltwater encroached about 40-50km into the river mouths. However, for many people, deep saltwater intrusion is now normal, because they have experience and are proactive with production models to maintain their livelihoods during the drought and salinity season.
Store fresh water, avoid salt water
More than 20 years ago, farmers in the West had to plant the summer-autumn rice crop early to avoid floods from the Mekong River in August. Now, people in the West have begun to store fresh water, proactively avoiding local salinity intrusion during the dry season. In late March 2023, fruit growers in provinces such as Vinh Long, Tien Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang... were ready to respond to the salinity intrusion following the high tide. Every gardener has realized that monitoring salinity, digging canals to store fresh water, and irrigating fruit trees are the core of maintaining their livelihoods.
The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue (Tam Binh commune, Cai Lay district, Tien Giang province) has carefully dredged the ditches around the garden and rebuilt the dams to store fresh water when needed. Ms. Hue shared: “The family has 5,000m2 of durian land, which is the main source of income, so we are very careful when there is a risk of salt water intrusion. In addition to dredging the ditches to store fresh water, the family also keeps the grass layer at the base of the durian trees to keep the durian trees moist during the current hot weather, and uses plastic film to cover the dams in the garden to prevent fresh water loss.”
Durian is a tree that is sensitive to salt water, so gardeners take great care of it. Ngu Hiep Islet (Cai Lay District, Tien Giang) is located in the middle of the Tien River, where nearly 100% of the agricultural land is dedicated to growing durian. In addition to the pressure of salt water from the Tien River, this locality is also threatened by salt water from the Ham Luong River and the Co Chien River (Ben Tre Province). Mr. Nguyen Tan Nhu, Party Secretary of Ngu Hiep Commune, Cai Lay District, said that the commune has proactively provided water with dams and 8 reserve wells. If saltwater intrudes, the commune will close the sluices, operate the wells, and pump water into the canals for people to use for irrigation. In addition, the commune still has 2 sluices that are not closed, and if there is saltwater intrusion, the district will support the cost of closing them.
In Vinh Long, when 4‰ saline water encroaches on rivers, the CMS notification system is sent to hamlets and villages and the closed dike system is activated to locally "block the saline water flow". For example, Ngu Hiep Islet (Tien Giang), Thanh Binh Islet Commune (Vung Liem District, Vinh Long Province) located on the Co Chien River, the livelihoods of people here depend on durian trees. According to many gardeners, on average, for each hectare of durian land, farmers earn from several tens of millions to several hundreds of millions of VND.
Mr. Pham Van Tieu, Head of the Durian Cooperative in Lang Hamlet, Thanh Binh Commune (Vung Liem District, Vinh Long Province), has just sold durian for 45 million VND. “Day and night, especially before watering the plants, I always update information. If the salinity is high, the salinity will be blocked in advance to get fresh water for irrigation in the garden. The gardeners have a salinity meter, when watering or spraying on flowers and fruits, they have skillfully measured the salinity in advance,” Mr. Tieu shared. The durian cooperative in Thanh Binh Islet has 44 households participating in 250 hectares of durian land, with an average yield of about 2 tons/hectare. Saltwater intrusion is no longer a concern for gardeners because there is a fresh water storage system in the garden ditches, warning information is updated regularly day and night. In particular, the salinity prevention dams managed by the province and district have been effective for many years.
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Building a dam to prevent saltwater intrusion and store fresh water on Nguyen Tan Thanh canal, Chau Thanh district, Tien Giang province. Photo: NGOC PHUC |
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vung Liem District (Vinh Long), thanks to the closed dike system and the awareness of gardeners in protecting their gardens, in recent years, Vung Liem District has proactively ensured fresh water sources for irrigation and daily life of the people. Although the salinity in the area has been measured at about 5‰, so far there has been no damage to the fruit trees.
Bring crops to the field
The historic drought and saltwater intrusion that occurred in 2016 and 2020 have haunted thousands of rice farmers in the Mekong Delta. At that time, many fields were yellow, the surface was white, the soil was cracked, the canals were dry... Many families could not survive because of debt and had to close their businesses and leave their hometowns to make a living in the cities. Mr. Do Quang Thao (40 years old, a farmer in Long Duc commune, Long Phu district, Soc Trang province) recalled: "At that time, the rice had just sprouted, was milky and preparing to produce grain, when the salt suddenly attacked, the family was left empty-handed, surrounded by debt".
Mr. Lam Van Vu, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long Phu district, Soc Trang province, said that in the past, to prevent people from planting the third rice crop, the agricultural sector had propagated and warned. However, people still followed their habits and ignored the warnings. When they received the "bitter fruit" from the drought and salinity in 2016 and 2020, people's awareness had changed dramatically. Specifically, from more than 16,000 hectares of the third rice crop area in the district, now only a few households are planting the old way. From people's better awareness of the negative impacts of drought and salinity, many climate change adaptation production models have emerged in Long Phu district. A typical example is the conversion of ineffective third rice cultivation to the model of "bringing color to the fields", bringing economic benefits many times higher than rice.
We returned to Chau Khanh commune, Long Phu district, Soc Trang province in the hot, dry days of late March. Before our eyes were lush green cucumber fields, full of fruit. Mr. Huynh Thanh Can, a cucumber farmer here, said: “Instead of planting the third crop or having to leave the land bare like before, in recent years I have switched to growing cucumbers during the off-season. Taking advantage of the time when the salinity has not yet risen, I store fresh water in ditches, and at the same time apply economical irrigation methods, so I can cultivate with peace of mind. Although it is harder than growing rice, cucumbers bring in 7-8 times more income. With 2,000m2 of cucumbers, the fruit yield is enough for me to pick 800-900kg per day. If the price of cucumbers is 10,000 VND/kg, I will earn 8-9 million VND/day. Thus, each melon crop will bring in an income of over 140 million VND, after deducting expenses, the profit will be from several tens to hundreds of millions of VND.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long Phu district, the whole district has more than 150 hectares of crops brought to the fields to "replace" rice in the third crop. The model of "bringing colors to the fields" is continuing to be actively responded to by people, expanding the cultivation area with many types of crops such as cucumber, corn, squash... helping to proactively adapt to production conditions in the dry season, bringing high economic efficiency.
Seven years ago (March 2016), MSc. Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent researcher on the ecology of the Mekong Delta, and many scientists held an "urgent meeting" to warn about the historic drought and salinity in the Mekong Delta. Now looking back at the journey of Resolution 120/NQ-CP into practice, MSc. Nguyen Huu Thien shared: "There are two ways to adapt to climate change: one is to resolutely resist change; two is to change ourselves to adapt to new circumstances. Resolution 120/NQ-CP chose the second method, which is smarter and has several major principles: one is to follow nature, respect the laws of nature and avoid violent interference with nature; two is to change the mindset of agricultural production, shifting agriculture from purely quantity-driven agriculture to agricultural economics. Both the government and farmers have been adapting to this.
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