Locals join hands to fight against saline intrusion

TRÀ VINH — In their fight against drought and saline intrusion, farmers in Tiểu Cần District of the southern Trà Vinh Province have contributed their own money to build canals and ditches.

Each household in the Trung Tiến Hamlet of Tân Hùng Commune contributes about VNĐ70,000 (US$3) per every 1,000sq.m in order to hire people to pump water. The water is pumped from a big river named Cần Chông to canals and ditches in the interior field. From there, the farmers pump water to their own paddy fields, said Trương Văn Giảng, head of Trung Tiến Hamlet.

“Up to 30ha of rice in the hamlet have been saved,” he said.

Other communes in the region, such as Tạp Ngãi, Ngãi Hùng and Tân Hòa, also apply the model.

“About 1,669ha out of the 2,369ha of rice in Tiểu Cần District that are at risk of being hit by saline intrusion have been saved,” Trần Văn Quân, deputy head of the district’s agriculture department, said while talking about the model’s efficiency.

In addition to farmers’ initiatives, the local agriculture sector has spent billions of đồng on dredging canals and ditches. The sector has also sent officers to check the salt levels of fields and assess the destruction caused by saline intrusion in order to provide adequate assistance in the future, he said.

So far, a total of 11 provinces in the Mekong Delta and Central Highland regions, including Trà Vinh Province, have announced a state of emergency due to the drought and saline intrusion. More than 11,000ha of crops were destroyed in Trà Vinh Province.