VietNamNet Bridge – Drought and salt water intrusions are expected to affect the upcoming winter-autumn crop in the Mekong Delta and the country's southern region as the rainy season comes to an end.

Central Vietnam suffering severe drought

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Experts spoke about these conditions on Wednesday at a conference on rice production in the Central Highlands and southern region.

Rainfall in the south, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta were 60-70 per cent lower than precipitation levels in previous years, said head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Irrigation General Department Tran Gia Kham.

Water levels in many southern reservoirs were extremely low as the dry season approaches. Water shortages would be unavoidable, said deputy director of the southern hydrometeorological centre Nguyen Minh Giam.

Reports from the Mekong Delta provinces showed that water levels were estimated to reach 3.1m in the Tien River and 2.7m in the Hau River instead of 4m and 3.52m, respectively.

Giam warned that water shortages would cause widespread salt water intrusions in Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and Kien Giang provinces' coastal areas in December.

Water shortages would likely cause local farmers to reduce their crop production in places like Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, where farmers may be forced to reduce their production capacity by 20 per cent, said Le Thanh Tung from the ministry's Crop Production Department.

Deputy Minister Bui Ba Bong said it was difficult to cope with water shortages so localities should prepare plans to combat the drought during the dry season.

Bong asked local authorities to conserve water at reservoirs and store more in ponds. Localities have been instructed to replace long-term rice varieties with short-term crops to avoid decreased productivity due to the drought.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News