It is now the flood season in the Mekong Delta, but people there have already begun to worry about saline intrusion in the upcoming dry season.

Land subsidence is worsening in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, and experts told a seminar in Can Tho City that over-exploitation of groundwater is one of the factors causing it.

Rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta are becoming alarming, said Prof. David Dapice, Senior Economist, Vietnam and Myanmar Programme, Harvard Kennedy School, at a meeting with leaders of Can Tho city on October 8.

Le Thanh Tung, deputy head the Department of Plant Cultivation, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, speaks to Nông thôn Ngày Nay newspaper on the need to develop a long term plan to cope with floods in the Mekong Delta.

The Mekong Delta plans to grow this year’s winter – spring rice crop early since drought and saltwater intrusion are forecast to be severe in the dry season starting at the end of this year.

Drones are being used on a trial basis to spray crop protection chemicals in the Mekong Delta provinces of Dong Thap and Long An under the region’s high-tech agricultural programmes.

High tides, dykes and land subsidence are causing serious flooding in urban areas in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region, according to Nguyen Huu Thien, an expert on the Delta's ecosystem.

The Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center has announced that river tides in HCM City and the Mekong Delta region reached flood warning level 3 on Monday and Tuesday.

In the wake of the complicated development of riverside and coastal landslides, many experts argue that if sand exploitation is an option, the Mekong Delta must be “sacrificed”.

A new study by Dutch scientists has found that the Mekong Delta is just 0.8 meters above sea water level, which means that 12 million people will have to evacuate in the next 50 years.

A number of provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta facing serious erosion along rivers and coastal areas are taking measures to protect the land and people in the area.

If uncontrolled sand exploitation continues, Mekong Delta will disappear in the future, experts warn.

Farmers in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam are taking measures to adapt to low levels of flooding this year by switching to new crops and using other cultivation methods.

Immediate measures and long-term plans should be implemented quickly to help provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta cope with drought and saline intrusion, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh has said.

Vietnam’s snacks made of farm produce could conquer foreign markets, especially China, experts say.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country’s rice granary, will see summer – autumn rice output increase by 150,000 tonnes this year, the Plant Cultivation Department has estimated.

The European Union (EU) on August 28 granted 100,000 EUR as relief aid to local residents effected by severe floods earlier this month in Central Highlands and Mekong Delta provinces.

A trade representative has called for the construction of more deep-water ports in the Mekong River Delta to save money and time for seafood exporters.

Nga Nam floating market in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang has developed into a popular attraction with large numbers of visitors sampling some the area’s unique life and cuisine.

Authorities of An Giang Province in Mekong Delta said on Monday that erosion along the Hau River passing Vinh Truong Commune, An Phu District has become a serious issue worthy of being a "emergency situation."