VietNamNet Bridge - Whether they are drought-tolerant cattle, tens of thousands of sheeps in Ninh Thuan province, central Vietnam, are at risk of death because of prolonged drought.
Central Vietnam is in the days of intense drought. Reservoir Thanh Son in Xuan Hai commune, Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province has been dried to the bottom since late April. This is the source of water for hundreds of hectares of rice fields and crops and the drinking water for tens of thousands of sheep.
The fields near Thanh Son reservoir were plowed but they have been abandoned due to lack of water. Thousands of hectares of land in the districts of Bac Ai, Ninh Phuoc and Thuan Nam are also left fallow due to drought.
The nomad shepherds in Ninh Thuan are trying to save their livestock by moving them to the areas that have not been completely exhausted to find food and water.
The intense drought has made sheep and cows starving, exhausted.
The fields that have just been harvested are ideal for grazing cattle but they are now parched.
A local official said if there is no rain in May, sheep may die en-massive.
Ninh Thuan has the largest herd of sheep in Vietnam, with nearly 90,000 heads. Whether they are drought-tolerant cattle, sheeps are hard to survive if they have to move to the sites with the strange water resources.
Sheep have to more a lot so they are exhausted.
The heat is up to over 40 degrees C. Cattle have to drink water in small mud puddles left on the fields after harvest season.
Most of the ponds and canals in the region are dried up. Shepherds have to take water with them to serve the sheep. As it is forecasted that drought will continue for the next few months, shepherds are very worried.
They have sought ways to save their cattle by purchasing more straw and grass to accumulate for the next few months. Straw prices have rocketed to over VND1 million (nearly $50)/tractor. Farmers in Ninh Thuan are very worried and they can only pray for rains. |
Zing