350 hectares of rice in Nghi Loc are severely drought-stricken due to prolonged heat.

These days, at Nghi Dong commune field, Nghi Loc district, reporters recorded that the vast fields were dry and cracked. Ms. Tran Thi Thu in hamlet 3, Nghi Dong commune, Nghi Loc district shared: The prolonged heat, the dry reservoir, caused 4 sao of rice to lack water and drought, the heat will only last a few days and the rice will burn, this crop is at risk of "hanging the pot".

It was noon, the hot wind was blowing, but in the Cua Khe field, Nghi Dong commune, some households placed mini oil pumps in the canals with little water left to save the rice. Mr. Vu Dinh Hoa was pumping water and said: We have been using the mini oil pump for more than a day now, but the pump is not working, after stopping the machine for about 2-3 hours, the rice is dry again.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tam - Chairman of Nghi Dong Commune People's Committee said: This is the longest and most severe drought in the commune. The whole commune planted over 100 hectares of summer-autumn rice, but all of the above areas are dry and cracked. If the weather continues to be hot in the coming days, the risk of crop failure is real.

Currently, the commune is directing the villagers to take advantage of water sources such as ponds and canals to install mini oil pumps to save the rice. However, this solution is not feasible, because the Khe Xiem reservoir that irrigates over 80 hectares of rice has run out of water, and the streams around the area are all dry.

Also in the above situation, Nghi Yen commune, Nghi Loc district, due to water resource difficulties, the whole commune still has over 30 hectares that cannot be produced.

Mr. Vo Manh Son - expert of Nghi Loc District's Department of Agriculture said: This summer-autumn crop, Nghi Loc district planted 4,900 hectares of rice. Due to prolonged heat, currently the district has over 350 hectares of rice suffering from drought and unable to irrigate. If the weather continues to be hot in the coming days, there is a risk that the rice will dry out.

The current difficulty is that Nghi Loc district has over 40 reservoirs, most of which have low water levels, many of which are dry. Currently, the district is directing communes to utilize surface water sources such as ponds, lakes, dead-end rivers, and recirculating water sources using field oil pumps to save rice. Using transfer pumps, pumping water from some reservoirs to irrigate rice.

The electric pumping station system in Nghi Loc district by Nghi Loc Irrigation Enterprise is currently operating at full capacity 24/7. For downstream pumping stations along the Cam River in Nghi Loc district, the irrigation unit regularly checks the salinity of the water to avoid saltwater intrusion when pumping.