Changing crop structure to cope with climate change

(Baonghean) - The spring rice harvest of Mr. Dinh Quang Thi's family (Hamlet 18, Nghi Trung - Nghi Loc) was completed on May 20. However, 20 days later, when the summer-autumn rice planting season is almost over, the soil in the fields is still dry and white. This reality is posing an urgent problem for localities - changing the crop structure and seasons to cope with unusual weather developments.

Right from the beginning of the summer-autumn crop, Nghi Loc has proactively adjusted its production plan based on balancing irrigation water sources. Mr. Ngo Ngoc Hoan - Director of Nghi Loc Irrigation Enterprise said: Nghi Loc determined not to produce summer-autumn rice at all costs, only sowing in areas with sufficient water sources. If last year, the whole district sowed 4,500 hectares of summer-autumn rice, this year, that area has decreased to less than 3,000 hectares, the remaining 1,500 hectares will be converted to early-season rice, main-season rice and 500-600 hectares in the end of the pumping station, the semi-mountainous communes will switch to other crops. According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho - Head of the district's Agriculture Department, the district allocates the budget to support people to convert with a support level of 30% of the seed price for 600 hectares of corn, green beans, and vegetables in areas lacking water.

Tho Son pumping station (Nghi Loc) does not have enough water to serve production.

This summer-autumn crop, although Do Luong has directed water pumping 5 days earlier than every year, the rice planting progress is still 5-7 days behind schedule. According to the plan, the whole district will plant 7,200 hectares of summer-autumn rice, but due to lack of water, about 600 hectares are expected to be converted to growing other crops. Of which, nearly 300 hectares in communes at the end of the water source such as Dai Son, Tru Son, Giang Son... which are not sustainable against drought and are in the planning area for concentrated livestock farming of the district have been converted to growing grass for livestock farming right from the beginning of the crop. The remaining 300 hectares will be converted to growing other crops such as beans and corn. "In previous years, we have also converted some areas, 150 hectares of main-season rice planted with fetal rice varieties have been completely converted to growing grass for livestock farming and short-term industrial crops, bringing high economic efficiency and safety.

In particular, green bean crops have been consistently good in recent years, with good prices, so people are very excited. This year, the district has also proactively implemented the summer-autumn production plan early, taking many measures to collect water for planting, but at the same time, it also requires communes to review the area and water sources right from the beginning of the season to switch to growing vegetables in areas that are not proactive with water. In the long term, in addition to converting rice fields that no longer have a guaranteed water source to other types of vegetables, we will also have a plan to convert unsustainable vegetable production areas to grass growing to meet the increasing demand for livestock development, especially in communes at both ends of the district" - Mr. Nguyen Cong Chau - Vice Chairman of Do Luong District People's Committee said.

In the province's production plan, this year's summer-autumn crop, Nghe An will plant 56,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice - a decrease of more than 4,000 hectares compared to previous years. After a long period of drought, thanks to the recent heavy rains, the whole province has been able to plant nearly 3,000 hectares more, bringing the total planted area to over 53,000 hectares. However, due to floods, over 3,000 hectares have to wait for the water to recede to replant. Due to the drought, the summer-autumn rice planting season has also been extended to June 20. However, after that, in areas that have not been planted, they will have to switch to early-season rice from June 25-30. The late-season rice planting season (main season) can be extended to July 15, but can only be planted in highland areas, in sandy areas where there is no irrigation water, and can be harvested by the end of October.

Nghe An has two key rice production areas: the area that "eats" water from the Southern irrigation system including Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc and the area that "eats" water from the Northern self-flowing irrigation system including Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu and Do Luong. Currently, the Northern irrigation system is being invested in upgrading and repairing with JICA loans with a total capital of up to 5,600 billion VND, investing in construction and repair of the first and second level canal systems. When completed in 2019, the irrigation water source will be more secure. Particularly for the Southern irrigation system, the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are promoting calling for JICA loans to build a project to prevent salinity and keep fresh water sources of the Lam River. If successfully implemented, it will help keep the Lam River water level higher during the dry season to supply water to pumping stations and bara. In addition, Nam Dan 2 sluice is currently being invested in construction with a capital of 700 billion VND. When completed, it will basically solve the drought situation. However, in addition to construction solutions, a solution that is currently being implemented by the agricultural sector and localities is the solution of converting the crop structure to prevent drought and flooding at the end of the season, in the spirit of not producing summer-autumn rice at all costs, production must be safe and only produced on areas with proactive irrigation water sources.

One of the top priorities when implementing crop restructuring is to select a suitable rice variety structure for summer-autumn production areas. We must focus on introducing, selecting, and quickly introducing varieties with a short growth period, but at the same time also giving "relative" productivity into production. Particularly for summer-autumn areas that are flooded, we must use extremely short-term varieties (under 90 days) such as the mutant P6. Although the productivity is not high, safety must be prioritized, especially in the current climate conditions that are increasingly unpredictable, where droughts and floods can come earlier. At the same time, we must arrange a more reasonable crop structure.

Areas with complete control over water resources can be used for summer-autumn rice production, while areas with more uncertain water resources can switch to seasonal rice production to take advantage of the rainwater during the rice flowering stage, with priority given to short-term varieties to ensure safety. In areas that cannot meet irrigation water requirements and can only irrigate a few times during the entire growth and development of rice, they must switch to other crops, first of all corn, which is both safe, makes use of stems and leaves, and is easy to consume.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Lap - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to arrange a suitable crop structure, each district, even each commune, must review the specific soil and water conditions for arrangement. There must be a methodical and specific plan for each field area regarding the type of crop to be converted, the conversion season... and it must be discussed and agreed upon by the people. At the same time, when converting, it is necessary to prepare sufficient materials and seeds according to the conversion plan, and provide technical guidance for the people when converting. In particular, the State should have policies to support farmers in converting crop structures.

Phu Huong