Changing the spring crop structure to combat drought.

(Baonghean) - According to forecasts, drought conditions may occur early and on a wide scale starting from the spring crop season of 2016. In restructuring crop patterns to combat drought, localities need to carefully study and switch to suitable crops that are both drought-resistant and economically efficient.

“This spring, we had to switch 200 hectares of rice to other, more drought-resistant crops due to the drought, concentrated in the Bich Hao area and some other high-altitude areas,” said Mr. Le Dinh Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Chuong District People's Committee. Agricultural production in this low-lying mountainous district depends on two main water sources. About half of the area, including the communes of Thanh Tuong, Thanh Van, Thanh Hung, Thanh Dong, and Thanh Duong, relies on water from the Lam River and its tributaries such as the Giang River, Rao Gang River, and other streams; the other half uses water from reservoirs and dams, mainly in the communes of Hoa Quan, Bich Hao, Thanh An, Thanh Chi, Thanh Khe, and Thanh Thinh…

Farmers in Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau district, head to the fields for the spring crop.

In the district, besides the 8 large reservoirs managed by enterprises, there are more than 200 smaller reservoirs. This year, due to the lack of rainfall compared to previous years, the water levels in these reservoirs have basically not reached their designed capacity, especially the small reservoirs managed by cooperatives, including even large reservoirs such as Vat Chac, Trieu Duong (Thanh Lam), and Trang Khong (Thanh Xuan)... Some communes in the Bich Hao area, such as Thanh Lam, Thanh Mai, and Thanh Xuan, have not experienced any heavy rain for the past two years.

Therefore, in previous years, Thanh Chuong usually planned to plant 8,200 hectares in the spring crop, but in reality, it often exceeded 8,300 - 8,500 hectares in remote and isolated areas, where people utilized swamp water for planting. This year, in anticipation of the meteorological and hydrological forecast that the El Niño phenomenon could last until April 2016 and cause drought, Thanh Chuong conducted inspections and assessed the water levels in reservoirs and dams right from the start of the spring crop production plan to develop the most optimal solutions for spring production, allocating only 8,000 hectares for spring rice. Over 200 hectares had to be abandoned due to drought; depending on the beginning of the season, water supply might still be sufficient, but the rice heading and flowering stages are very susceptible to water shortages if there is no rain in the coming period.

Therefore, the district directed the communes to disseminate information and encourage people to unanimously switch crops, with the highest priority being corn. Although there is a drought, the land still has sufficient moisture for corn to grow, while its economic efficiency is comparable to rice, and the demand for corn is currently very high. Along with the conversion, the district also focused on directing and encouraging people to use water sparingly from the beginning of the production season, carrying out dredging of canals and building embankments to retain water. For the third fish farming season, the water should not be drained completely, or water transfer pumps should be used to maximize water conservation during fish harvesting.

Droughts are usually severe in Tan Ky district during the summer-autumn crop season, but in the spring, some rice fields in communes such as Tan Hop and Giai Xuan still suffer from drought towards the end of the season. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuc, Head of the Agriculture Department of Tan Ky district, the most worrying aspect is the drought affecting other crops. This spring, Tan Ky plans to plant 7,200 hectares of sugarcane, nearly 2,000 hectares of corn, and over 1,000 hectares of peanuts, mainly in floodplain communes such as Nghia Dung, Ky Tan, Tan Long, and Nghia Binh. In these areas, the crops are still entirely dependent on rainwater and do not have irrigation systems like rice. Meanwhile, in recent years, droughts have become increasingly severe, causing significant damage to the district's other crops.

This year, in particular, with forecasts of a warm and dry growing season, the area of ​​cash crops in the floodplains of Tan Ky is under even greater pressure.

“Given the situation, we determined that maintaining the production of cash crops would be very precarious and inefficient. Therefore, in addition to strengthening coordination with the Song Con Sugar Factory to build irrigation models for more than 20 hectares of sugarcane in Nghia Dung and Tan An, through state support channels, we also encouraged farmers to build irrigation models for oranges. To date, 3 hectares of oranges in Nghia Phuc have been irrigated. In particular, we focused on transforming the crop structure in the floodplain area to both combat drought and achieve high economic efficiency. This spring, Tan Ky directed the conversion of about 500 hectares of corn and peanuts in the floodplain area to sugarcane. Sugarcane is more drought-resistant; while corn usually yields 6-7 tons/ha and peanuts 1.8-2 tons/ha, sugarcane in the floodplain area can still yield 80-100 tons/ha even during drought, with economic efficiency comparable to or even higher than that of other crops,” said Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuc.

“Local authorities and units should continue to review water supply plans for the 2015-2016 winter-spring crop production, based on existing water resources, to arrange a rational crop structure. In areas without reliable water throughout the season, rice cultivation should be avoided; instead, crops with better drought resistance should be switched. During this transition, research should be conducted based on the natural characteristics of each region to develop appropriate plans. Clearly identify which crops should be grown in which areas to both increase drought resilience and achieve good economic efficiency,” affirmed Mr. Nguyen Van Lap, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. At the same time, strict water resource management is necessary, along with increased public awareness campaigns to ensure people understand the drought situation and the risk of water shortages, thereby raising awareness of efficient and economical water use, preventing water loss and waste. In particular, specific and feasible drought prevention plans must be developed for each region and each project to be ready to respond when drought occurs.

As of January 8, 2016, in many key irrigation projects across the province, water levels were lower than the designed levels. At the upstream of the Nam Dan sluice gate, the water level was only 0.9m (design level 1.15m), at the Dien Thanh sluice gate it was 0.72m (design level 0.92m)... and in the coming period, if there is no rain upstream, water levels in rivers and streams will decrease rapidly.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Head of the Provincial Irrigation Department, said: The irrigation plan for the whole year of 2016 only reached 256,830 hectares, a decrease compared to 2015. Besides the reason that some areas were converted for infrastructure construction, it was also due to water shortages in some reservoirs. Currently, localities and units are carrying out repairs to irrigation works, machinery, equipment, and infrastructure to serve spring crop production. Given the difficult water situation at the beginning of the season, especially with the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir experiencing a nearly 100 million cubic meter water shortage compared to the same period last year, drought may occur early and on a large scale.

“During the peak water-demand period for the spring rice crop, we propose prioritizing the release of water from the Ban Ve and Khe Bo hydropower plants so that the pumping stations on the Lam River in Anh Son and Thanh Chuong districts can operate, and at the same time provide water for the two large-scale irrigation systems, the North and South irrigation systems,” Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa shared.

Phu Huong