Changing the structure of spring crops to combat drought

(Baonghean) - According to forecasts, drought may occur early and widely from the spring crop of 2016. In converting the crop structure to combat drought, localities need to carefully research to convert to suitable crops that can both combat drought and ensure economic efficiency.

“This spring crop, we had to switch 200 hectares of rice to other crops that are more drought-resistant, concentrated in communes in the Bich Hao area and some other highland areas,” said Mr. Le Dinh Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Chuong District People’s Committee. Agricultural production in this lowland district depends on two main water sources, of which about half of the area including Thanh Tuong, Thanh Van, Thanh Hung, Thanh Dong, Thanh Duong communes “receive” water from the Lam River and its tributaries such as the Giang River, Rao Gang River and water from other rivers and streams; the remaining half of the area uses water from dams, mainly in communes in the Hoa Quan, Bich Hao, Thanh An, Thanh Chi, Thanh Khe, Thanh Thinh areas, etc.

Farmers of Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau go to the fields to produce spring crop

In the district, in addition to 8 large dams managed by the enterprise, there are also more than 200 small dams. This year, due to the lack of rainfall compared to previous years, the amount of water in the reservoirs up to this point has basically not reached the design capacity, especially the system of small reservoirs managed by cooperatives, including even large dams such as Vat Chac, Trieu Duong (Thanh Lam), Trang Khong (Thanh Xuan)... Some communes in the Bich Hao area such as Thanh Lam, Thanh Mai, Thanh Xuan... have not had a single heavy rain for 2 years.

Therefore, in previous years, Thanh Chuong often planned to plant 8,200 hectares in the spring crop, but in reality, it often exceeded 8,300 - 8,500 hectares in the areas of nooks and crannies, where people took advantage of swamp water for planting. This year, before the forecast of the Hydrometeorological Department, the El Nino phenomenon lasting until April 2016 could cause drought, right from the time of issuing the spring crop production plan, Thanh Chuong conducted inspections and grasped the water storage situation of dams to come up with the most optimal solutions for spring crop production, only restructuring 8,000 hectares of spring rice. In more than 200 hectares that had to be converted to not grow rice due to drought, depending on the beginning of the crop, the water source may still be well met, but the rice panicle-forming and flowering stages are very susceptible to water shortage if there is no rain in the coming time.

Therefore, the district has directed the communes to propagate and mobilize people to unify and convert simultaneously, with the highest priority being corn, because despite the drought, the soil still has moisture for corn to grow, while the economic efficiency is equivalent to rice and the demand for corn products is currently very large. Along with the conversion, the district also focuses on directing and mobilizing people to use water economically from the beginning of the production season, dredging canals and building embankments to retain water. For the area of ​​fish farming in the third crop, do not drain the water or use pumps to save maximum water when harvesting fish.

Usually, drought only occurs severely in Tan Ky district in the summer-autumn crop, but in the spring crop, some rice areas in Tan Hop and Giai Xuan communes... are still often drought-prone at the end of the crop. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuc - Head of the Tan Ky District Agriculture Department, the most worrying thing is drought on crops. This spring crop, 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 the alluvial communes such as Nghia Dung, Ky Tan, Tan Long, Nghia Binh... In these areas, the majority are still completely dependent on "rainwater" and do not have an irrigation system like rice. Meanwhile, in recent years, drought has become increasingly severe, causing a lot of damage to the district's crop areas.

Especially this year, with the forecast of a warm and dry crop season, the crop area in Tan Ky's beach area is under great pressure.

“In that situation, we determined that if we try to maintain the production of other crops, it will be very unstable and ineffective. Therefore, in addition to promoting coordination with Song Con Sugar Factory to build irrigation models for more than 20 hectares of sugarcane in Nghia Dung, Tan An, through the State's support channels, we also mobilized people to build irrigation models for oranges. So far, 3 hectares of oranges have been irrigated in Nghia Phuc. In particular, we focus on converting the crop structure in the coastal areas to both fight drought and achieve high economic efficiency. This spring crop, Tan Ky directed the conversion of about 500 hectares of corn and peanuts in the coastal areas to grow sugarcane. Sugarcane is more drought-resistant, while corn usually yields 6-7 tons/ha, peanuts 1.8-2 tons/ha, while sugarcane in the coastal areas can still yield 80-100 tons/ha despite drought, with economic efficiency not inferior or even higher,” said Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuc.

“Localities and units continue to review water supply plans for the 2015-2016 winter-spring crop, based on existing water resources to arrange a reasonable crop structure. Areas that do not have enough water throughout the crop should not try to grow rice but switch to more drought-resistant crops. In the conversion, it is necessary to study and base on the natural characteristics of each area to have a suitable plan. Clearly identify which areas should grow which crops to both increase drought resistance and achieve good economic efficiency,” affirmed Mr. Nguyen Van Lap, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. At the same time, it is necessary to strictly manage water resources and strengthen propaganda work so that people understand the drought situation and the risk of water shortage, thereby raising awareness of using water economically and effectively, preventing loss and waste of water resources. In particular, it is necessary to develop specific and feasible drought prevention plans for each area and each project to be ready to respond when drought occurs.

As of January 8, 2016, in many key irrigation works in the province, the water level was lower than the design level. At the upstream of Nam Dan sluice, the water level was only 0.9m/design level 1.15m, at Dien Thanh sluice it was 0.72m/design level 0.92m... and in the coming time, if there is no rain in the upstream, the water level 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, in addition to the reason that some areas were transferred to build infrastructure, but also due to the lack of water in some reservoirs. Currently, localities and units are repairing works, machinery and equipment, irrigation infrastructure and providing irrigation water for spring crop production. With the fact that the water source at the beginning of the season in the area is difficult, especially the water volume of Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir is currently lacking nearly 100 million m3 of water compared to the same period, so drought may occur early and widely.

“During the peak water use period for spring rice, it is recommended to prioritize water discharge from Ban Ve and Khe Bo Hydropower Plants so that the water pumping stations on Lam River in Anh Son and Thanh Chuong districts can operate, and at the same time provide water for two large-area systems, the North and South irrigation systems,” Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa shared.

Phu Huong