At the beginning of the crop season, Nghe An farmers had to pump out water to save the rice.

Although it was noon, Mr. Ho Do Nhuan - the head of Hamlet 5, Hung Phuc Commune (Hung Nguyen) was still on duty in the fields, mobilizing people to bring oil pumps to the fields to "save the rice". This work has been going on for the past week, but many fields are still in a "dry" state.

The winter-spring rice fields in hamlet 5, Hung Phuc commune (Hung Nguyen) have dried up and cracked even though it is just the beginning of the season. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Nhuan shared: "At first, we planned to use a pump to "drag" water from the river to save the rice, but then the river water gradually dried up, so we had to use an oil pump to pump from the fields and share the water to other dry fields. The cost of pumping oil is not less than 100,000 VND/day, although the efficiency is not high, this is the only way to save the rice at this time."

According to observations of the reporter, some fields in the communes of Hung Phuc, Hung Thinh, town, Hung Thong (Hung Nguyen)... have dried up even though the hot season has not yet begun. The luckier fields have water, however, the water level is only enough to cover a shallow layer, just a few more sunny days and they are at risk of drying up.

People use oil pumps to pump water from the fields and the remaining water is shared among the dry fields. Photo: Quang An

It is known that currently the rivers and canals supplying and regulating water in Hung Nguyen district such as Cau Muou river, Hoang Can river, 12/9 canal, Le Xuan Dao canal... have very low water levels. If there is no rain in the coming time, more than 5,500 hectares of winter-spring rice in the area are at risk of gradually dying.

Mr. Hoang Duc An - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hung Nguyen district said: Never before has the winter-spring crop had such a drought at the beginning of the crop as this year, most of the water levels in rivers and canals have dropped to low levels. Pumping stations do not have water to operate.

"It is worth mentioning that this is the stage when rice begins to tiller, requiring a lot of water. But in this situation, the rice will tiller poorly, affecting productivity. Besides, the rice blast disease is developing and there is a drought, so the effectiveness of disease prevention is significantly reduced," Mr. An added.

Rivers and canals in Hung Nguyen district are gradually drying up and will be left with bare bottoms if there is no rain. Photo: Quang An

Hung Nguyen District is directing localities to implement a rotating pumping schedule, prioritizing pumping for dry and cracked fields. Making the most of the tidal source on the Lam River so that when the water rises, it will be pumped, regardless of time. In addition, mobilizing people to focus on dredging canals and fighting drought.

Nghi Loc district is also facing the risk of severe drought. Mr. Dong Thanh Binh - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district said: This year, the whole district planted 7,800 hectares of winter-spring rice, the water level in the fields can only meet the demand for a short time, if there is no rain in the coming time, hundreds of hectares of rice will die or have difficulty blooming later. Many localities will have severe drought such as: Nghi Yen, Nghi Long, Nghi Thuan, Nghi Van, Nghi Lam...

Reinforcing embankments to prevent drought at dams in Nghi Van commune, Nghi Loc district. Photo: Quang An

Currently, Nghi Loc district is focusing its forces on inspecting and repairing canals, dredging and building embankments to retain water, and at the same time directing communes to regulate water reasonably, not to pump indiscriminately but to comply with the assigned pumping schedule.