Urgent response needed to address summer-autumn crop drought.

(Baonghean) - To proactively respond to weather conditions and ensure water supply for the 2015 summer-autumn crop production and domestic use, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requests that units and localities urgently implement the following:

a) Immediate tasks and solutions that need to be implemented:

- Request that the Ban Ve and Khe Bo hydropower plants have appropriate water release schedules to provide water for the downstream areas.

- The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development assigns one department leader to directly supervise and distribute water resources to the Ban Ve and Khe Bo reservoirs and dams, releasing water at appropriate flow rates to ensure sufficient water for both the Northern and Southern irrigation systems, selecting high tide times, and releasing water continuously to ensure efficient water intake into the systems.

- For districts, cities, and towns:

+ Actively dredge canals and ditches, install oil pumping stations and mobile pumps to utilize water resources for production.

+ Review the summer-autumn production plan to adjust planting to suit the water conditions of each locality. Direct the conversion of crop structure and seasons appropriately; areas that do not have sufficient irrigation water throughout the season must be converted to corn or other crops, in order to ensure that the entire area and food production targets are met.

- Nghe An Power Company: Prioritize supplying electricity to pumping stations so that power is available when pumping is needed.

b) Regarding future tasks:

- Localities and units must balance and conserve water resources, distributing them in the most efficient and rational way to maintain and develop production, especially for areas that have already been planted.

- Irrigation companies must organize a permanent standby force to respond to drought-related tasks, ready to pump water whenever needed, and have a force available to provide assistance whenever water becomes available.

- Proactively prepare short-day varieties such as the P6 mutant, VS1, VS6... so that when water is available, planting can be done promptly to ensure a successful summer-autumn crop, avoiding the situation where land is left fallow but then there is a lack of resources when water becomes available.

Regarding the proposal from Nam Irrigation Company Limited: The principle is agreed upon, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is tasked with conducting a detailed study on the feasibility, effectiveness, and scientific basis to, if necessary, direct the preparation of a project to build a saltwater intrusion prevention and freshwater retention dam on the Cam River; report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the construction of a pumping station at the old Nam Dan sluice gate, and add these two projects to the Lam Tra Canal Irrigation System project or the Nam Dan sluice gate project phase 2 if approved by the Ministry.

c) Regarding long-term tasks and solutions: Assign the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to take the lead, in coordination with the Department of Planning and Investment and other relevant sectors:

- Expedite the preparation and promotion of investment in the Lam River saltwater intrusion prevention and freshwater retention dam to serve the southern Nghe An and northern Ha Tinh regions.

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted a report to the Prime Minister requesting investment in phase 2 of the Nam Dan sluice gate and the Southern Irrigation Canal system.

Provincial People's Committee