Nghe An ensures sufficient water for irrigating the spring rice crop.
From the third day of the Lunar New Year, irrigation workers in Nghe An province have been on duty at pumping stations to regulate water resources and ensure irrigation for the spring rice crop.
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This spring, the entire province planted over 90,500 hectares of rice. Currently, the rice is in the tillering stage, despite relatively favorable weather conditions with light rain. However, some areas along the Lam River in Thanh Chuong and Do Luong districts, and along the Con River in Tan Ky district, are at risk of localized water shortages due to low water levels.
To ensure water supply for the 2025 spring rice crop and proactively prevent and combat drought and saltwater intrusion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has directed irrigation companies to closely monitor the fields, proactively implement timely water supply measures, and ensure sufficient irrigation water for the rice crop, preventing water shortages at the beginning of the year..
In the fields of Nghi Phuong commune, Nghi Loc district, the rice is in the rooting stage, and farmers have gone to the fields to care for the spring rice crop, especially reinforcing the field embankments to retain water. Mr. Nguyen Van Diep - Head of Ha Thanh Irrigation Station under Nghi Loc Irrigation Enterprise, said: The station has 9 workers, and since the 3rd day of Tet (Lunar New Year), they have been pumping water to irrigate over 340 hectares of rice in Nghi Phuong and Nghi Dong communes.
To ensure efficiency, the station implements a method of irrigating distant areas first, followed by low-lying areas. When operating the pumps, water is prevented from overflowing the canals, thus avoiding water waste and energy loss. Blockages in the canals caused by garbage and water hyacinth are addressed to ensure a consistently clear water flow.
Mr. Dang Xuan Duyet, Director of Nghi Loc Irrigation Enterprise, added: The unit is responsible for irrigating over 5,800 hectares of rice, of which 2,600 hectares are directly irrigated, mainly from the canal system and Nha Le canal. The remaining 3,200 hectares mainly draw water from reservoirs and pumping stations. From the second day of Tet (Lunar New Year), the enterprise deployed workers to operate and open the water gates of two reservoirs, Khe Thi 2 in Nghi Cong Bac commune and Nghi Cong reservoir in Nghi Cong Nam commune, to irrigate 360 hectares of rice; at the same time, they deployed pumps at 1/5 of the pumping stations in the district.
Specifically, workers were instructed to take turns on duty 24/7 to operate and regulate the opening and closing of the tidal water gates at Thuong Xa sluice gate in Nghi Quang commune and Nghi Khanh sluice gate in Nghi Khanh commune to thoroughly limit saltwater intrusion into rice fields.
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Mr. Bui Van Hao, Chairman of Nam Irrigation Company Limited, said: The company manages 46 pumping stations, serving irrigation for 17,000 hectares of rice fields. Since the 6th day of Tet (Lunar New Year), they have been operating at maximum capacity to ensure irrigation water for rice fields in Vinh City. They continue to dredge the canals leading to the pumping station's intake basins; and implement water-saving and scientific irrigation methods. In addition to directly pumping water for rice irrigation, the company has deployed nearly 20 pumping stations to create water sources for local areas, from which communes then pump water for rice irrigation.
In Thanh Chuong district, workers are actively operating pumping stations along the Lam River. Mr. Nguyen Phuong Huong - Head of the Dai Dong Commune Pumping Station Cluster ( thuộc Thanh Chuong Irrigation Company Limited) shared: The Dai Dong pumping cluster serves to irrigate over 553 hectares of rice fields in Dai Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district and Thuan Son commune, Do Luong district. Right from the beginning of the season, this pumping cluster has had the Thanh Hung 2 Pumping Station and the Rang Pumping Station repaired and upgraded to a capacity of 7,300 m3/hour.
A representative from Thanh Chuong Irrigation Company Limited stated that the unit is responsible for irrigating 7,300 hectares of spring rice, of which over 2,000 hectares depend on water sources along the Lam River. To ensure a reliable water supply, the unit has been repairing and installing 6 out of 8 new pumping stations along the Lam River since the beginning of the year, costing 9.2 billion VND, in the communes of Dai Dong, Ngoc Son, Dong Van, and Cat Van.
However, there are still some pumping units that cannot be maintained or repaired and are in a state of disuse, mainly concentrated at the Ru Nguoc, Thanh Hung, and Dong Van pumping stations.
