Enhancing the capacity of the irrigation sector.

In 2015, despite overcoming difficulties caused by El Nino and saltwater intrusion, and basically meeting agricultural production requirements, the irrigation sector needs to continue improving its capacity to meet agricultural production demands and respond to climate change. This was the requirement of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang at the conference summarizing irrigation work in 2015 and implementing the plan for 2016, which recently took place in Hanoi.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang delivered a speech at the conference.

In 2015, under the close guidance of the Government and the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, along with the efforts of various units, the irrigation sector overcame difficulties caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon and saltwater intrusion, basically meeting the requirements of agricultural production.

Notable achievements include coordinating with the Vietnam Electricity Group to regulate hydropower reservoirs, supplementing water for downstream areas to ensure timely irrigation for over 631,000 hectares of rice in the Red River Delta; advising the Ministry's leadership and local authorities on implementing solutions to prevent and combat drought, and promote efficient water use; and regulating water in river basins in southern provinces to supplement water resources for drought and saltwater intrusion control.

In addition, the Law on Disaster Prevention and Control has been widely disseminated; the development of ministerial-level disaster prevention and control plans has been basically completed. To date, 18 provinces and cities have implemented the development of provincial-level disaster prevention and control plans.

However, despite the achievements, the implementation of the Project to Improve the Efficiency of Irrigation Works Management and Operation in localities has been slow. In fact, some localities have not yet paid attention to developing and implementing specific plans, lacking the necessary mechanisms, policies, and funding for implementation.

Many irrigation works are severely degraded, significantly impacting the restructuring process of the irrigation sector in particular and the agricultural sector in general.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang stated that 2016 is a very important year in the context of the restructuring of the agricultural sector in general and the irrigation sector in particular.

To meet the demands, the sector needs to continue innovating in a way that addresses key and urgent tasks. This includes overcoming existing limitations within the sector. Disaster prevention and control tasks must be planned comprehensively and long-term, for 2016 and subsequent years.

Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang emphasized: In 2016, the irrigation sector needs to accelerate the implementation of tasks aimed at developing socio-economic development, especially agricultural economy nationwide. In particular, the task of disaster prevention and control must not only be done well in 2016, but also considered for the long term in the following years.

According toChinhphu.vn