Power shortage, pumping stations temporarily stopped, farmers worry about slow summer-autumn crop progress
(Baonghean.vn) - Currently in the peak season of summer-autumn crop planting in the province, however, many localities have been behind schedule due to lack of electricity and inability to pump water for planting.
At this time, in the fields, farmers are concentrating on plowing tosummer-autumn crop, pumping stations must operate continuously to provide irrigation water.
Besides localities that have basically closed the summer-autumn crop area such as Dien Chau (90%), Quynh Luu (80%)..., there are still many localities such as Nghi Loc, Yen Thanh, Hung Nguyen... that are behind schedule due to facing the "double difficulty" of lack of electricity and lack of water.
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Water levels in many river branches are low, affecting summer-autumn crop planting. Photo: QA |
In Nghi Loc district, this summer-autumn crop, the locality restructured nearly 6,000 hectares, but so far has only covered over 50%. Communes with slow progress include: Nghi Phuong, Nghi Thuan, Nghi Hung, Nghi Cong Bac, Nghi Cong Nam, Nghi My...
Mrs. Bui Thi Loan, Nghi Thuan commune said: My family has 3 sao of summer-autumn rice but so far we have only been able to plant more than 1 sao. The water has not returned to the remaining fields so we have not been able to plow or till the land. Now the electricity is constantly out, I don't know when the water will return to finish planting...
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The pumping station in Nghi Thuan commune, Nghi Loc district had to temporarily stop because it could not operate continuously due to a power shortage. Photo: QA |
Mr. Tran Nguyen Hoa - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district said: Currently, the locality is facing two difficulties: lack of electricity and lack of water. Water resources in rivers, canals, lakes and dams are decreasing, the recent rains have not improved much.
Currently, the district is planning to submit a plan to the province to build a dam on the Cam River to prevent salinity and retain fresh water to improve water resources. In addition, the power outage has caused many pumping stations to be unable to operate, and water supply has also been delayed compared to previous seasons.
It is known that Nghi Loc district has 5 pumping stations with 19 machines with a capacity of 1,000m3/h and 3 units of 6,500m3/h, providing irrigation water for 5,864 hectares of summer-autumn rice. Taking advantage of the days when there is electricity, the pumps must operate at full capacity to serve the people. Mr. Ngo Ngoc Hoan - Director of Nghi Loc Irrigation Enterprise said: All pumps run on grid electricity, due to the nature of the large capacity machines, backup plans such as generators or oil pumps are not feasible because they are not enough to handle the load.
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Whenever there is electricity, Nghi Loc Irrigation Enterprise takes advantage of the opportunity to pump water to serve people's production. Photo: QA |
Yen Thanh rice district is also facing similar difficulties, especially the lack of electricity. Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said: Up to now, the whole district has only been able to plant 7,000/11,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice. While the water level can still be maintained, the continuous power outages have made it impossible for pumping stations to operate. Especially in communes such as Cong Thanh, Ma Thanh, Lang Thanh... it is not possible to plant on time because there is not enough water for cultivation. It is expected that in 10 more days, the district will basically close the summer-autumn crop.
Hung Nguyen district is one of the localities with the latest planting progress in the province. By June 8, the whole district had planted about 1,800ha/4,000ha. Due to the lack of electricity, water pumping for production was unstable and interrupted, affecting the progress of the communes in the area.
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People in Thanh Yen commune, Thanh Chuong district take advantage of the time when there is water to prepare the land for the summer-autumn crop. Photo: QA |
Mr. Bui Van Hao - Chairman of the Board of Members of Nam Irrigation Company said: Nam Irrigation Company is responsible for supplying irrigation water to 5 localities including Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Vinh City and Cua Lo Town with an agricultural production area of over 16,000 hectares. The company's pumping system includes 36 pumping stations, spread across the localities. Power outage is the company's biggest concern because diesel engines or field oil pumps cannot handle a capacity of up to 4,000 - 5,000 m3/hour of electric pumps.
Currently, we have sent a written request to the electricity company that this is an important time in agricultural production, so priority should be given to farmers to plant crops on time. If there is a power outage schedule, please notify us early so that the Company can have a backup plan and widely announce the pumping schedule to localities and people.
According to a report by Nghe An Electricity Company, the province's electricity consumption in May reached 436 million kWh, a record number in many years. For example, in June 2022, the peak hot month last year, the province's electricity consumption was also at 393 million kWh.
During the hot season, Nghe An will have to reduce from 53 - 124 MW out of the total capacity of the entire Nghe An province, expected to be from 920MW - 950 MW, during the time frames from 11:00 - 16:00 and from 20:30 to 24:00 on hot days when the temperature is above 38 degrees Celsius. The electricity consumption in the hot days is expected to reach approximately 17.5 million kWh in the whole province, while the allocated output only meets about 90%. Therefore, a power shortage is completely possible, forcing rotating power cuts depending on the time.