Yen Thanh: Large areas of land left fallow due to drought.

(Baonghean.vn) -The prolonged drought has left thousands of hectares of rice paddies in Yen Thanh district fallow, and many planted rice fields are struggling due to lack of water.

The low-lying, fertile countryside of Yen Thanh district is currently suffering from a severe drought. We visited most hamlets in Ma Thanh commune and saw fields with cracked, sun-scorched soil. Nguyen Van Tuan from Hon Nen hamlet lamented: "At this time of year, the rice fields would have been green by the summer-autumn harvest, but now they're parched, not a drop of water. My family cultivates one acre of rice, but we can't work the fields. Seeing the land abandoned due to the drought breaks my heart; the risk of food shortages is inevitable..."

Many rice fields in Ma Thanh commune have been left fallow due to water shortage.

Mr. Bui Trong Long, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ma Thanh commune, said: "The entire Ma Thanh commune has 375 hectares of rice paddy land, but currently, this area depends on nature; if it doesn't rain, the situation will be very dire."

Not only in Ma Thanh commune, but also in many other communes such as Tien Thanh, Tan Thanh, Lang Thanh, Phuc Thanh, Hau Thanh, and Minh Thanh, people are suffering due to the lack of water, causing large areas of rice fields to be abandoned. In areas fortunate enough to have some water, young rice plants and seedlings are at risk of dying prematurely due to the severe drought. In Ma Thanh commune alone, 160 hectares cannot be planted, and the entire district has 2,500 hectares that cannot be planted for the summer-autumn crop.

Farmers in Phuc Thanh commune are pumping water to save their rice crops.

To combat the drought, people in these communes have proactively bought water pumps to utilize water from ponds, lakes, canals, and streams to save their rice crops, but the situation doesn't seem to have improved much. Mr. Phan Van from Hamlet 3, Hau Thanh commune, sadly said: "We spent money buying water pumps, but the water in the canals, ponds, and lakes is all depleted, so pumping a little water onto the fields is like throwing salt into the sea; the water evaporates in just a short time, and the land turns white again."

Mr. Nguyen Van Duong, Head of the Agriculture Department of Yen Thanh District, said: Currently, Yen Thanh has 2,500 hectares of rice fields severely affected by drought in the northwestern communes. The district has mobilized forces and used many drought relief measures, but due to the prolonged heatwave, water levels in reservoirs, dams, and streams in the area have dried up and dropped significantly, making water regulation and control very difficult. If it doesn't rain and the heatwave continues, the planted rice fields are also at risk of being lost. Mr. Duong also said that if there is no water, the district will plan for farmers to switch to other crops.

Tien Dung