 |
| A
farmer in the southern province of Binh Thuan pumps to
save his rice crop from drought. — VNA/VNS Photo Le
Van Hien |
|
BINH THUAN —
In Hong Phong Commune, drought has so deeply affected people that
complaints about the shortage of water often replace the usual
greetings uttered among neighbours.
Hong Phong
Commune has received a record low rainfall this year, making it one of
the hardest hit areas by drought in Binh Thuan Province.
"I have
been living in the commune for nearly 30 years and this is the most
severe drought I have ever seen," laments resident Nguyen Huu
Dinh.
The
Hydrometeorology Centre in the South Central Region reports the volume
of rainfall measured in Binh Thuan Province between July (the middle
of monsoon season) and now has decreased to below average levels,
compared to figures recorded in previous years.
Drought has
withered more than 500ha of cash crops in the commune. Worse, it is
causing the communal people miserable suffering.
Already
despairing over the loss of one third of his crop due to a lack of
water, Dinh says he is more worried about his ever-growing debts.
He believes he
would have been able to clear his debt from harvesting his crops if
the drought hadn’t hit his commune so hard. All his good intentions
have since vanished into the dry soil.
The 44-year-old
man has six children to feed, and he is all alone. Almost on the verge
of tears, he says, "this year, God tortures people so
badly."
Aware that
fighting drought and its negative effects are also a primary concern
of local authorities, they are more embarrassed to admit there is no
easy solution to the problem.
The wife of the
commune’s People’s Committee chairman, Nguyen Thi Loan, sits under
stiflingly hot eaves, indicating towards an empty 20 litre water can.
She says
residents now have to buy water in nearby communes. It costs VND2,000
to buy 20 litres and the water is barely enough for daily use, not to
mention watering crops.
As the Party’s
Central Committee Secretary, Pham Tuy Phuoc, explains, a lack of water
is the reason the commune has not yet buckled down to the business of
growing cash crops.
In one case, as
many as 42,000 young plants withered because there was no water for
their sustenance.
A lack of water
is not only posing difficulties for plant cultivation, but also
breeding. Diseases caused by hot weather have spread to the commune’s
livestock. The problem is further compounded by a lack of young grass
to feed goats and cows.
"If the
situation keeps going until February or March, the commune’s
livestock herds will be very skinny," says Phuoc.
Many households
in Hong Phong also find themselves at a crossroads. Many are not sure
they will be able to keep their livestock and are concerned they will
not be able to break even after all the effort expended to raise the
animals.
Phuoc says 11
goats have already died, due to the drought.
About 10km away
from Hong Phong, Hoa Thang Commune used to have 3,500 cows and goats
before the drought hit this year.
Until recently,
communal households would annually sell 30 per cent of their
livestock.
The Binh Thuan
Agriculture and Rural Development Department’s figures suggest that
more than 21,000ha of rice, corn, cotton, and cassava crops have
already been damaged.
The management
board of the Hong Phong forest preservation reports it has only
fulfilled 60 per cent of its set plan for afforestation. The situation
is just as dim in Phu Quy Island District, where half of the newly
planted trees have withered because of lack of water.
There does not
look to be improvement in the forecast, as the hydrome-teorology
centre reports the drought will intensify in the coming days.
Presently, all
northern districts in Binh Thuan Province have been asked to
temporarily postpone the transplantation of winter-spring seedlings
since they can not survive in the face of an increasingly severe water
shortage.
The agriculture
sector is working on solving the crippling water problem. — VNS |
