Rice fields in Gia Lai Province suffer from severe water shortages.
The parched fields are cracking, causing crops to wither and die. Farmers in the area are deeply concerned about the risk of total crop failure.
With prolonged drought conditions and no local reservoirs to store water, many rice fields in A Dok Commune, Dak Doa District, are drying up and dying. Forecasts indicate that if the current heat and drought persist, the damage to rice crops will increase significantly.
Blan, 36, sorrowfully shared that her family cultivates approximately 900 square metres of rice and 400 coffee trees. In a good season, they typically harvest around 800 kilogrammes of rice per crop, providing enough food for the five family members. However, this year, the drought has caused deep cracks in the fields, killing the rice plants and forcing them to be cut and used as cattle feed.
Sui, 61, said he has been farming in Dak Kut fields for many years, but this is the first time such severe drought has struck so early in the dry season, scorching the rice crops.
"We have put in months of hard work tending to the fields, yet we may not even be able to harvest anything. Our rice crops depend entirely on the weather," Sui shared.
According to local farmers, the main reason for the current situation is the complete absence of rainfall since the beginning of the year. The Dak Kut irrigation canal has dried up, leaving no water for irrigation. Moreover, the area lacks reservoirs or lakes to provide supplementary water.
Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, Vice Chairwoman of the A Dok Commune People's Committee, stated that the commune's winter-spring rice cultivation for the 2024-2025 season was 120 hectares. Approximately 46 hectares have already suffered from severe water shortages, with crop losses estimated between 70 percent and complete failure.
The vice chairwoman also confirmed that the local government currently has no water sources available and no feasible solutions to mitigate the drought. In the coming period, the commune authorities will continue assessing and documenting the affected areas to propose support measures for restoring agricultural production.
Nguyen Kim Anh, Head of the Dak Doa District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, reported that in addition to A Dok Commune, the Dak Kol fields in the Trang Commune are also suffering from drought. Around 2.5 hectares of rice have been severely damaged, and recovery is impossible.
"So far, the estimated financial loss for these areas is nearly VND 580 million," Kim Anh stated.