Leaders of the Ninh Thuận Province People’s Committee visit a grapefruit orchard that has withered because irrigation water is affected by saltwater intrusion in Ninh Hải District’s Vĩnh Hải Commune. – VNA/VNS Photo Công Thử

NINH THUẬN – Ninh Thuận Province’s Ninh Hải and Ninh Sơn districts lack the water required to irrigate hundreds of hectares of crops.

In Ninh Hải, 190ha of grapes in Vĩnh Hải Commune are facing a shortage because the Ông Kinh reservoir has dried up.

Farmers have had to dig ponds and borewells to irrigate crops, but some of the latter are affected by saltwater intrusion.

In Ninh Sơn, farmers are worried that 300ha of sugarcane in Quảng Sơn Commune could wither away because of the hot weather and lack of water.

More than 200ha of fruit orchards in the district’s Lâm Sơn Commune are affected since Gia Chiêu and other small springs from where irrigation water is obtained have dried up.

Some have ponds to store water but most depend on the springs and rainwater.

Nguyễn Đức Hoà, deputy chairman of the Ninh Sơn People’s Committee, said the district has petitioned the province to allocate funds for laying water pipes.

The south-central province is the country’s driest and normally suffers a water shortage in the dry season, which lasts from December to August.

Trịnh Minh Hoàng, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said local authorities are tasked with urgently implementing measures to secure water for agriculture, household use, animals, and high-value perennial trees.

People’s Committee leaders have toured the province to inspect the water situation and instructed localities to work with the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and other relevant agencies to secure water for grape growing areas, especially in Vĩnh Hải Commune. The fruit is one of the province’s specifically identified products.

Relevant provincial and local agencies regularly gather information about the lack of water and its impacts to enable them to take prevention measures.

They have strengthened advocacy to enhance awareness so that the public will proactively participate in activities to cope such as storing water and using it efficiently.

According to the Ninh Thuận Irrigation Management Company Limited, the total storage in its 23 reservoirs is 1.39 million cubic metres as against their capacity of 418 million cubic metres.

Two have dried up completely and six have water below the dead storage level. – VNS