Comic artist Đại Nghĩa and his fan club launched a charity project for farmers living in drought last month. He offers more than 200 sea water filters to people in An Giang, which has more than 23,000ha of farmland and forests in drought. Photo from the artist’s Facebook page

HCM CITY — Artists in HCM City have launched charity projects to raise funds for  farmers living in the south-central coastal and Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) region who have suffered from drought during their summer-autumn  crop.

Pop idol Thuỷ Tiên has collected more than VNĐ11 billion (US$473,000) from individuals and organisations since the singer began her charity project on March 1. 

Tiên and her staff have travelled to 12 provinces of Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta region, including her native province, Kiên Giang Province, to research for charity. 

According to Tiên, the money will be used to offer sea water filters worth around VNĐ70 million ($300) for more than 30,000 farmers living in areas at risk of lacking water.

“I have encouraged my fans, many of them urban teenagers, to share with southern and Tay Nguyen people who face water shortages, “ said Tiên, who has more than ten years in the industry.

“Mekong region has had little or no rain in the first two months  of the year. I visited and saw several thousand hectares of farmland  and households were expected to face water shortages if hot weather continues for longer.”

“I hope people will contribute more to help farmers,” she said. 

Pop star Hồ Ngọc Hà and Vietnamese-American singer Phi Nhung donated more than VNĐ2 billion ($86,000) to help farmers living in Bế Tre, Tiền Giang, An Giang, Sóc Trăng and HậuGiang. 

Nhung has worked with local authorities of Bến Tre and Tiền Giang to spend money for water resources to meet rice production in Giồng Tôm and Chợ Gạo districts.

Comic artist Đại Nghĩa and his fan club launched a charity project for farmers living in drought last month. 

Under the project, more than 200 sea water filters were offered to people in An Giang, which has more than 23,000ha of farmland and forests in drought. 

“My work is tiny. Many people and oganisations are working together to support people living in provinces facing the increase of drought,” said Nghĩa, adding that he will visit and start charity activities in Bến Tre next week.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, from March to May, southern and Tây Nguyên regions were predicted to witness severe water shortages. The water level in many reservoirs will reach only 10-40 per cent of the designed capacity. 

The ministry has called on  provinces to take measures to minimise the impacts of drought this summer.—VNS