Vegetables are grown under a hydroponic method in a net house by the Gia Nguyễn Lâm Đồng Agriculture Co-operative in Lâm Đồng Province’s Đơn Dương District. – VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

LÂM ĐỒNG – Lâm Đồng Province plans to turn 931ha of unproductive rice fields into short-term crops and perennial trees to cope with drought and adapt to climate change.

These rice areas are located in Đạ Huoai, Lâm Hà, Đơn Dương, Đức Trọng and Di Linh districts.

The Province People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to instruct and inspect the implementation of the conversion.

It has asked the People’s Committees of the five districts to convert these rice fields following regulations.

The Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province is entering the peak of the dry season and localities are tightening measures to cope with drought and to secure enough water for agricultural production and household use.

The water levels of rivers, canals and springs in the province have reduced gradually since February and drought is expected to affect 11,000ha of farmland in the ongoing dry season, according to local authorities.

Localities and farmers have dredged canals and ditches, built irrigation works and stored fresh water in the ditches and ponds of orchards and fields.

Localities have set up plans to distribute irrigation water reasonably and encouraged farmers to use water efficiently.

Farmers have taken measures to store water to irrigate their crops in this dry season.

Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, who grows 5ha of durian in Đam Rông District’s Đạ R’sal Commune, has proactively stored irrigation water in his orchard’s ponds.

He also uses a dripping irrigation system to save water and regularly checks his orchard to adjust irrigation properly, he said.

The province has ordered localities to increase advocacy activities to enhance public awareness about using water efficiently, and to mobilise people to participate in dredging canals and ditches to store more water.

It has asked localities to increase the building of small irrigation works and in-field irrigation works to cope with drought, and also encouraged farmers to dig small ponds to store water for irrigation.

Local authorities have provided financial support for farmers to switch to grow suitable crops in water-scarce areas and helped them apply advanced farming techniques to mitigate the impact of drought.

Farmers are instructed to prune branches and cover tree roots to keep soil moist.

In the last dry season, prolonged drought severely affected the lives of local people and agricultural production.

Nearly 300 households in Bảo Lộc City faced severe water shortage for daily use.

In Di Linh District alone, about 9,333ha of plants, mostly coffee, faced water shortage.

Most of the affected areas have no irrigation, are far away from rivers, canals and springs, and lack ground water.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment has warned farmers to switch to grow crops suited to local nature conditions.

The conversion of unproductive rice fields into growing other high-value crops and trees such as coffee and fruits in recent years has helped increase income for farmers and save irrigation water.

High-tech farming

Lâm Đồng has 417,240ha of farming area, including 69,637ha of high-tech farming area.

The province’s key agricultural products are vegetables, flowers, coffee and fruits, with coffee accounting for the province’s largest farming area.

The province has more than 170,000ha of coffee and is the country’s second largest coffee producing province, after the neighbouring province of Đắk Lắk.

The production value of coffee accounts for 60 per cent of the province’s total agricultural production value and creates jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers.

The province has three high-tech coffee farming areas covering a total of 683ha in Di Linh and Bảo Lâm districts.

It has encouraged farmers to grow coffee to organic standards, with origin traceability and linkages among stakeholders to meet export requirements and have guaranteed sales.

After participating in the model, K’Long Ga Prăng in Lạc Dương District’s Lát Commune no longer worries about selling coffee and only follows the growing processes instructed by a local co-operative.

“With the instruction of agricultural officials about growing techniques, farmers have improved harvesting techniques, and harvest only ripe coffee fruits. The price of coffee is increasing so farmers should follow the growing regulations of the co-operative to secure coffee quality,” he said.

Coffee farmers had a bumper harvest and high selling prices in the last coffee harvest season, which lasted about one month between December and January.

The price of coffee beans was about VNĐ127,000 (US$5) a kilogramme.

The province is developing specialised coffee growing areas in Lạc Dương, Di Linh, Lâm Hà, Bảo Lâm and Đức Trọng districts and Đà Lạt City.

It has 116 farming areas covering a total of 5,597ha that have been granted production codes for export.

It has created conditions for companies, co-operatives and farmers to participate in fairs, exhibitions and events in the province and elsewhere to introduce and sell their agricultural products.

It has 463 agricultural co-operatives, with more than half of them having good operating efficiency. – VNS