Residents in several provinces in central and southern Vietnam have been on edge for the past month over the potentially huge damage to their crops caused by a severe, prolonged drought.

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Though it is only the onset of the dry season, farmers in such provinces as Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa in the south-central region, Dak Lak in the Central Highalnds, and Binh Phuoc in the south have fretted over the alarming drought which began around one month ago and has shown no signs of abating.

They are desperately seeking water sources to irrigate their withering field crops and quench their own and their cattle’s thirst.

As Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters observed on Friday morning, dozens of households in Dak Lak’s Krong Nang District were trying their best to bring water into their drooping paddy fields.

Hoang Cong Ly, 49, lamented his family and many others usually wait for hours for the meager sources of water to irrigate their coffee plant fields.

He said he had three wells dug for a total cost of over VND100 million (US$4,660), but the water from the wells is petering out fast.

The water level of the large lakes in the area has dropped by four to five meters, while most of the smaller ponds dug by farmers have drained.

Ly and other farmers are craving “miracle” rains as their coffee fields will dry out without water in around 15 to 20 days.

One of the 20 ponds in Ninh Hai District of the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, which cost its owner some VND10 million ($466,027) to dig, now yields little water. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A resident in Ninh Thuan Province’s Bac Ai District is pictured herding his sheep at the foot of Phuoc Nhon Lake. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A similarly grim prospect also looms over residents in the district’s other communes.

The bed of a 20-kilometer section of the Krong Nang River has been laid bare, allowing humans and cattle to cross it easily.

According to statistics of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, crop fields spanning up to 100 hectares have been entirely lost to the drought, while another 1,000 hectares face the risk of serious “dehydration” in the time to come.

The hostile conditions have also deprived nearly 1,000 households throughout the province of running water for daily consumption and to quench their cattle’s thirst.

People in Buon Ma Thuot, the capital of Dak Lak, have seen their water cut on alternate days for the past two weeks.

A Cham ethnic minority woman in Ninh Thuan Province fetches water on a daily basis for her family to use. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Likewise, drought conditions which have lingered in Binh Phuoc Province, about 150 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, over the past three months have plunged residents in such districts as Dong Xoai, Bu Dop, Loc Ninh, and Chon Thanh into despair over the grave water shortage.

Many have to buy water for their daily consumption.

According to a local water seller, one cubic meter of drinking water now costs an exorbitant VND70,000 (US$3.3) to VND100,000 ($5), while running water generally sells for only VND6,000 ($0.3) per cubic meter.

As the Krong Nang River in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has drained in recent weeks, a local farmer has to pump his well water into the river bed before using a pump to water his coffee plant field across the river. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Similarly, residents in Khanh Son District, Khanh Vinh District, and Ninh Hoa Town, all located in Khanh Hoa, are not faring any better.

Almost 21,000 hectares of agricultural soil throughout the province faces imminent risk of “dehydration” without rainfall by mid-April.

The water levels of rivers in the province have also alarmingly dropped, leaving river water in coastal areas along Cam Ranh City and Cam Lam District at risk of being salinized.

Nguyen Thai Nhu Tri, head of the provincial Irrigation Department, reported that as of Friday, water levels in the local large reservoirs have plummeted to one or two tenths of their designed capacity.

A middle-aged man in Dak Lak Province’s Krong Bong District is shown fetching water for his paddy fields. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Another man in Dak Lak Province’s Krong Bong District hires a steam shovel to dig a pond for irrigation purposes. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Struggling to cope

According to Trinh Tien Bo, head of Dak Lak’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the department has urged local farmers to adopt water-saving techniques.

Farmers are advised to grow the least drought-affected plants in areas where water sources are accessible during the drought peak.

Under the most unforgiving conditions, limited water sources are supposed to be used for industrial plants, such as coffee plants.

“Farmers should also apply the economical watering technique, which does not cost much in initial investment. Our department has also launched the technique in some places on a pilot basis before applying it on a larger scale,” Bo added.

Pham Tien San, head of Dak Lak’s Irrigation Department, said the department is proposing a plan to allow low-capacity hydropower reservoirs to channel their supplies for human consumption and agricultural production during drought spells.

A farmer in Dak Lak Province’s Krong Bong District is shown watering his barren, desiccated field before growing mung beans. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Meanwhile, Khanh Hoa Province’s government will spend VND25 billion ($1.17 million) helping farmers cope with the drought.

Dwellers in some communes in Bac Ai District, which has suffered the most from the drought in Ninh Thuan Province, are now supplied with around 25 cubic meters of water a day.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Saturday requested that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and utility group Vietnam Electricity operate the reservoir system to supply water to the drought-impacted areas.

Hai also urged the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, and Finance to supply 50 tons of rice and corn and VND40 billion ($1.86 million) to help the province battle the drought.

People in Ninh Thuan Province dig small ponds in a desperate attempt to find water for daily use. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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