Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for a long-term vision to deal with drought and salinization in the Mekong Delta region. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs working session with local leaders
of 13 Mekong delta localities on September 23, 2020. Photo: VGP

The Government chief emphasized the point at his working session with local leaders of the region on September 23.

He tasked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to promptly finalize and submit a master planning scheme for Mekong Delta development in the fourth quarter this year.

PM Phuc urged the localities to make every effort to ensure water supply for daily life and production in the country’s most important agricultural region that produce more than 50% of the country’s rice output and 70% of fruits and aquatic products.

The region’s residents should be well-informed about water level developments to do farming, Phuc stressed.

He asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to step up the implementation of major irrigation and water supply projects.

The ministry was also urged to instruct the region to continue shifting agricultural production structure in a bid to mitigate impacts of drought and salinization following the reduction of rice area by 100,000 hectares last Winter-Spring crop.

It has been reported that the Mekong delta faced record salinization in the 2015-2016 and 2019-2020 dry seasons, seriously affecting local production and daily life.

The region is forecast to experience a high level of drought and saltwater intrusion in the upcoming 2020-2021 dry season, with about 5.3-6.1% of its total rice area and 14-23% of its fruit-growing area affected. 

In addition, some 70,600 local households will also face water shortages./.