Chu Prong: Expectations for canals through the forest

The "bottleneck" has been removed, and the people and authorities of the communes in Chu Prong district expect that the branch canal through the forest will soon be constructed, bringing water to irrigate the dry fields in the border area, bringing a prosperous life to the people.

Water will flow through the forest to the fields.

Ia Mor irrigation project was invested in construction since 2007 with the goal of providing irrigation water for 14,000 hectares of rice in Chu Prong district and 4,000 hectares of crops in Ea Sup district ( Dak Lak province); at the same time providing domestic water for people.

Up to now, many construction items have been completed and put into use. However, due to many different reasons, the project only meets the irrigation needs for about 7,170 hectares of crops (about 3,170 hectares in Chu Prong district, 4,000 hectares in Ea Sup district), causing a huge waste of resources. The reason is that the branch canal system has not been fully invested in when most of the canals are located on forest land.

In order for the project to be effective, Gia Lai province has actively prepared documents to request investment policy for the remaining items to serve irrigation for about 4,898 hectares with the condition of converting 4,757 hectares of forest land into irrigation areas. After many efforts to resolve the issue, in early March this year, the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution No. 475/NQ-HDND deciding on the policy of converting the purpose of forest use to other purposes to build a branch canal system for the Ia Mor irrigation project.

Accordingly, the converted forest area is 4.57 hectares; of which 3.97 hectares are in the production forest land planning and 0.6 hectares are outside the forestry land planning. The biggest problem has been resolved, the people and local authorities hope that relevant units will quickly deploy and soon bring water to the fields for production.

Ia Mor irrigation project. Photo: Quoc Nguyen

Klah village (Ia Mo commune, Chu Prong district) benefits from the water source of the Ia Mo irrigation project. In the past, when there were no irrigation canals, the villagers' agricultural production depended entirely on rainwater. Frequent droughts made productivity unstable and life difficult.

Mr. Rmah Tuýt said: In recent years, thanks to a number of canals leading water from Ia Mor Lake to the village fields, people have grown rice twice a year. Small households have 1-2 sao, large households have 7-8 sao. People not only have enough food all year round but also sell it to the market. Thanks to the attention and guidance of all levels and sectors on techniques and support for new high-quality rice varieties, rice productivity has increased 3-4 times compared to before.

“With 7 sao of wet rice, my family harvests 7-8 tons of dry rice per year. I have also invested 320 million VND to buy a combine harvester to serve my family and harvest for hire for people in the area. If 10 branch canals through the forest are invested in and built, I and other households in the village will not only expand the 2-crop wet rice area but also have water to produce other high-value crops. People in the border area will have more income and a more prosperous life,” said Mr. Tuyet.

Mr. Ro Mah Tuyt invested 320 million VND to buy a combine harvester to serve people in Ia Mo commune and neighboring areas. Photo: QT

Mr. Siu Tho - Party Cell Secretary and Head of Klah Village informed: "The village currently has 186 households, most of whom are Jrai people. People's lives mainly depend on agricultural production. Thanks to the water source from the Ia Mor irrigation project, villagers have been able to produce two rice crops.

Currently, about 80% of households in the village produce two rice crops on an area of ​​90 hectares. However, the village still has many areas without irrigation water due to the lack of branch canals. Looking at the abundant water source from the irrigation lake, we feel very sorry.

After hearing the news that the State continued to invest in 10 more canals through the forest, bringing water to the fields, the villagers were very happy. With water, people have the conditions to expand the acreage of double-crop rice, bringing in crops with high economic value into production. Life will continue to improve, the poverty rate will also be reduced.

Mr. Siu Tho - Party Cell Secretary and Head of Klăh Village is excited that the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring rice crop will be a good harvest. Photo: ND

At the end of February, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Rah Lan Chung inspected the irrigation area of ​​the Ia Mor irrigation project. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed that the province always identifies the Ia Mor irrigation reservoir as a national key project and highly appreciates the effectiveness of this project. When the irrigation area is expanded, the province will continue to call for investment in high-tech agricultural projects in this area.

According to information from the People's Committee of Ia Mo commune, in the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring crop, the commune has about 1,265 hectares of crops using irrigation water from the Ia Mo irrigation project.

Of which, there are 260 hectares of rice fields, concentrated in Ring village with 103 hectares, Klăh village with 90 hectares, the rest are scattered in other villages.

Mr. Ha Van Luan - Chairman of the Ia Mo Commune Farmers' Association - shared: Currently, Ring village is pumping water from the stream to cultivate two rice crops. When hearing the news that the State is investing in 10 branch canals, including one that goes through the village's fields, the villagers were very happy. The water source from Ia Mo Lake brought to the fields will help the villagers reduce many production investment costs such as electricity and oil for irrigation. Therefore, the villagers really hope that the project will start and be put into operation soon.

Quenching the thirst of the border region

The Ia Mor irrigation project has completed the following items: a reservoir, a 51 km long East-West main canal, a 10.5 km long small branch canal and a 6.5 km pumping canal system. However, because the branch canal system has not been invested in, the water source has not been able to reach all production areas of the people.

Mr. Hoang Binh Yen - Deputy Head of the Ia Mor Irrigation Reservoir Project (Irrigation Construction Investment Management Board 8, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) shared: Previously, due to problems in converting nearly 5,000 hectares of forest, the project could not fully utilize its irrigation capacity.

The issuance of Resolution No. 475/NQ-HDND by the Provincial People's Council allowing the conversion of forest land to other uses has created favorable conditions for us to complete the branch canal system. The unit is urgently implementing steps to soon construct 10 branch canals through the forest with a length of about 30.5 km.

We are currently coordinating with relevant agencies and units to conduct specific surveys of each route to start construction at the end of this year. The project has a total investment of about 209 billion VND and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Thereby, expanding an additional 2,105 hectares of agricultural land in Ia Mo commune, helping people stabilize production and increase income, reducing poverty sustainably.

The main canal of Ia Mor reservoir brings water to Klăh village fields. Photo: ND

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh - Chairman of Ia Mo Commune People's Committee said: Since the Ia Mo irrigation project was completed and put into use, all levels and sectors have promoted and mobilized people to convert the area of ​​single-crop rice to double-crop rice, while supporting seeds and guiding farming techniques. Thanks to that, people's lives, especially ethnic minority households, have become more stable; there are no more hungry households, and the poverty rate has gradually decreased over the years.

However, due to the incomplete system of branch canals and intra-field canals, water resources from irrigation works have not been maximized, causing waste.

“We have made many recommendations to relevant levels, sectors and units to pay attention to removing and investing in completing the canal system, helping people in Ia Mo and neighboring communes to have conditions to develop production. Hopefully, the problem of converting forest land has been resolved, 10 branch canals through the forest will soon bring cool water to irrigate people's fields, creating motivation for the border commune of Ia Mo to develop, improving people's lives" - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ia Mo commune expected.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Vu Dinh Hanh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Chu Prong district - said: Resolution No. 475/NQ-HDND of the Provincial People's Council on converting the purpose of forest use to other purposes to build 10 branch canals to serve agricultural production for the border commune of Ia Mo is very popular with the people; creating a breakthrough in transforming the crop and livestock structure of Ia Mo commune and neighboring communes.

The district also has high expectations that after completion and operation, these branch canals will turn Ia Mo into the rice granary of Chu Prong. Therefore, the district will direct agencies and units to coordinate well with related units in the process of implementing the construction of branch canals to maximize the effectiveness of the Ia Mor irrigation project.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/chu-prong-ky-vong-nhung-tuyen-kenh-xuyen-rung-post320949.html