Farmland left fallow due to water cuts.

Dozens of households in Nhi Ha commune, Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan province are extremely upset because the district People's Committee cut off their water supply from the source, forcing them to stop farming on dozens of hectares of their land. The already difficult lives of these households have become even more challenging.

Speaking with a reporter from the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, Mr. Diep Minh Xuan, Vice Chairman of the Thuan Nam District People's Committee, explained that the water cutoff was to reclaim encroached forest land and convert it into agricultural land. According to Mr. Xuan, an inspection of land management in the Song Bieu reservoir area of ​​Nhi Ha commune revealed that approximately 610 hectares of forest land had been encroached upon, of which over 100 hectares had been leveled into rice paddies; the remainder was planted with annual crops. "The district has directed that irrigation water not be supplied to this area to facilitate the land reclamation process," Mr. Xuan affirmed.

With abandoned fields, the lives of many households in Nhi Ha commune have become even more difficult.

However, according to a directive from the Thuan Nam District People's Committee, at least 89 hectares of land previously used for growing crops by 26 households in Nhi Ha commune, which had been converted to rice cultivation, have also been put on hold. When asked why this happened, Mr. Xuan said that the conversion of rice land was done spontaneously by the people.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trinh Minh Hoang, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ninh Thuan province, affirmed that there was no deforestation for land encroachment. According to Mr. Hoang, the aforementioned area was previously allocated as land and forest land. However, he is not familiar with the legal documents for this area as he only took office a few years ago. "How to handle the encroached land is the responsibility of the local government," Mr. Hoang said.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/kinh-te/dat-nong-nghiep-bo-hoang-vi-bi-cat-nuoc-20180320220026682.htm