Solutions for drought in the Central Highlands

It is expected that by 2026, more than 1,500 climate change-resistant ponds will be put into use in 5 provinces in the Central and South Central Coast regions.

Ao chống chịu biến đổi khí hậu: Giải pháp cho vùng hạn ở miền Trung-Tây Nguyên

Ms. Ramla Khalidi - UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam at the handover ceremony of climate change resilient ponds for Dak Lak people. (Source: UNDP Vietnam)

The "drought" feeling

Dak Lak in the peak dry season months from December of the previous year to March of the following year always faces a shortage of water for irrigation of crops. Many irrigation works, mainly small dams, fall to "dead" water levels, causing many difficulties for agricultural production here, because the existing surface water source only meets about 40% of the demand.

According to preliminary statistics of the Dak Lak agricultural sector, by the end of March 2023, more than 1,300 hectares (rice, upland crops) had run out of water, leading to the possibility of total loss; nearly 160,000 hectares (coffee, durian, pepper, macadamia and fruit trees) lacked irrigation water for the next crops.

Faced with the increasingly severe and severe drought, drought prevention solutions are always an urgent requirement. This is the reason why Dak Lak is on the list of localities benefiting from the Project "Enhancing the resilience of small-scale agricultural production to water insecurity due to climate change in the Central Highlands and South Central Coast, Vietnam" (SACCR Project) implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with local authorities and funded by the Green Climate Fund.

This project has been supporting the construction of climate change-resistant ponds for poor and near-poor households, and ethnic minority women. In Dak Lak province alone, by October 30, 2023, the project had completed 70 ponds, including Krong Pac district (34 ponds) and Ea Kar district (36 ponds). The total capacity of 70 ponds is more than 60,000 ^m3 with an irrigation area of more than 52 hectares.

Bàn giao ao chống chịu biến đổi khí hậu để kịp ứng phó với mùa khô hạn sắp tới tại Đắk Lắk

People at the climate change resistant pond project for Mr. Le Van Thang's family. (Source: UNDP Vietnam)

Practical support

At the recent handover ceremony of the climate change resistant pond, Mr. Le Van Thang - representative of the beneficiary household, thanked the support that the Project has brought. Mr. Thang said that his family used to have a small pond to store water, but every year it was only enough to irrigate about 2 times in the dry season, then it ran out of water, so the plants in the garden often lacked water, reducing productivity and reducing the family's income. Many times the family planned to dig and expand the pond to have enough water for irrigation in the dry season, but due to difficult economic conditions, it was not possible to do so.

"Recently, my family was very happy and lucky when the Dak Lak Province SACCR Project paid attention and supported us with machinery to dig a wider and deeper pond, so my pond can hold more water," Mr. Thang shared.

According to Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Lak Province Nguyen Hoai Duong, in recent times, the local agricultural sector has had many synchronous solutions to support farmers in farming in the context of climate change. However, support for small-scale farmers still faces many difficulties and limitations. Therefore, the SACCR Project "is of particular importance to people in drought-affected areas in the current climate change situation".

The SACCR project aims to improve water security and protect the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region. (Source: UNDP Vietnam)

Target more than 1,500 ponds

Ms. Ramla Khalidi - UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam said that these ponds are the result of effective cooperation between communities, local authorities, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The SACCR project aims to build and rehabilitate more than 1,500 rainwater harvesting ponds, of which 260 are in Dak Lak.

“First water, second fertilizer, third diligence, fourth seeds! Water is the most important factor for plant growth. Drought, El Nino and climate change are having negative impacts on water resources. Digging ponds to collect rainwater is a good solution to adapt to the impacts of climate change. We hope that households will learn about the resilient pond model of this Project and replicate it,” Ms. Ramla Khalidi emphasized.

Appreciating the efforts of the local community and the project, Mr. Pham Dinh Van - Head of the Central Management Board of Irrigation Projects (CPO) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development affirmed: "We will continue to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and pond managers not only in Dak Lak but also throughout the Project in training, coaching and guidance activities to ensure effective use of precious water resources during the dry season".

The project “Enhancing the resilience of smallholder agriculture to water insecurity due to climate change in the Central Highlands and South Central Coast, Vietnam” aims to improve water security and protect the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region. By 2026, it is expected that 1,507 climate-resilient ponds will be built, handed over and put into use.

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