Irrigation canals are degraded, people face difficulties in production.

After decades of use, the N1-11A irrigation canal, which runs through Trieu Thuan commune, Trieu Phong district, has severely deteriorated. The damaged canal is no longer effective in irrigating the fields and urgently needs attention from relevant authorities and measures to repair it, thus facilitating agricultural production for farmers.

The irrigation canals are deteriorating, causing difficulties for people in agricultural production.

The N1-11A canal, which serves to irrigate approximately 100 hectares of rice fields belonging to residents of Trieu Thuan commune, Trieu Phong district, has seriously deteriorated - Photo: D.V.

Following Mr. Le Van Bieu, Director of Trieu Thuan Agricultural Cooperative, we conducted a field survey of the N1-11A irrigation canal – one of the two main canals serving to irrigate approximately 100 hectares of rice fields in Trieu Thuan commune. This canal is about 2 km long and was built about 30 years ago.

Over time, the canal has deteriorated significantly, especially in the last 5 years. Observations along the canal reveal that most of the mortar joints on both sides have collapsed; the canal bottom is riddled with holes; large holes have appeared on the canal walls; and the horizontal bracing bars, culverts, and covers leading water to the fields along the canal are cracked and crumbling, with chunks of cement falling off.

“Every year around September and October, when the rainy season and floods occur, the strong currents further damage the already dilapidated canal. Sections of the canal that are riddled with holes are severely eroded, threatening to wash away vulnerable areas. Because of the canal's deterioration, a large amount of water is lost. My family cultivates two acres of rice paddies, and every time we need to prepare the land, sow seeds, or cut off the water for harvesting, our irrigation is affected because the water flow in this canal is unstable,” lamented Mr. Truong Thanh Vinh, a resident of Vo Phuc An village, Trieu Thuan commune, pointing to a section of the canal riddled with holes.

Due to the severe deterioration of the canal following the heavy rains and floods in 2020, some short sections were repaired using funds allocated for flood relief. However, this repair is only a temporary solution.

“Especially during the 2023 winter-spring season, after a fairly heavy flood, a section of the canal about 20 meters long was completely washed away. To promptly serve irrigation for the fields, the cooperative invested tens of millions of dong to urgently rebuild the canal section, which took about a week to complete,” Mr. Biểu said.

In addition to the aforementioned repairs, in recent years, the Trieu Thuan Agricultural Cooperative has invested 15-20 million VND annually to hire workers to apply cement and carry out minor repairs to severely damaged sections of the canals that cause water loss. In many places, due to the extensive damage to the canal walls, cooperative officials and irrigation workers even use plastic bags to seal the holes to limit water leakage.

According to Mr. Biểu, the canal is now almost completely degraded, resulting in a significant loss of irrigation water, causing water shortages for dozens of hectares of farmland downstream. During the annual summer-autumn crop season, the cooperative has to mobilize pumps to channel water into the canal and push it downstream so that farmers have enough water for timely crop production.

Over the past period, the cooperative has held numerous meetings to discuss plans for repairing and upgrading the canal, but due to a lack of funding, implementation has been impossible. The cooperative has also submitted a report to the district and the Nam Thach Han Irrigation Enterprise, detailing the canal's deterioration and requesting financial assistance for repairs to support immediate agricultural production for the local people.

"To ensure long-term irrigation for local rice fields, we propose that relevant authorities and sectors pay attention to supporting the construction of a new canal. If timely and effective measures are not taken, or if a new canal is not built, there is a risk that over 40 hectares of local rice fields will suffer from severe water shortages in subsequent seasons, especially in downstream areas," Mr. Biểu suggested.

Duc Viet

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