Provincial irrigation sector accompanies "three agriculture"

Through the process of formation and development, the provincial irrigation sector has had many memorable highlights and milestones. From an industry that mainly serves agricultural production, up to now, TL is accompanying the development of "Ecological agriculture, modern countryside, smart farmers", contributing to sustainable economic and social development, ensuring the environment and preventing and mitigating natural disasters.

Through the process of formation and development, the provincial irrigation sector has had many memorable highlights and milestones. From an industry that mainly serves agricultural production, up to now, TL is accompanying the development of "Ecological agriculture, modern countryside, smart farmers", contributing to sustainable economic and social development, ensuring the environment and preventing and mitigating natural disasters.

Irrigation works are built to be flexible and multi-purpose.

Many contributions to the development of agricultural production

Over the past 80 years, thanks to the attention of the Party and the State, the great contributions of the People, along with the efforts, constant innovation and creativity, the water sector has developed in a multi-functional, multi-purpose, multi-value direction, ensuring water resources for stable and sustainable agricultural production, applying advanced farming techniques. Meeting the water needs for daily life, industry and other economic sectors. At the same time, contributing to disaster risk management, environmental protection, and ensuring water security.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the number of TL works in the province that have been invested in is 9,797 culvert works (including: 646 main culverts; 9,151 temporary culverts and culverts with a gate width of less than 1.5m); 10,193 canals of all kinds with a total length of over 13,160km; 683 embankments with a total length of over 4,650km; 3 freshwater lakes with a capacity of 30,000-811,800m³; over 160km of sea dykes (including: sea dykes in Ben Tre province (old) are 82.54km and Tra Vinh province (old) are 77.58km). Currently, the province is investing in the construction of 2 freshwater reservoirs (Lang The freshwater reservoir with a capacity of about 10 million m³ in Tra Vinh province (old) and Lac Dia reservoir with a capacity of about 2.3 million m³ in Ben Tre province (old)), the 2 reservoirs are expected to be completed in 2026.

Currently, the Investment and Construction Management Board of TL 9 has completed and put into use 2 sluices (Tan Phu, Ben Ro) and is in the process of implementing the remaining 6 sluices; investing in the project to complete the Mang Thit river embankment (phase 2) - Hau river embankment; the project to complete the embankment along Hau river; the project of the sluice system to prevent salinity and retain fresh water in the island communes; the Cai Ca - May Tuc canal TL system...

Mr. Lam Van Tan - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment assessed: The TL system of Vinh Long area currently plays an important role in developing agricultural production, improving the ecological environment and living environment of residents. Investment in building technical infrastructure creates conditions to improve capacity to ensure proactive irrigation for production reaching about 80% of the cultivated area, increasing the proportion of rural people using hygienic water for daily life.

The system of main sewers, sea dikes, river dikes, and inland embankments has contributed to controlling salinity in coastal areas and facilitating the freshening of thousands of hectares of agricultural land in freshwater ecological zones. Thanks to that, the agricultural sector can develop crop diversification, shift economic structure, improve land use efficiency and improve the environment as well as easily apply new technical advances in cultivation to increase production value. In addition to its economic contribution, the TL system has made an important contribution to the work of preventing and mitigating natural disasters.

Continue to promote efficiency

With 80 years of experience, the provincial irrigation sector has invested in building many important irrigation and water supply projects and works, contributing to improving irrigation capacity for crops, serving aquaculture and providing domestic water for rural residents. However, besides the achieved results, the province's irrigation system still has some limitations such as: not being completely closed, many large sewer works have not been invested, leading to saltwater intrusion still occurring, causing great impacts on people's lives and production.

Through monitoring the developments of drought and saltwater intrusion in the period from 2015-2025, it is found that the amount of water flowing from the upper Mekong River is low, the flow is unstable, leading to the situation of saltwater intrusion in the province being very complicated..., causing difficulties in prevention and response work, and implementing TL projects.

In order to overcome difficulties and limitations, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee have directed sectors and local levels to continue implementing construction solutions, gradually completing the TL system to help control fresh water sources, ensuring the requirements of natural disaster prevention, drought, salinity, and high tides, contributing to socio-economic development, stabilizing people's lives and production. The province continues to propose and recommend the Government and central ministries to prioritize support for the province to invest in and build TL works, closing the dike system to effectively promote the invested TL works, ensuring fresh water sources for agricultural production and people's lives in the annual dry season.

In particular, continue to cooperate with the Japanese government to soon deploy the remaining works of the Ben Tre Water Management Project approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for investment projects including 8 sluices: Tan Phu, Ben Ro, Vam Thom, Vam Nuoc Trong, Thu Cuu, Cai Quao, An Hoa, Ben Tre.

Mr. Lam Van Tan said: To maximize the effectiveness in preventing salinity, storing fresh water, and regulating water in the coming time, the provincial irrigation sector needs to expand space and synchronously approach water science and technology to serve agricultural production and people's lives. In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to clean water supply solutions suitable for economic conditions in remote areas, isolated areas, areas separated by islands, sparsely populated areas, etc.

In the coming time, the agricultural sector will accelerate the implementation of multi-purpose irrigation projects, ensuring water sources for production and people's lives. Continue to effectively implement the natural disaster prevention plan; regularly inspect dykes, embankments, and areas at risk of landslides to report and advise on timely handling...

According to the Vietnam Water Resources Association, over the past 80 years, the water resources industry has built a large-scale infrastructure system with more than 86,000 projects, including 7,315 reservoirs, nearly 20,000 pumping stations, 27,754 culverts, and about 291,000km of canals. Typical projects such as Bac Hung Hai, Dau Tieng, Cai Lon-Cai Be, along with more than 9,000km of dykes, not only ensure food security but also contribute to natural disaster prevention, land reclamation, domestic water supply, electricity generation, and environmental improvement.

Article and photos: THAO LY

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/202508/nganh-thuy-loi-tinh-dong-hanh-cung-tam-nong-7300f2a/