Dak Lak (VNA) - The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands)provinces should speed up the use of efficient irrigation technologies tomitigate the effects of droughts and water shortages, Nguyen Van Tinh, General Director of theDirectorate of Water Resources, has said.

Speaking at a recent conference held in Dak Lak province, hesaid the provinces targeted to have 500,000ha of crops irrigated usingefficient irrigation systems by 2020.

“To meet the target, the provinces need to have comprehensivesolutions to develop efficient irrigation systems for plants and have policiesto support farmers to expand the use of advanced and efficient irrigationtechnologies.”

The Central Highlands region, which comprises Kon Tum, GiaLai, Dak Lak, Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces, has the largest areas underhigh-value perennial cash crops such as coffee, pepper and rubber in thecountry.

It has nearly 622,300ha under coffee, more than 91,400haunder pepper, 246,800ha under rubber, and 81ha under cashew last year,according to the directorate.

The region is home to 1,190 reservoirs, 970 dams, 130 pumpingstations, and 70 other irrigation works which can together irrigate nearly290,000ha, or more than 20 percent of farm lands.

In recent years, inclement weather and prolonged dry seasonshave caused a dramatic decline in water resources, including groundwater,available for irrigation.

A large number of farmers still irrigate their crops usingtraditional methods that require large volume of water, worsening the shortage.

Nguyen Nhu Hien, deputy head of the Plant CultivationDepartment’s Southern Office, said perennial cash crops like coffee, pepper,cashew and rubber have proved their economic worth, improving the lives ofhundreds of thousands of families.

In the context of the shortage of irrigation water in the dryseason, the use of efficient irrigation systems and their effectiveexploitation are necessary for agricultural development, he said.

Efficient systems include drip and spray irrigation.

They can reduce water and fertiliser use by 20 percent andlabour cost by 30 percent compared to traditional irrigation methods, accordingto the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute.

In recent years, the Central Highlands provinces haveencouraged farmers to use efficient irrigation systems through support policiessuch as subsidising their installation.  

In Lam Dong, 28,000ha of crops use such systems, accountingfor 10 percent of the province’s total farming area, according to the province’sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development. –VNA