Vietnam will not face a rice deficit, even though floods in the Mekong Delta have almost completely destroyed the harvest there, said Nguyen Tri Ngoc, head of the Cultivation Department on October 4.
According to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention, floods have devastated nearly 5,000 hectares of rice crops in An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An Provinces.
Nevertheless, the target of one million tons is still achievable, said Ngoc. He said that the Mekong Delta has harvested 155,000 hectares of autumn-winter rice crop, accounting for over 25 percent of the total seeded area.
According to estimates, the total area for autumn-winter rice crops has increased by 100,000 hectares from the previous crop season. In addition, Ngoc said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had earlier forecast a scenario of huge flooding in the Mekong Delta and proposed to the Ministry of Finance to assist communities with funds to reinforce the dyke system and dredge canals, to prevent severe damage from floods.
However, the Finance Ministry deliberated before deciding to provide VND10 billion (US$476,000). Now when the flooding has already caused havoc, the ministry has agreed to another VND170 billion. The move comes too late, Ngoc said.
In related news, Nguyen Long Hoai, head of the Irrigation Department in Ca Mau Province said that some sections of the sea dyke have been badly damaged from landslides, threatening thousands of households in U Minh, Dam Doi and Ngoc Hien districts.
He also said that sea waves swept away about one kilometer of land in Ca Mau Province each year.
