Tien
Giang (VNA) – Dong Thap Muoi wetland stretching across the Mekong
Delta provinces of Dong Thap, Long An and Tien Giang, formerly a solid
revolutionary base during the war against French and US invaders, has
sustainably developed agriculture in adaptation with flooding.
The
wetland covers a site of over 697,000ha, accounting for 17.7 percent of the
region’s total coverage.
Nguyen
Van Man, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tan Phuoc district – the only lying
in Dong Thap Muoi in Tien Giang province, said since the Dong Thap Muoi reclamation
scheme began in the late 1980s, the State has unearthed and dredged nearly
680km of major canals and over 1,100km of interior field canals to drain flood
water and improve soil.
Localities
placed 135 anti-flooding sacks with a total length of nearly 400km and
installed 125 electric drainage stations capable of serving over 100ha each.
Le
Thi Yen, head of the Planning Office from the provincial Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development said the provincial agriculture sector
partnered with agencies concerned to launch a comprehensive support programme
for pineapple cultivation, including technological transfer, epidemics and pest
control, farming under GAP standards, registration for trademark protection,
among others.
The
district is so far home to over 16,000ha of pineapple, the largest in the Tien
river and Tien Giang in particular, yielding nearly 300,000 tonnes per year.
Farmers
in Cai Be district have grown over 2,000ha of citrus, mostly oranges and
grapefruits, raising the total area of fruit farming in the locality to more
than 16,700ha.
To
help farmers cope with disasters, localities encouraged farmers to set up specialised
cultivation areas and grow rice and raise fishes in rotation.
The
districts of Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa, Tan Thach, Thanh Hoa and Kien Tuong
township are considered the largest rice granaries in the Mekong Delta province
of Long An with a total output of around 2 million tonnes per year.
The
province is embarking on a hi-tech agricultural development project, in which
20,000ha will be built in the above districts with a view to improving food
safety, product value and economic competitiveness.
Initially,
a model of building 2,900ha of rice using advanced technology will be built,
ensuring that extra 17,000ha will be expanded by 2020.
Since
2014, Long An has launched an aquaculture facilitation programme in Dong Thap
Muoi’s districts, costing upwards 25 billion VND. There are over 1,700ha of
aquaculture in the localities now with a total output of more than 21,000
tonnes.
The
above programmes have initially produced positive results, contributing to raising
farmers’ income. – VNA