Water shortage sees incomes dry up for Nontae farmers
Water shortage sees incomes dry up for Nontae farmers
Many farmers must stop growing vegetables in the dry season because they don't have enough water for watering their fields and this year is particularly bad because of the heat, which is withering people's crops.
According to reports from farmers in Nontae village, Xaythany district, Vientiane, they currently have to wake up at 2am to pump water from the basin and store it for watering their crops in the mornings and evenings.
Nontae village chief, Mr Vixay told Vientiane Times last week that farmers had run out of water very early this year and some have not had enough for crop watering since the end of February, which has forced some farmers to stop growing vegetables.
Their water problems are compounded by the fact that there have been many insects this year, meaning that continuing to grow crops would see many farmers working for nothing or making a loss.
Mr Don, a young farmer, is one of those who is still persevering. He said that they need to spray water on their vegetables three times per day in the dry season.
He waters his crops in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. It is not ideal to water in the midday sun but the vegetables start to wither after 10 am and he worries that they might die if he doesn't water them at noon.
Presently, the price of vegetables is quite high, so it is lucrative for the farmers who can continue to grow, but the high price reflects the shortage in supply and the difficulties most farmers are having.
Most seeds that they sow simply don't come up because the weather is too hot so there are no seedlings to plant out later on.
There are more than 160 families in Nontae village. Most of them are farmers. The village located quite far from the Nam Ngum River so they rely on underground water.
“The cause of the early water shortages in Nontae village is the fact that it is located on higher ground and most of the families here use too much water when growing their vegetables,” Mr Vixay said.
“Every year, the farmers always have problems with water in March and April but this year they already have problems at the end of February.”
Every family in the village earns less than two million kip per month from growing vegetables and some Nontae families rely solely on their crops for income and they don't know what they will do if the water dries up completely.
The local residents would like the government to consider installing an irrigation canal from the Nam Ngum river, similar to the ones in surrounding communities, because it would give them a lot more certainty and confidence to invest more time and effort in their crops.
vientiane times
