Farmer struggles in aftermath of flooding
Vientiane Times, By XAYXANA LEUKAI
(Latest Update September 27, 2008)
Mr Somlith Saysana shakes his head as he looks at the dead stalks of rice in his field. Three times he planted his crop, but each time floods wiped out all hard his work.
Even though I and my family worked hard and spent a lot of money, we never saw our rice develop grains, says 23-year-old Somlith.
He lost half a hectare of rice, which he estimates would have yielded about two tonnes if he had harvested the crop. Floods also damaged his one-hectare banana plot, which earns him about 800,000 kip every three months from sales of the fruit.
Somlith is the main income generator in his family and relies on the bananas and other crops to support his family. As the water in the Ngum River rose, he and his parents lost sleep at night as they worried about what might happen.
When the river floods our crops, it also drowns our income, he said.
Some parts of Lingxan village experienced flooding five years ago, but fortunately Somlith's crops didn't suffer much damage.
According to a report from the village office, this year floodwater damaged 761 of 769 hectares of wet season rice. The water also flooded nine of 205 bore wells, nine of 298 latrines and six artesian wells, as well as more than 30 of the 298 houses in the village.
Somlith has no plans to replant his rice field because he's worried about further flooding, even though the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Meteorology and Hydrology Department says the Ngum River is receding.
But he knows he has to do something because he realises the crops he grows are the main food source for him and his family.
He has to plant more banana trees if he wants to ensure a daily income in the years to come. I know the village office can supply me with banana trees, Mr Somlith said. Normally, I use the money I earn from selling bananas to buy food, and we eat the rice we grow.
Villagers whose fields did not flood have benefited and are now earning more due to the scarcity of local produce.
Grandmother Sa has a plot of land measuring 0.25 hectares on which she grows papayas, bananas, jackfruit and lemongrass. Fortunately the plot is on fairly high ground so it did not flood.
Now she is earning more money than usual because the vendors who come to buy from her are willing to pay more. She sells to whoever will give her the highest price.
As the water level has dropped over the past month, a provincial health official has visited the village to teach locals about various health issues, to encourage them to stay healthy and maintain good standards of hygiene.
The government h as also improved the irrigation system in the village, in a move to boost productivity and help farmers to grow crops all year round.
The irrigation system can supply water to about 100 hectares of farmland in the village.
Village Lao Front Head Khounsy Inphayavong said village authorities have encouraged villagers to grow more vegetables, papaya and other crops. |
