Over the recent period, droughts and heat-waves have had a negative effect on agricultural production in the central provinces. It is likely that farmers will experience poor harvests as many hectares of already planted paddy rice have dried out while many hectares in some areas have been left fallow due to water shortages.

In an urgent dispatch sent to the province late last week, the Prime Minister asked chairmen of the People's Committees from affected provinces to instruct the local Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and related agencies to ensure water supplies to the paddy fields. In areas where rice could not be planted, farmers must grow other less water-thirsty crops instead.

Local authorities were required to dredge canals and ditches; install more pumping stations; manage water resources more efficiently by preventing losses and leakages from the reservoirs and irrigation works; and ensure that measures are in place to distribute water.

The Prime Minister also allowed provinces to use their disaster prevention budgets and other legal financial sources for drought mitigation.

The Prime Minister also ordered Electricity of Vietnam to ensure power supplies for irrigation and water works and co-operate with local authorities to release more water from hydro-electric power reservoirs.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasts was requested to keep a close eye on weather and hydro-meteorological forecasts in order to issue timely warnings of water shortages and data for hydro-electric power plants to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Electricity of Vietnam, and local authorities so that they could actively take measures to combat the worst effects of the drought.