According to the PM’s requests, provincial committees are responsible for steering relevant departments to provide suitable strains of rice for their food crops. The departments must work out measures to prevent the spread of pests and insect or guide farmers to use alternative crops.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Cao Duc Phat, says the ministry will asssit localities and help farmers to cope with crop diseases. It will also work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to control the use of pesticides. People who take advantage of the situation to increase the prices of pesticides or to sell inferior products will be punished.

Relevant provincial authorities are responsible for conducting inspections with the help of experts in order to control the development of pests and insects.

The PM has also asked the MoIT and the Electricity sector to ensure the supply of water for the crops.

Bui Sy Doanh, deputy of MARD’s Plant Protection Department, says the spread of pests and insects is mainly attributed to the high temperature caused by El Nino.

The white-backed and brown insects have been detected in the northern provinces of Nam Dinh and Hai Duong and Hai Phong City while mountain Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces have discovered the short-black stripe virus in rice samples, says Doanh.

200,000 ha of cultivated crops in the northern region have become vulnerable due to the hot weather, which is 6-7 degrees Cesius higher than usual, according to the MARD.

More than 1,200 ha of rice in Binh Dinh province have been affected by brown insects, said its provincial department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In order to ensure productivity, localities have destroyed seriously-affected crops and started spraying chemicals to prevent the development of the insects.