Statement from IRRI on the current salinity and drought problems affecting rice areas in Vietnam 1 IRRI colleagues have provided comments on the urgent situation of salinity intrusion and drought that has affected major crops in Vietnam. In the past few months, we have completed two important collaborative projects in Vietnam, the ACIAR-funded CLUES 2 project and the DANIDA project 3 on breeding for salt and submergence tolerance.

I would like to share with

you these comments and some

recommendations based on the results of these projects and other IRRI initiatives in Vietnam. 1.

The recent high salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta was, to some extent, predictable. Severe salinity intrusions have occurred over the years, such as in 1998 (after the 1997 El Niño) and 2010 (after the 2009 El Niño). Since El Niño can be forecasted, it can also be used to “predict” risks of salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta, and as a powerful tool for planning/management purposes. In the last 50 years, 2015 ranked as having the second strongest El Niño episode, after only 1997 (http://www.elnino.com/). A lesson learned is that we can foresee severe salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta at the end of the Dong Xuan season (i.e., salinity intrusion in February), thus allowing preparations to be carried out at the start of the Dong Xuan season.

2.

It should be noted that increased salinity in 2016 (as in other El Niño years) is due to a decrease in upstream flows and not based on sea-level rise. This is reinforced by findings from the CLUES and DANIDA projects, which imply that levels of salinity intrusion are very sensitive to upstream flows. It is, therefore, important to maintain upstream flows in the future through upstream flow management (i.e., working with countries upstream of the Mekong Delta).

3.

Hydraulic modeling—as undertaken in the CLUES and DANIDA projects— can help identify areas with high risk of salinity in present and future climates.

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Leocadio Sebastian, IRRI Representative, and Regional Program Leader, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Hanoi, Vietnam, 17 March 2016 2 Climate Change Affecting Land-Use in the Mekong Delta: Adaptation of Rice-based Cropping Systems (CLUES) 3 Improving Rice Tolerance to Submergence and Salinity to Cope with Climate Change in Coastal Areas in Vietnamese Deltas (DFC 12-P04-VIE)

4.

In areas with high risk of salinity and where rice continues to be an option, pertinent management measures may include one or a combination of the following: a)

Fast-track the development and delivery of short-duration, goodquality rice, with enhanced salt tolerance, to these areas in the Dong Xuan season. IRRI has identified some major QTLs for both early- and later-stage salinity. Combining salinity tolerance traits in varieties with short-duration maturity will have a dual value of protection against early mild stress and escape from severe stress at later stages. This can be done through the marker-assisted breeding and selection (MABS) method, which has been applied by Vietnamese and IRRI scientists in recent collaborative projects (CLUES-ACIAR and DANIDA). A program building on this progress and capitalizing on the skills of IRRI and local institutions can fast-track the development and deployment of these varieties within five years.

b)

Determine the “cut-off date” for the Dong Xuan season, that is, the latest date of harvest during Dong Xuan to avoid late-season salinity. Vietnam has successfully implemented the cut-off date to avoid flooding/submergence in flood-prone areas (i.e., An Giang, Dong Thap); a similar approach should be applied to saline areas. New varieties should also be designed based on this cut-off date. It is time for a more comprehensive program to revisit current land-use plans and to guide their adjustments to minimize the effects of worsening conditions.

c)

With a cut-off date imposed for Dong Xuan, it may be more appropriate in some areas to have two crops of long-duration varieties per year than three short-duration crops per year; that is, it may be important to redesign cropping systems to avoid risks of salinity without compromising total annual rice production.

d)

Appropriate water management practices during periods of high salinity should be recommended and practiced (i.e., based on EC testing of irrigation water) in addition to the use of salt-tolerant, short-duration rice varieties. This will reduce the risks to yield as a result of saline water irrigation (resulting in “burnt” rice fields). High salinity just before and after flowering can complexly destroy the crop.

__________________________________________________________________________________________ Statement from IRRI on the current salinity and drought problem affecting rice areas in Vietnam

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e)

Real-time,

location-specific

salinity

monitoring

and

advisory

through the use of ICT/mobile phones for farmers and local authorities. IRRI and Can Tho University are implementing the Salinity Advisory as a Location-specific Timely Service for rice farmers (SALTS) project funded by BMZ. 5.

In addition to the problems of salinity, Vietnam had severe drought events. The introgression of drought-tolerant traits (QTLs) into short-duration varieties should also be targeted and combined with salt tolerance. This will result in more resilient varieties that protect farmers against such disastrous incidences.

6.

The upscaling of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) to improve the resilience and adaptation capacity of local communities in dealing with extreme climate events should also be considered as part of medium- and long-term measures.

IRRI is ready to work with MARD and other development organizations in addressing these issues as well as other medium- and long-term challenges of climate change. The technical assistance program drafted by IRRI and MARD aims to include those issues that have already been mentioned. This particularly includes developing new climate-smart rice varieties of high quality that meet the future market for Vietnam rice, and the appropriate crop and natural resource management packages. We are, however, looking for support from our donor partners.

-oOo-

__________________________________________________________________________________________ Statement from IRRI on the current salinity and drought problem affecting rice areas in Vietnam

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