Almost 10,000 farming families in Champassak province will suffer from a lack of rice this season after the recent flooding, with less than enough for their own consumption for the four months until the next harvest.
There will be a six-month shortage for farmers who live outside irrigation areas with their crops yielding much less.
About 3,500 tonnes of additional rice will be required to ensure a sufficient supply for affected families until the dry season rice harvesting begins, according to provincial disaster management com-mittee estimates.
About 15,000 rice farming families have been affected to some degree, with a combined cultivation area of about 18,900 hectares of rice damaged by flooding. It is estimated that at least 13,200 hectares of crops have effectively been destroyed, committee vice president Mr Khamtaeng Tiengvoravong said.
To replace the damaged crops, the agriculture and forestry sector is seeking rice seed supplies to provide to flood-affected farmers for dry season cultivation, and supporting small crop cultivation for sale in markets after the floodwaters recede.
Champassak province has sufficient rice storages to supply people with not enough, but will ask affected villagers to pay for what they consume, Mr Khamtaeng said. More than 70,000 Champassak residents were affected in total, while 20 irrigation areas and many local roads were damaged. The repair bill is estimated at more than 200 billion kip.
Meanwhile, more than 400 villages in Khammuan province suffered damages, with 37,000 hectares of rice fields inundated by floodwaters. About 17,000 hectares of crops are thought to have been destroyed.
A total of 34,000 hectares of rice fields were also flooded in Savannakhet province, with 27,000 hectares suffering some degree of damage, according to the latest report from the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department.
The flooding affected more than 26,000 families of 320 villages in the province and killed some livestock, causing damages of 167 billion kip, provincial administration office head Mr Bounyou Thammavong said.
With thousands of families now returning to their homes now that the floodwaters have receded in most area, the respective provincial authorities are focusing on heath care and sourcing the necessary rice seed supplies to help farmers replant their crops.
The flooding killed six people and inflicted damages worth 600 billion kip in Khammuan, Savannakhet and Champassak provinces. Crops, road infrastructure and local schools were the worst affected, according to the provincial disaster management committees.
While floodwaters have receded in most areas, the level of the Mekong River continues to fluctuate, dropping from 11.35 metres in Pakxe district on Wednesday to 11.21m yesterday, with a further drop to 11.07m expected today, according to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department.
The level of the Mekong in Savannakhet province decreased from 10.44m on Wednesday to 10.16m yesterday and is expected to drop to 10.06m today. In Thakhek district of Khammuan province, the Mekong dropped to 12.28m yesterday and is expected to fall to 12.20m today.
The level of the river in Paxan district of Borikhamxay province decreased from 13.05m on Wednesday to 12.90m yesterday, while in Vientiane the level of the Mekong dropped from 9.92m to 9.57m and is expected to decrease to 9.34m today.
