The Deputy Governor of Khongxedon district, Mr. Khamfeua Khounnisai, said last week that people in 50 villages will start planting over 3,000 hectares of dry season rice at the end of this month, to compensate for the rice that was damaged\u00a0by floodwaters.\u00a0\u201cAuthorities and villagers are now cleaning irrigation channels in the district to prepare for the dry season\u00a0rice crop. Some 71 villages were affected by the floods and 68 were badly flooded. Over 15,000 hectares of\u00a0agricultural land were\u00a0affected and 13,500 hectares\u00a0of rice and other crops were\u00a0damaged,\u201d he said.\u00a0People need more seeds to plant so they can replace the rice, sweetcorn, cucumber, beans, chili and\u00a0vegetable crops they lost. They will also need at least 5,000 tonnes of rice a month over the next six months but\u00a0so far they have received\u00a0only 100 tonnes. They also require drinking water.<\/p>\n
Head of the District Agriculture and Forestry Office, Mr. Sivanphakone Vongbountham, said that over 59,000 meters of irrigation channels had\u00a0been affected by the floods including 27,845 meters that were lined with concrete.\u00a0\u201cWe are continuing to repair irrigation channels to ensure that enough water can be supplied during the\u00a0dry season,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last week, the authorities delivered seven tonnes of rice seeds and vegetables to\u00a0the residents of 36 villages in Khongxedon district, but\u00a0more are still needed.\u00a0Flood-hit farmers in Khammuan, Savannakhet, Attapeu, Saravan, Champassak, and Xekong provinces all need rice seeds for dry season cultivation from November to March after floods devastated central and southern provinces at the end of August and beginning of\u00a0September. More than 130,500 hectares of rice fields, 251 hectares of\u00a0vegetable plots and 953 fishponds have been damaged.\u00a0<\/p>\n