Kampot provincial authorities have assisted 204 families by pumping water to them to rescue their rice fields in five villages covering 195ha as they are facing water shortages due to a drought in Kampong Trach district.
District governor Oun Khorn told The Post on July 5 that the 10-day drought had affected 195ha of rice fields in five villages – Prey Pruos, Derm Svay, Leak Chea, Koh Ta Kov and Prek Kroes – but the provincial authorities had already prepared to pump water to rescue the families’ rice fields.
He said the prolonged drought had affected rice fields almost across the entire district, particularly in Prek Kroes commune.
“People reported through the village-commune authorities to the district administration about the problems caused by this drought. The district administration also relayed the reports to the provincial governor, the provincial department of water resources and meteorology and the provincial agriculture department,” he said.
Kampot provincial governor Cheav Tay said at a water pump handover ceremony in July that the authorities are working to address the problems in a timely manner.
“The Kampot Provincial Administration, in this phase, cannot leave the rice crops to be damaged so we have helped to rescue the rice crops of the people who have encountered these recent water shortages,” he said.
He also requested that local authorities and relevant specialists and departments continue to cooperate to monitor the situation in their localities. He urged them to help pump water into the rice fields that need it in a timely manner.
But citing a forecast by the water resources ministry, Tay said that over the next few days there could be rainfall but not in an amount that would make the rice crops in the area suffer from negative impacts or damage.
