On September 15, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province was assigned to review and report on the status of converting the purpose of thousands of hectares of ineffective rubber in the area.
At the same time, the department requested the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 7 (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) to continue expanding and building branch canals to serve agricultural production.
According to the assessment, up to now, the Ia More Lake project with a total investment of more than 3,000 billion VND has not yet fully exploited its functions. The initial goal of the project is to provide irrigation water for 14,347 hectares of cultivated land in the two provinces of Gia Lai and Dak Lak (of which Gia Lai 10,347 hectares, Dak Lak 4,000 hectares)...
However, currently, the area of agricultural land in Gia Lai with water for irrigation from the lake has only reached about 3,170 hectares. The province is implementing 10 more branch canals to expand irrigation for more than 2,100 hectares. Thus, the area still lacking compared to the design target of Ia More Lake is more than 5,000 hectares.
To meet development requirements, Gia Lai is currently calling for investment in high-tech agriculture with crops of export value such as pineapple, passion fruit, banana, coffee... especially in the western area of the province. Enterprises with ineffective rubber areas also propose to switch to other agricultural models such as livestock farming, farming or solar power.
Notably, many businesses have proposed expanding the irrigation area of Ia More Lake to the rubber areas expected to be converted, including about 1,000 hectares of Regiment 710 (Army Corps 15); 1,500 hectares of Chu Pah Rubber Company; 2,105 hectares of Chu Se Rubber Company and 500 hectares of Quang Duc Company.
For large-scale concentrated fruit growing, it is necessary to have a source of irrigation water, otherwise it would be impossible to produce without water.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province coordinates with enterprises to survey and develop specific, feasible and effective crop conversion plans. After that, the province will work with central ministries and branches to find solutions to expand irrigation areas.
In mid-September 2025, the People's Committee of Gia Lai province issued a plan to convert ineffective crop structure for the period 2026 - 2030, in which it is expected to convert more than 14,000 hectares of rubber to fruit trees and crops with high economic value.
The goal is to restructure the agricultural sector in accordance with the planning, associated with developing the value chain, creating sustainable livelihoods, improving income and people's lives.
Gia Lai aims to reach 2.9 billion USD in exports by the end of 2025. Of which, the East Gia Lai region reached more than 1.19 billion USD, accounting for nearly 70% of the annual plan. In the Western Gia Lai region, export turnover reached nearly 989 million USD, up over 52% over the same period and completing 89.9% of the annual plan.
Of which, coffee is the main export item with more than 932 million USD, the rest is other agricultural products such as: fruits, rubber latex, bananas, passion fruit, durian...
