On October 29, in Ca Mau, the National Agricultural Extension Center coordinated with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau province to organize an Agricultural Extension Forum @ Agriculture with the theme "Ad adaptative livelihood solutions and disaster risk reduction in the community".
According to statistics from the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention, in 2024, natural disasters caused 519 deaths and missing people, and caused economic losses of nearly VND90,000 billion. In the first 9 months of 2025 alone, the damage was nearly VND34,000 billion, with more than 40,000 hectares of aquaculture affected.
These figures show that climate change is no longer a distant concept, but an existing challenge for farmers - those who directly create livelihoods and food for the country.
Mr. Phan Minh Chi, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau province, said that the whole province has more than 422,000 hectares of aquaculture, of which the shrimp farming area is over 416,000 hectares.
The province's shrimp farming structure is quite diverse with 34,500 hectares of intensive and super intensive farming, 197,000 hectares of improved aquaculture, and nearly 185,000 hectares of intensive farming such as shrimp - forest, shrimp - rice, shrimp - crab - fish... Thanks to that, in 2024, the province's shrimp output is estimated at 566,000 tons, accounting for over 45% of the country's shrimp output, contributing significantly to the province's seafood export value reaching 2.6 to 2.9 billion USD per year, of which shrimp products account for more than 90%.
However, in addition to the very proud results, Ca Mau is facing many serious challenges due to climate change, rising sea levels and salinity intrusion increasingly deep into the inland areas, greatly affecting daily life and production. Currently, more than 30,000 hectares of agricultural land are contaminated with salinity; in the 2019 - 2020 dry season alone, 14,000 hectares were almost completely damaged.
In 2025, the whole province will have 402 landslides with a total length of 629 km. From 2011 to now, about 6,250 hectares of land and protective forests have been lost, many households have to be relocated, many works are severely damaged. Drought and lack of fresh water in the dry season are increasingly severe. In the 2023 - 2024 dry season alone, more than 2,600 households are lacking domestic water.
Natural disasters and extreme weather occurred with increasing frequency and intensity, causing damage of over 44 billion VND, directly affecting 940 hectares of rice and human life and property.
In recent times, Ca Mau province has promoted many effective adaptive models: intensive shrimp farming, super intensive circular farming; shrimp - forest, shrimp - organic rice model, combined multi-species farming; Ecological farming model, circular, greenhouse gas emission reduction; Along with strengthening water resource management, protecting mangrove forests; linking value chains and certifying sustainable farming areas according to international standards...
According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), along with the implementation and development of adaptive livelihood models, improving the capacity of the community plays a very important role in helping people be more proactive in preventing, combating and mitigating natural disaster risks.
Mr. Le Quoc Thanh, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, said: in the context of natural disasters, droughts and salinity and climate change increasingly affecting lives and agricultural production, the Vietnam Agricultural Extension system continues to affirm its role as a "trustworthy companion of farmers", bringing science and technology to each region and each household, helping the community to adapt flexibly and develop sustainably.
Mr. Le Quoc Thanh affirmed that in the future, the National Agricultural Extension Center will not only be a "technical guide", but also a companion for farmers to overcome difficulties, helping each land and each producing household find a suitable direction in the context of climate change.
