3rd Mekong Forum on Water, Food & Energy 2013. Presentation from Session 7: Restoring livelihoods: opportunities for sharing the benefits of water for resettled communities.

1. Sharing Benefits of the Yali hydropower
Reservoir, Vietnam - farming in drawdown area
Tran Duc Toan & Nguyen Duy Phuong
Soils and fertilizers Research Institute (SFRI)
MK1 Project – Optimizing Reservoir Management for Livelihoods

2. Yali hydropower
 Yali HP was built from 1993-2003
 Total basin of Yali reservoir: 7445 Km2
 Effective water level: 515 m
 Dead water level: 490 m
Objectives:
National Economic development
Sources: Cao Thi Yen 2003

3. Yali HP and Social Impacts
It has large impacted on social aspects
Table 1:
Major loss due to Yali reservoir
Items
Unit
1.Resettled people
Individual
5384
2.Resettled households
HH
1149
3.Resettlement villages
Villages
4.Inundated land
ha
6480
5.Farming land
ha
1933
+ Wet rice field
ha
871
+ Other crops
ha
1100
ha
3492
6.Forest land
Amount
9
Sources: Cao Thi Yen 2003

4. 1.Resettled people
Individual
3.Resettlement villages
Villages
5384
9

5. Major Challenges in Consequence
Paddy land limited due to inundated
High pressure of population (Local
& Immigration)
Upland,
forestland
has
been
exploited inappropriate approach
for farming activities, causing land
rapid degradation
Unattainable livelihood

6. Consequence of Resettlement
 A story after 20 years of resettlement in Yali
HP:
+ Shortage cultivated land & Poor irrigation
system
+ Poor livelihood resources
+ Food insecurity at HH level /Jarai people
+ High poverty rate (40-45%) remains
mostly Jarai ethnic people

7. Opportunities for Enhance Local Livelihood
 It estimated about 26.000 ha of semi-flooded land
area in Yali reservoir
+ Of which 1900 ha of semi-flooded land belongs to
resettled communities & 1500 ha can serve for agriculture
+ More than 600 ha of semi-flooded
cultivated, mostly with cassava, by 500 HH
area
has
+ Paddy rice only cultivate one crop per year
 BSS and livelihood survey indicated that the drawdown
area is high productive and crucial to the livelihood of local
people, but high risk due to short duration of land
exposition and sudden flooding occurred

8. Hydrological behavior in Yali reservoir
Duration of Land Exposition in reservoir
Months
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Water level
505-510 mls
----
510 – 512 mls
----
////////////////////////////////////////////////
Land exposition 170 days
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
----
12
Land exposition 210 days
Water flooded
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-----------------
512-515 mls
Land exposition 240-260 days
----------------Water flooded
------------------------
Water flooded
Which crops can grow in context of reservoir? and give a
better income for farmer HH ?

9. Pilot Trial Activities
Pilot trails
- Short term variety of cassava KM98-7 has been selected
among four tested varieties to test in semi-flooded area “
Higher income for farmer HH)
- Short term variety of Rice P6DB has been selected to test a
second rice crop in semi-flooded area “ More rice for food
security”

10. Pilot Results of cassava in semi-flooded area
of Yali Reservoir cassava
1.Result of pilot 2012
Varieties
Yield
(ton/ha)
KM140
25,2
KM98-7
Starch
Gross
Input cost
content
income
(M.vnd/ha)
%
(M.vnd/ha)
Net
income
(M.vnd/ha)
22.8
35.28
14.54
20.74
32,6
26.2
45.64
16.02
29.62
KM21-12
28,5
23.0
39.9
15.20
24.70
KM94 (Control)
21,4
21,0
29.96
13.74
16.22
2. Result of pilot 2013
Yield
(ton/ha)
Starch
content
%
Gross
income
(M.vnd/ha)
Input cost
(M.vnd/ha)
Net
income
(M.vnd/ha)
KM140
26.6
23.0
43.3
13.3
30.0
KM98-7
34.8
27.7
63.9
15.8
48.1
KM94 (Control)
24.4
21.4
37.5
12.1
25.1
Varieties

11. Pilot Results of rice in semi-flooded area
of in Yali Reservoir
3. Result of pilot 2013
Varieties
Yield
(ta/ha)
Gross
income
(M.vnd/ha)
25,51
Input cost
(M.vnd/ha)
Net income
(M.vnd/ha)
9,5
16,01
Q5
34,5
P6DB
41,0
28,70
9,5
19,20
IR64
28,5
19,95
9,5
10,05
This gave an evidence that second rice in semiflooded area, food security at HH level can achieved

12. Upscale of MK1 Project in Yali Reservoir
 Results of pilot in 2012 & 2013
farmers
has attracted
 Different training courses and field visits has been
organized in period of 2012-2013 for more than
500 farmer HH in four communes reservoir affected
 Result of upscale: 20 ha of short term variety
of cassava has expanded by 34 farmer HH in
semi-flooded area in 2013
 The district (DARD) plan to increase the area of KM
98-7 to 400-500 ha in 2016 -2017
Economic term: It roughly estimates about 9.012.0 billion VND could be obtained if KM98-7 will
replace old varieties after 4 years of MK1 project

13. Lesion Learn from MK1 in Vietnam
A) Anthropology:
 Ethnic minority: Jarai
 Backward farming activities: Shifting
cultivation, monoculture, extensive farming.
 Low education level
 No experience on intensive farming
 Resettlement on the areas which land have been
degraded
 Ineffective farming, land is being sold to buyer
(majority Kinh people which also has been
resettled, leading to inherently lack of arable
land, causing more stress.

14. Lesion Learn from MK1 in Vietnam (cont.)
B) Natural conditions
 The fluctuation of Water level depends on Hydropower operation
 Understand water regime of reservoir is a key point to design cropping
system in semi-flooded area
 A mechanism to exchange between Yali HP Company and local government
on water regime information is crucial for farmer to use semi-flooded area,
increase income “It has been established”
 Introducing shorter term variety to fit the crop planting calendar with the
duration of land exposure in the drawdown area could be achieved the
objective of limiting the risk of food security
 Early harvest of cassava in semi-flooded area, it is hard to keep seedling for
coming year, so it strictly requires “Seedling must be multiplied on upland”
 Pilot of paddy rice in second crop has succeeded, but it can not upscale
because local objective doesn't focus on rice “Less area for paddy rice in
semi-flooded area”

15. Further Actions after MK1 Project
 Capacity building for local extension workers and farmers on
ICM for suitable crop systems on inundated area as well as on
the sloping land
 Training on soil conservation and conservation agriculture
for sustainable agricultural production for farmers and local
extension survice staffs on both soil topography.
 Local government/DARD has committed to multiple the
seedling at farmer house for next years. “This has been done
by farmers in 2013, about 2 ha of seedling for 2014, and 5 ha
for 2015”
 Improvement of Diversify income for farmers , this action is
not only in semi-flooded area, but also on upland:
mixed/inter-cropping (annual with perennial (rubber, coffee)
for multi-products “DARD’s requirement”