Hundreds of hectares of coffee are dying of thirst, and hundreds of households in Ea Yông Commune, Krông Păk District (Đắk Lắk Province) have fallen into hardship. The cause: Phước An Coffee Company has sold off nearly all of its irrigation reservoirs to private individuals.
Crops Die, Farmers Struggle
One hundred households living around Phước Hà Reservoir (Phước Hòa Hamlet, Ea Yông Commune) jointly signed a petition to local authorities. They reported that after the company sold the reservoir to private buyers, more than 100 hectares of their coffee fields were left without irrigation water.
In the transfer contract, signed by company director Trần Minh Thụy, there was no clause requiring the buyer to supply water to surrounding households. The new owner drew off water for personal use, causing the reservoir level to drop to less than half of its previous capacity.
When the dry season arrives, villagers can pump water for just one round of irrigation before the reservoir runs dry. The new owner then denies them further access. Coffee trees have withered or suffered severe yield losses—a devastating blow when coffee is the main or only source of income. This crisis has persisted since the reservoir was sold on December 31, 2008.
Phước Hà Reservoir was originally built in 1992, covering 12.7 hectares and supplying water to 136 hectares of farmland. Locals explain that, for the sake of community benefit, villagers even contributed land and money to build the reservoir without asking for compensation.
Nguyễn Văn Ánh of Phước An Hamlet expressed his frustration:
“When the reservoir was built, the company collected money from us and charged irrigation fees. Suddenly they sold it to private owners. In the dry season we have no idea where to find water for our crops.”
The situation worsened when the new owner further partitioned and sold parts of the reservoir land for vegetable and coffee planting.
Authorities Caught Unaware
According to residents, from 2008 to May 2010, Phước An Coffee Company sold off many irrigation reservoirs to private individuals. Yet in October 2010, the Đắk Lắk Provincial People’s Committee issued a decision to hand over 500 hectares of coffee and all related irrigation facilities of the company to Ea Yông Commune for management. Despite having already sold the reservoirs, the company still invited commune officials to inspect them. When three reservoirs were found to be seriously degraded, the commune even requested over 500 million VND in district funds for repairs.
Local authorities only discovered the full scale of the problem after receiving petitions from angry villagers. An investigation by Ea Yông Commune revealed that eight reservoirs had been sold to individuals for prices ranging from 50 to over 200 million VND each.
Y Núc Byă, Chairman of the Ea Yông Commune People’s Committee, confirmed that before the formal handover, all eight reservoirs had already been sold.
Reporters repeatedly visited the company’s offices and called Director Trần Minh Thụy but received no response.
According to Phạm Tiến San, Head of the Đắk Lắk Provincial Irrigation Department, all reservoirs, weirs, and pumping stations must be included in the provincial irrigation plan and can only be assigned for management—not sold—to individuals. He stated that the department will investigate and handle the matter once it receives an official report.