Rising Costs of Coffee Irrigation
Table of Contents
In Vietnam’s Central Highlands, the 2024 dry season is bringing unprecedented challenges for coffee growers.
-
Diesel prices have surged, making it expensive to run irrigation pumps.
-
Farmers are turning to electric pumps to save costs, but unstable power supply is creating new problems.
Nguyễn Văn Tâm in Đắk Lao commune, Đắk Mil District (Đắk Nông) explains:
-
Irrigating 1 hectare with diesel now costs over 2.1 million VND per watering.
-
Using electricity costs only about 300,000 VND.
Yet many rural coffee farms are not connected to the national grid. According to Phạm Văn Tương, deputy chairman of Ea Tân commune, residents must share limited electricity, taking turns to run pumps.
Drought Intensifies Water Scarcity
According to Phạm Vũ Tuấn, head of forecasting at the Central Highlands Hydrometeorological Station, 2011 rainfall was unusually low, making the current dry season even harsher.
-
Deforestation, El Niño, and hydropower dams have drained underground aquifers.
-
Surface water in rivers, lakes, and streams has dropped sharply.
Farmers across Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk, and Đắk Nông are racing to lay and bury pipes for irrigation. Many have drilled hundreds of meters deep only to find groundwater seeping in too slowly. Coffee normally needs three to four irrigation rounds, spaced 20–25 days apart, but this year many crops may receive no water at all.
Soaring Input Costs
Farmers face rising prices for fertilizer, chemicals, and fuel.
-
Lê Thị Huyền of Quảng Hiệp commune, Cư M’gar District (Đắk Lắk) said her family’s cost for a single hectare—covering one round of watering and care—has jumped from 40 million VND to about 60 million VND.
Falling Groundwater Levels
Dr. Ngô Tuấn Tú, deputy head of the Central Region Water Resources Planning and Investigation Federation, warns of a sharp decline in groundwater quantity and quality:
-
In some areas, levels are down 20–30%, with the Central Highlands water table dropping 3–4 meters compared to previous years.
-
In Bảo Lộc town, some wells have dried up entirely.
Key causes include:
-
Rapid coffee plantation expansion and six-month dry seasons.
-
Loss of protective forest cover and numerous hydropower dams, which reduce downstream flows and groundwater recharge.
-
In the central coastal provinces, titanium mining and intensive shrimp farming have polluted and depleted aquifers, leading to saltwater intrusion.
Switching to electricity cuts irrigation costs but is limited by unstable power supply. Groundwater depletion is becoming critical, threatening long-term coffee production. Integrated water management and forest protection are essential to sustain both irrigation and regional livelihoods.