Severe Drought in Mekong Region Reduces Rice Planting in Laos
Lao farmers have planted rice on less than half the country’s cultivable land this year because of a persistent drought in the Mekong River region that has seen severely reduced water levels and the delay of seasonal monsoon rains, which have yet to begin.
Growers have been able to plant rice on roughly 40 percent of the country’s 850,000 cultivable hectares, according to a recent announcement by Laos’ Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
