Ben Tre province, the country's largest coconut cultivation area, plansto grow an additional 10,000ha of coconut trees in areas affected byclimate change to 2020.

The trees will be planted inerosion-prone areas as well as sites affected by high salinity andbrackish water, mostly in the three coastal districts of Ba Tri, BinhDai and Thanh Phu, according to the Ben Tre Coconut Association.

HoVinh Sang, the association's chairman, said farmers will earn moreprofits with coconuts than with fruits, rice and vegetables in theseareas, even though the yield of coconuts in the three districts is lowerthan in other districts.

The fibrous root system of the trees would also help prevent land erosion, he said.

TheCuu Long ( Mekong ) Delta province has a total of 60,000ha of coconuttrees, accounting for 40 percent of the country's coconut cultivationarea. Of that figure, 13 percent are coconut varieties sold for theirjuice, and the rest for their flesh.

The province's average yieldis 9,700 coconuts per ha a year, 1,400 coconuts per ha higher than thecountry's average yield, according to the association.

Traderswho harvest the whole dry coconuts at farmers' gardens can buy them for80,000-85,000 VND a dozen. However, if the farmers harvest the coconuts,traders must pay a higher price.

In recent years, localauthorities have encouraged farmers to inter-crop cacao trees withcoconut trees to increase income. They have also been urged to breedblue-legged giant prawns in ponds in their coconut orchards. About150 households that routinely grow coconut trees have been breedingshrimp on 20ha in Giong Trom and Mo Cay districts.

Bui Van Len inMo Cay's Hiep Phuoc commune said last year he earned a profit of 7million VND (330 USD) from breeding 500 blue-legged giant prawns in a500 sq.m pond in his coconut orchard.

The province's Agricultureand Fisheries Extension Centre has also provided farmers with advancedtechniques to breed giant prawns.-VNA