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Chronic drought destroys crops in northern China
Source: Xinhua |
February 4, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LACK of rainfall has led to severe drought in northern China, affecting 9.4 million hectares of wheat, said the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday.
By Monday, wheat in six major grain production provinces, including Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu and Shaanxi, had been hit by drought, Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said at a video conference called to coordinate drought relief efforts.
The drought is casting a shadow over China's wheat production, as almost 43 percent of the winter crop has been affected. In comparison, 600,000 hectares of wheat suffered from drought in the same period last year.
Sun said lack of rainfall since October was the main reason for the prolonged drought in most northern areas, and frequent cold snaps this winter had made the situation worse.
According to Monday's weather report by the China Meteorological Administration, severe drought in north China was expected to continue as no rain has been forecasted for the next 10 days.
The MOA warned that more wheat could perish if the drought lingers.
To cope with the problem, the MOA asked agricultural departments of every level to channel water, enhance irrigation and fertilization.
The MOA has sent 12 working teams to the drought-hit provinces, to help farmers on drought-relief work.
By Monday, The Ministry of Finance had allocated 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) in emergency funding to help farmers.
In a related development, drought has affected about 1.74 million hectares of crops and caused an economic loss of 1.6 billion yuan in east China's Anhui Province, the provincial authority on drought relief announced yesterday.
The lives of 12.87 million people are threatened by the drought, the provincial civil affairs bureau said.
The provincial government has allocated 10 million yuan from the governor's reserve fund for drought relief. It has also earmarked 15 million yuan to subsidize farmers buying irrigation equipment. The annual 300 million yuan in agricultural material subsidies will be paid to farmers earlier than in normal years.
The government also plans to carry out artificial precipitation when weather permits.
By Monday, wheat in six major grain production provinces, including Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu and Shaanxi, had been hit by drought, Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said at a video conference called to coordinate drought relief efforts.
The drought is casting a shadow over China's wheat production, as almost 43 percent of the winter crop has been affected. In comparison, 600,000 hectares of wheat suffered from drought in the same period last year.
Sun said lack of rainfall since October was the main reason for the prolonged drought in most northern areas, and frequent cold snaps this winter had made the situation worse.
According to Monday's weather report by the China Meteorological Administration, severe drought in north China was expected to continue as no rain has been forecasted for the next 10 days.
The MOA warned that more wheat could perish if the drought lingers.
To cope with the problem, the MOA asked agricultural departments of every level to channel water, enhance irrigation and fertilization.
The MOA has sent 12 working teams to the drought-hit provinces, to help farmers on drought-relief work.
By Monday, The Ministry of Finance had allocated 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) in emergency funding to help farmers.
In a related development, drought has affected about 1.74 million hectares of crops and caused an economic loss of 1.6 billion yuan in east China's Anhui Province, the provincial authority on drought relief announced yesterday.
The lives of 12.87 million people are threatened by the drought, the provincial civil affairs bureau said.
The provincial government has allocated 10 million yuan from the governor's reserve fund for drought relief. It has also earmarked 15 million yuan to subsidize farmers buying irrigation equipment. The annual 300 million yuan in agricultural material subsidies will be paid to farmers earlier than in normal years.
The government also plans to carry out artificial precipitation when weather permits.
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