Drought may end 11 years of higher yields
Print Edition
SEVERE drought in China’s major crop producing regions threatens to halt 11 consecutive years of growth in the country’s harvest.
The drought has hit about 4 million hectares of farm land, reducing agricultural water supplies in provinces including Henan, Hubei, Shandong and Liaoning.
Conditions have shown no signs of abating.
Yields on more than 560,000 hectares of farmland have been reduced, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
And some villagers are not planting as they estimate that their crops could never cover the costs of irrigation, said Liu Luying, Party secretary of Tielu Village in Henan.
Agriculture minister Han Changfu said the ministry’s goal is to make sure yields decline as little as possible in severely hit regions, while ensuring they increase as much as possible in areas not affected.
The Ministry of Agriculture has sent 11 teams of experts to drought-hit areas to encourage best practice in disaster relief.
Rainfall in north and central China has dropped by 35 percent and 21 percent respectively from last year, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Henan, which produces a tenth of China’s crops, has received only one third of the rainfall it had by this point last year.
While irrigation has eased drought in some areas, about 35 percent of Henan’s small reservoirs have dried up. Groundwater levels in some regions have fallen 15 meters on average.
Meanwhile, recent extreme high temperatures in north China have worsened the situation, said agricultural and meteorological authorities.
Authorities in Xinjiang said one of the region’s major crop producing areas is suffering its worst drought since 1991.
The drought has hit more than 80,000 hectares of farmland in the Ili valley, Xinjiang’s major grain producing area. Wheat, corn and oilseed rape yields are set to be down 40 percent.
“We have to give up on the crops. The more we invest, the more we could lose,” said Kurbanjan, a farmer in Qong Bura Town, Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County.
Drought has disrupted water supplies to 45 villages, while four million head of livestock do not have enough grazing, the local government said.
It has earmarked 10 million yuan for drought-relief efforts.
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