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Premier in drought areas visit as a little rain falls
Source: Xinhua |
February 9, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
PARTS of China's parched north got light rain after authorities fired shells loaded with cloud-seeding chemicals into the sky, but there was no end in sight for its worst drought in five decades, the government said yesterday.
China has declared an emergency across the country's north, where 4.4 million people lack adequate drinking water and winter wheat crops are withering.
"The drought situation will not be eased in the near future," the China Meteorological Administration said.
Some areas got a sprinkling of rain and sleet at the weekend after clouds were hit with 2,392 rockets and 409 cannon shells loaded with chemicals, the administration said. It said clouds were thin and moving out of the region, making conditions poor for more rain making.
Rainfall in northern and central China is 50 percent to 80 percent below normal, according to the Flood Control and Drought Relief Office.
Artificial means were employed to create rains in at least seven provinces on Saturday to alleviate the drought, the meteorological administration said.
Rain-enhancing practices were adopted in Henan, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hubei and Anhui.
In central China's Henan Province, artificial precipitation brought on average 0.5 millimeters of rain to 17 counties and cities. The province is one of the major wheat-producing areas.
Parts of the artificially moistened provinces and north China's Hebei Province saw 1 to 5 millimeters of rain from Saturday to yesterday morning.
Irrigation had covered 52.7 percent of the wheat farmland in the drought-hit provinces by Saturday, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.
A total of about 5.67 million hectares of wheat land had been irrigated in eight drought-stricken provincial regions, the ministry said.
Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said it was important to fully use machinery in the fight against drought. He asked local governments to increase subsidies for farmers to buy more irrigation-related and water-saving equipment, and make every effort to expand irrigation coverage and save water.
By Saturday, 10.1 million hectares of wheat farmland, which accounted for 95 percent of the drought-stricken crops in China, was affected in eight provincial areas of Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu. The drought began to hit most parts of China's north in November.
The foul weather has affected 1.07 million hectares of crops and threatened the drinking water supply for 4.37 million people and 2.1 million heads of livestock.
Relief work
Premier Wen Jiabao has urged officials to place "top priority" on relief work as agricultural stability concerned China's bid to revive its economy.
The fight against drought has to do not only with the safety of grain supply but also with the country's efforts to stimulate domestic demand, Wen said during a visit to Henan Province over the weekends.
He said: "It's of vital significance to the overall economy to boost steady growth of grain production and farmers' income."
The premier told local governments to allocate relief funds at the earliest possible time, ensure adequate supply of farm tools, fertilizer and pesticide and subsidize farmers' purchase of urgently needed machinery.
Local governments are also urged to speed up construction of water control works, reservoirs in danger and irrigation projects.
China is to divert water from the nation's longest rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, to irrigate drought-stricken farmland, a Ministry of Water Resources official said.
China has declared an emergency across the country's north, where 4.4 million people lack adequate drinking water and winter wheat crops are withering.
"The drought situation will not be eased in the near future," the China Meteorological Administration said.
Some areas got a sprinkling of rain and sleet at the weekend after clouds were hit with 2,392 rockets and 409 cannon shells loaded with chemicals, the administration said. It said clouds were thin and moving out of the region, making conditions poor for more rain making.
Rainfall in northern and central China is 50 percent to 80 percent below normal, according to the Flood Control and Drought Relief Office.
Artificial means were employed to create rains in at least seven provinces on Saturday to alleviate the drought, the meteorological administration said.
Rain-enhancing practices were adopted in Henan, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hubei and Anhui.
In central China's Henan Province, artificial precipitation brought on average 0.5 millimeters of rain to 17 counties and cities. The province is one of the major wheat-producing areas.
Parts of the artificially moistened provinces and north China's Hebei Province saw 1 to 5 millimeters of rain from Saturday to yesterday morning.
Irrigation had covered 52.7 percent of the wheat farmland in the drought-hit provinces by Saturday, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.
A total of about 5.67 million hectares of wheat land had been irrigated in eight drought-stricken provincial regions, the ministry said.
Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said it was important to fully use machinery in the fight against drought. He asked local governments to increase subsidies for farmers to buy more irrigation-related and water-saving equipment, and make every effort to expand irrigation coverage and save water.
By Saturday, 10.1 million hectares of wheat farmland, which accounted for 95 percent of the drought-stricken crops in China, was affected in eight provincial areas of Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu. The drought began to hit most parts of China's north in November.
The foul weather has affected 1.07 million hectares of crops and threatened the drinking water supply for 4.37 million people and 2.1 million heads of livestock.
Relief work
Premier Wen Jiabao has urged officials to place "top priority" on relief work as agricultural stability concerned China's bid to revive its economy.
The fight against drought has to do not only with the safety of grain supply but also with the country's efforts to stimulate domestic demand, Wen said during a visit to Henan Province over the weekends.
He said: "It's of vital significance to the overall economy to boost steady growth of grain production and farmers' income."
The premier told local governments to allocate relief funds at the earliest possible time, ensure adequate supply of farm tools, fertilizer and pesticide and subsidize farmers' purchase of urgently needed machinery.
Local governments are also urged to speed up construction of water control works, reservoirs in danger and irrigation projects.
China is to divert water from the nation's longest rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, to irrigate drought-stricken farmland, a Ministry of Water Resources official said.
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