Rice crops face disaster
Source: Xinhua |
May 23, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
An ongoing drought is jeopardizing rice crops in central China's Hunan and Hubei provinces, two of the country's major rice-growing regions.
In Nanxian County in Hunan's Yiyang City, some farmers said they were anticipating smaller harvests in a large area of early season rice crops that are due to be reaped in July.
Hunan is one of China's largest rice-growing provinces, producing 30.5 million tons last year.
Although the rice crops appear green, cracks as wide as four fingers can be seen on parched land in the county's Jiejiazhou Village, where farmers usually grow and harvest rice crops twice a year.
Jiang Weiqing, a village official, said the village had reduced its rice crop to 370 mu (about 24.7 hectares) this year from 850 mu in normal years due to the drought. Jiang said that about half the crops would face harvest failures.
Hu Jian, a farmer in Nanxian's Hongyanhu Village, said he was likely to lose about 200,000 yuan (US$30,800) as he had planted more than 600 mu of rice drops this year, about 500 mu more than last year.
"I've given up some 200 mu that have no irrigation water sources due to the drought," he said.
Nanxian County has had just over 160 millimeters of rain since January, some 40 percent of that recorded in the same period in previous years, said Yao Nianhua, deputy head of the county's water resources bureau.
"Five of the six rivers in the county have dried up," he said.
Since January in Hunan, the inflow of four branches of the Yangtze River reached just 33.5 billion cubic meters, 46 percent less than that recorded in previous years, according to the provincial drought relief authorities.
The drought has affected more than 4.4 million mu of crops and left 820,000 people short of drinking water in the province.
The drought has also plagued neighboring Hubei Province. In Jianli County, its largest rice-growing county, waters levels in its rivers are at a record low.
China's Three Gorges Dam is discharging more water to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to help fight the drought that has plagued the provinces for months.
In Nanxian County in Hunan's Yiyang City, some farmers said they were anticipating smaller harvests in a large area of early season rice crops that are due to be reaped in July.
Hunan is one of China's largest rice-growing provinces, producing 30.5 million tons last year.
Although the rice crops appear green, cracks as wide as four fingers can be seen on parched land in the county's Jiejiazhou Village, where farmers usually grow and harvest rice crops twice a year.
Jiang Weiqing, a village official, said the village had reduced its rice crop to 370 mu (about 24.7 hectares) this year from 850 mu in normal years due to the drought. Jiang said that about half the crops would face harvest failures.
Hu Jian, a farmer in Nanxian's Hongyanhu Village, said he was likely to lose about 200,000 yuan (US$30,800) as he had planted more than 600 mu of rice drops this year, about 500 mu more than last year.
"I've given up some 200 mu that have no irrigation water sources due to the drought," he said.
Nanxian County has had just over 160 millimeters of rain since January, some 40 percent of that recorded in the same period in previous years, said Yao Nianhua, deputy head of the county's water resources bureau.
"Five of the six rivers in the county have dried up," he said.
Since January in Hunan, the inflow of four branches of the Yangtze River reached just 33.5 billion cubic meters, 46 percent less than that recorded in previous years, according to the provincial drought relief authorities.
The drought has affected more than 4.4 million mu of crops and left 820,000 people short of drinking water in the province.
The drought has also plagued neighboring Hubei Province. In Jianli County, its largest rice-growing county, waters levels in its rivers are at a record low.
China's Three Gorges Dam is discharging more water to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to help fight the drought that has plagued the provinces for months.
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