BEIJING: In a concerted push to bolster food security, the Ministry of Water Resources has rolled out a series of measures to fortify the nation’s agricultural irrigation infrastructure this year, with a series of major projects underway.
At a news conference on Thursday, Zhu Chengqing, vice-minister of water resources, underscored the importance of irrigation in the spring.
“Half of China’s grain crops are sowed in the spring. Ensuring the irrigation needs for spring planting and overwintering crops is the fundamental support for stable production and supply of grain and other important agricultural products throughout the year,” she said.
Zhu said the ministry has accelerated the restoration of water supply facilities damaged by serious flooding last year in the Haihe and Songhua river basins.
A total of 4 billion yuan ($552 million) from central government treasury bonds has been allocated to eight provincial-level regions in the two basins — including the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Jilin, and the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin — to help them restore damaged rural water supply facilities and large and medium-sized irrigation areas, she said.
“The progress of all these works is smooth, effectively ensuring the safety of rural water supply and timely irrigation of crops,” Zhu said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
