BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The worst drought in half
a century in northern China will continue until next month, although it will be
eased slightly by rainfall forecasted for the next ten days, according to the
China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Friday.
In March, rainfall in most parts of the wheat-growing
areas in northern China is expected to be slightly less or close to normal.
However, the wheat crops in Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan and Anhui
will continue to suffer, said Xiao Ziniu, director of the National Climate
Center (NCC) under the CMA said at a videoconference.
Workers of a power company help a farmer
to irrigate the field in Wuhe County, east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 5,
2009. China raised the drought emergency class Thursday from level two to
level one, the highest alert, in response to the worst drought to hit
northern China in half a century, according to a State Council meeting.
(Xinhua/Yan Ruipeng) Photo Gallery>>>
China declared the highest level of emergency on
Thursday in response to the rare drought which began in November. President Hu
Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have ordered all-out efforts to combat the severe
drought in the country's vast wheat-growing area to ensure a good summer
harvest.
About half of the total, or 78.77 million mu (5.25
million hectares) of the affected wheat lands have been irrigated in the
nation's eight wheat-growing provinces as of Feb. 5, according to data released
by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Friday.
Soldiers of armed police force help a
farmer to irrigate his field in Huainan, east China's Anhui Province, Feb.
5, 2009. (Xinhua/Yan Ruipeng) Photo Gallery>>>
The ministry said it would offer farmers subsidies on
irrigation equipment purchase to aid the relief work. Prices of the facilities
should not be higher than the market price for last year.
Buying water pump and the watering machinery will be
subsidized to meet the urgent demand of the anti-drought effort, said an
official with the ministry, stressing that the product quality should be
insured.
The area of affected crops has expanded to 161
million mu by Feb. 6. 4.37 million people and 2.1 million livestock are facing
drinking water shortage, according to data released by the Office of State Flood
Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
People barrel drinking water supplied by
the local government at Chengguan Township in Ruyang County of Luoyang
City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 4, 2009. The city had received
a reduced effective rainfall since October 2008, almost 80 percent less
than in the same period of previous years. The local government has
allocated some 25 million yuan (3.65 million U.S. dollars) for drought
relief and crops protection. (Xinhua/Gao Shanyue) Photo Gallery>>>
The scarcity of rain in some parts of the north and
central provinces is the worst in recorded history, as the drought spanned from
autumn to winter -- a weather trend not witnessed in years, according to Sun
Zhengcai, the Minister of Agriculture. The situation in some areas is extremely
severe, he said.
Lack of rain has created a layer of
three-to-ten-centimeter of dry soil in many parts of northern China, Sun said.
As the drought will not be relieved in the short-run,
more seedlings are likely to be killed as spring approaches, which could
threatened the summer harvest.
Photo taken on Feb. 5, 2009 shows a dead
wheat seedling in the farmland of Taiping township of Huining County,
northwest China's Gansu Province. The county has suffered from serious
drought since September 2008 with about 150,667 hektares of farmland and
184,000 people and 326,000 livestocks short of water. (Xinhua/Han
Chuanhao) Photo
Gallery>>>
MOA data showed more than 2.3 million mu of wheat
seedlings in Henan, Anhui and Shandong provinces had perished.
This year's summer harvest became more unpredictable
as Puccinia striiformis, or stripe rust, one of the most damaging wheat disease
began to show signs of spreading across the nation, MOA warned.
The dangerous disease, which could cause losses up to
40 percent, has affected more than 11.3 million mu (753,000 hectares) of wheat
in seven provinces, 4.6 million mu more than the same period last year. The
northwestern Gansu and Ningxia saw the worst outbreak in 19 years.
BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao
and Premier Wen Jiabao have ordered all-out efforts to combat the severe drought
in the country's vast wheat-growing area to ensure a good summer harvest, a
State Council meeting was told Thursday.
The central government on Thursday decided to earmark
another 300 million yuan (44 million U.S. dollars) as drought relief fund in
additional to 100 million yuan already allocated. The fund will be used to buy
agricultural machinery and other production materials.
BEIJING, Feb 5 (Xinhua) -- China raised
the drought emergency class Thursday from level two to level one, the highest
alert, in response to the worst drought to hit northern China in half a century,
according to a State Council meeting.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have
ordered all-out efforts to combat the severe drought in the country's vast
wheat-growing area to ensure a good summer harvest, according to a State Council
meeting held Thursday.
BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China, the world's biggest agricultural country in
terms of farm population, might find it hard to bring in a good harvest this
year, with a four-month drought tightening its grip on large sections of the
country's northern half.
The drought has added to the woes of the nation's rural
economy, which has been affected by falling commodity prices amid the global
downturn. All these pressures will make it more difficult for China to stabilize
grain production, increase farm incomes and expand rural markets.
BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lack of rainfall has led to
severe drought in northern China, affecting more than 140 million mu (9.3
million hectares) of wheat, said the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Tuesday.
By February 2, 141 million mu wheat in six major grain
production provinces, including Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu and
Shaanxi, were hit by drought, Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said at a video
conference called to coordinate drought relief efforts.
BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Different levels of
governments should collect strength to combat drought, which has crippled
China's agriculture, said Vice Premier Hui Liangyu Tuesday.
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Severe drought in north China
was expected to continue as no rain has been forecasted for the next ten days,
the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the China Meteorological Administration
(CMA) said Monday.
The ministries said the current situation remained grim
and called for prolonged fight against the extreme drought that began last
November.
