Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (Front) waters wheat at Donggao Village of Hongchang Township in Yuzhou City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 7, 2009. Premier Wen inspected the anti-drought work in Henan, one of China's key wheat producing regions, on Feb. 7-8. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged officials in drought-hit areas to place "top priority" on relief work as agricultural stability concerns 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 central China's drought-hit Henan Province on Saturday and Sunday.
He said "It's of vital significance to the overall economy to boost steady growth of grain production and farmers' income" as China is in a key stage to cope with the global financial crisis.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R Front) inspects the growth of wheat at Yangbei Village of Fanggang Township in Yuzhou City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 7, 2009. Premier Wen inspected the anti-drought work in Henan, one of China's key wheat producing regions, on Feb. 7-8. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Drought relief is a "very difficult task" at present as the lack of rainfalls continues, Wen said.
He 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 machinery in pressing need.
Local governments are also urged to speed up construction of water control works, reservoirs in danger and irrigation projects.
Officials must go to the forefront of fighting the drought and technicians should provide support to farmers, Wen said.
During the visit, Wen stepped into crop fields and talked with farmers, encouraging them to build confidence in gaining a bumper harvest.
China experienced the most severe drought for decades. As of Thursday, 161 million mu (10.7 million hectares) of crops, 4.37 million people and 2.1 million heads of livestock were affected.
China has declared the highest level of emergency in response to the drought, employing artificial means to induce rains and allocating 86.7 billion yuan (about 12.69 billion U.S. dollars) as subsidies to farmers.
In addition, the central government has decided to earmark 400 million yuan to local governments for drought relief.
BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Friday allocated 86.7 billion yuan (about 12.69 billion U.S. dollars) from its reserve to drought-hit areas in relief funds.
Of the total, 71.6 billion yuan will be given to farmers for buying relief materials, and the other 15.1 billion yuan will go to grain producers to supplement incomes. Full story
BEIJING, Feb. 7 -- A top weather expert said four to five periods of rain are expected in central China's drought-stricken Henan Province over the next three weeks.
Zhao Guoqiang, vice-deputy director of the Meteorological Administration of Henan, made the promising announcement on Thursday.
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>>>
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.
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>>>
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.
