More than 100,000 water storage pits have been built since the launch of a project in 2000 to help poorer households in western China.

 

The scheme, set up by All-China Women's Federation, has benefited about 1.1 million farmers living in 22 provinces and regions. They each received 1,000-yuan (US$125) subsidy towards the cost of the pits.

 

Around 1,200 small-sized and centralized water supply projects have also been supported by the initiative.

 

Areas in the west of the country suffer some of the worst water shortages because of poor natural resources and the geographical conditions.

 

Before the scheme was launched, many farmers had to rely on poorly constructed water pits as they could not afford suitable materials such as concrete.

 

"The drive to provide water pits to farming families has not only supplied water for them but also improved their living standards," said Bao Xiaoping, vice chairwoman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Women's Federation.

 

Qiao Haishi, 37, a farmer living in the region's Maolinzi Village, said his family could now bath at home which was something they could only dream of before.

 

"Thanks to the pit and nationwide drive we also now have better conditions for agricultural production," he said. "In 2005 my family made some 5,000 yuan (US$620) from producing vegetables."

 

Building water storage pits to collect rainwater in areas hit by shortages is the most economical and practical way to improve conditions for farmers, according to experts.

 

However, there are still an estimated 20 million people affected by water shortages in western China.

 

Among the worst hit are the 3 million or so people living in mountainous areas in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Gansu provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said Zhang Baotong, an expert on social economic development and director of Shaanxi Economic Development Research Institute.

 

Liu Shizong, 76, a farmer living in Liuyao Village in Dingbian County, Shaanxi Province, built a small, basic pit about 40 years ago to collect rain and snow. His family still relies on it.

 

"We drink the water stored in the pit and if it doesn’t rain for sometime we have to go 28 kilometers to collect water which is salty and bitter," he said.

 

Many people in the village do not have enough water to wash themselves or their clothes.

 

More than 80 percent of women in the area suffer from gynecological complaints because of the poor hygiene which results from a lack of water.

 

(China Daily May 8, 2006)