Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Wednesday called for efforts to
develop irrigation facilities and water conservation projects to
minimize losses in drought-hit northeast China.
Severe drought has plagued north China since June, especially in
the northeast Liaoning and Jilin provinces. More than 1.7 million
people and 760,000 head of livestock are still facing drinking
water shortages and 183 reservoirs have dried up so far in the
drought-stricken region.
Hui urged local farmers to make up for the losses in the farming
sector by working as migrant workers in the urban areas and
developing the breeding industry.
He also urged local governments to intensify efforts in fighting
the drought, including increasing spending on relief and water
conservation projects, providing adequate technologies and
assisting farmers in difficulty.
Jilin and Liaoning are both major grain and animal husbandry
production bases of China.
The drought, the worst in Liaoning since records began in 1951,
has affected 2.15 million hectares of farmland, 68 percent of the
province's total.
The severe drought may be alleviated slightly by rainfall in
early July, after record-low rainfall during June.
Forecasts show there will be 30 to 40 millimeters of rainfall
between July 4 and 8 in northeast China.
The temperature in Jilin and Heilongjiang also hit record highs
while that in Liaoning was the second highest on record.
The country's average temperature reached 20.5 degrees Celsius
in June, one degree above average and also the second highest since
1951.
(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2007)