Severe Drought Exposes Poor Irrigation in China

ZHANG: And farmers in northern and central China are having a hard time. One of the most severe droughts in decades is drying up farmland, and proper irrigation is sorely lacking. STORY: Parts of northern and central China have seen little snow or rain since November last year. Eight provinces, and around half of China's wheat growing areas, are at risk from the drought. Poor and inadequate irrigation is a key element in this crisis. Lack of proper irrigation facilities in hilly farm towns such as Xinmi in central Henan province, for example, poses a particular problem. Most farmers here say they rely on water stations scattered around their farmlands to store water when there is rainfall. [Chang Shijie, Local Farmer]: "What can we do? We can't solve this problem. We can only rely on Heaven. If it rains, we will have a harvest. If it does not rain, we are finished." Some have taken the matter into their own hands. [Mrs. Li, Local Farmer]: "Individually, we dig water storage reservoirs under our rooms when we build our house." Some farmers say they are still not getting enough help from authorities to address the issue. [Zhang Nan, Local Farmer]: "Now we have to even buy our drinking water. If you don't give up on the crops, what else can you do? We buy drinking water in small amounts that is enough for our usage." So far 10.7 million hectares of crops have been affected along with 4.4 million people. Researchers say much potential damage could be prevented if farmers irrigate their fields in time.