The mainland launched a series of anti-drought measures in the past week largely because its wheat crop has been threatened by unusually dry weather, but experts and farmers said the situation remained grim.
Efforts include drilling wells, seeding clouds, raising subsidies and hiring agricultural experts. Though the acreage in crisis has been reduced as a result, the drought would probably worsen as the temperature rises and little rainfall is forecast in the last week of February, said a statement posted on the Ministry of Agriculture website on Thursday.
'Farmland in places where rain has fallen or irrigation has been used is losing moisture faster as the weather gets warmer,' agriculture professor Guo Tiancai , who is leading the ministry's wheat team, was quoted in the statement as saying.
Farmers from six villages in Jining and Heze, Shandong, said they had no idea of the 150-yuan (HK$177) -per-hectare government subsidy for spring fertilisation, which was announced by the State Council on February 9, or any well-drilling projects, as reported by state media.
'The subsidy will help a bit to relieve the burden of irrigation costs, but it's impossible to cover the costs,' said Feng Hailun, village chief of Leizhuang in Jining, the county that Premier Wen Jiabao inspected earlier this month.
According to the ministry's monitoring, 6.7 million hectares of winter wheat were still affected by the drought as of Wednesday, among which nearly one-fifth was considered severely hit.
