China Spends 53.1 Billion Yuan on Farm ProjectsChina spent 53.1 billion yuan on projects to improve the irrigation and eliminate the water-logging of farmland during last winter and this spring period.Statistics from the Ministry of Water Resources in Beijing indicate that during the period, 1.2 million hectares of irrigated farmland were added and the irrigation of 4.34 million hectares of farmland was improved; 1.13 million hectares of water-logging farmland were improved and over 2 million hectares of low-yielding fields were also improved. Flood-control projects also went smoothly, with 37,600 kilometers of river levees consolidated and 75,000 kilometers of river beds dredged. Most major dikes on the Yangtze, Yellow, and Huaihe rivers also were reinforced. According to the statistics, the amount of water-saving irrigation area increased by 1.49 million hectares during the period, and the nation's water-saving irrigation area now accounts for nearly one-third of all the country's irrigation area. At the same time, environmental protection projects were on the rise, with 347,000 sq km of soil-erosion area brought under control. Efforts to repair and consolidate small reservoirs and ponds also paid off. As a result, small reservoirs and ponds increased their water-holding capacity by 1.9 billion cubic meters, providing enough drinking water for more than 13 million rural residents. |
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