ZHENGZHOU, Aug. 8 -- Severe drought in China's major crop producing regions threatens to halt 11 consecutive years of annual growth in the country's harvest.

The drought has hit about four million hectares of farm land, reducing agricultural water supply in provinces including Henan, Hubei, Shandong and Lianoning.

The conditions have showed no signs of abating.

The drought coincides with one of the most critical periods of crop growing, according to agricultural experts.

Crops on more than 560,000 hectares of farmland have been reduced, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Irrigation costs have doubled or even tripled, prompting some farmers to refrain from planting.

Some villagers gave up because they estimated that their crops from the arid ground could never cover the costs of irrigation, said Liu Luying, Party secretary of Tielu Village in Henan.

Han Changfu, minister of agriculture, said the ministry's goal is to make sure crops decline as little as possible in severely hit regions, while ensuring they increase as much as possible in areas not affected by the drought.

The Ministry of Agriculture has sent 11 teams of officials and experts to drought-hit places to encourage best practice in disaster relief.

Rainfall in north and central China has dropped by 35 percent and 21 percent respectively from the previous year, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Henan, which produces one tenth of China's crops, has received only one third of the rainfall it had got by this point last year.

While intensive irrigation has eased the drought in some areas, about 35 percent of Henan's small reservoirs have dried up, and half of its small and medium rivers have been cut off. The groundwater level in some mountainous regions has declined by 15 meters on average.

Meanwhile, recent extreme high temperature in north China has worsened the situation, according to agricultural and meteorological authorities.

Local authorities in Xinjiang said one of the region's major crop producing areas has been suffering its most severe drought since 1991.

The drought has hit more than 80,000 hectares of farmland in the Ili valley, Xinjiang's major grain producing area. Wheat, corn and oilseed rape crops are estimated to be reduced by more than 40 percent.

"We have to give up on the crops. The more we invest, the more we could lose," said Kurbanjan, a farmer in Qong Bura Town, Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County.

The drought has also disrupted water supply to 45 villages, while about four million heads of livestock are unable to find enough grass to feed on, the local government said.

It has earmarked 10 million yuan in financing for drought-relief efforts, including clearing trenches and building dams.

The allocation of water resources is now focused on high-yield farmland, cash crops and stock farming.