February 13, 2012

China to invest US$6.03 billion on water-saving irrigation methods

From now up to 2015, China will fund RMB38 billion (US$6.03 billion) in water-saving irrigation projects covering 2.53 million hectares of farmland in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces and Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

This is from a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture.

China's central government on Wednesday (Feb 8) announced funding for the use of water-saving irrigation technologies in major grain-producing regions, a move aimed at boosting grain output for the country's 1.3 billion people.

Of the investment, RMB22.8 billion (US$3.62 billion) will come from subsidies by the central government, 20% will derive from fiscal arrangements by provincial-level governments in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia, and local governments at the city or county levels, as well as farmers, will contribute to the remaining portion, respectively, the newspaper said.