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Focus on irrigation

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-07 07:57

Parched riverbeds, chapped plots, withered seedlings. These staggering signs of drought from the country's main wheat-producing areas put together a gloomy collage not seen for decades.

By Friday, 10.3 million hectares of crops had been affected and 4.29 million people had difficulty finding drinking water.

Related readings:  No end in sight to dry weather  Farmers struggle to cope with drought  Top emergency declared for worst drought in 50 years  More emergency funding for drought relief

Satellite pictures show signs of a slight to moderate precipitation over some of the dry areas from Saturday. But, sadly, that will prove too inadequate to quench the protracted thirst.

Barring a drastic and highly unlikely U-turn in meteorological conditions, a large-scale crop failure in the summer is almost inescapable. And the subsequent losses in monetary terms may stretch way beyond those from last year's snowstorms, some experts say.

At the macro level, there is little to indicate one season of crop failure will substantially drive up grain prices or cause serious grain security concerns. We have had consecutive years of bumper harvests and have plenty of reserves, which attests in part that old adage, "Grain in hand, no worry in heart".

But there are still things to worry about.

If the drought persists and the anticipated crop failure turns real, hundreds of thousands of rural households will suffer. For most of them, especially those relying entirely on planting, the pressure of a failed season will be severe and acute.

The picture will be even gloomier given the mass backflow of rural workers who have been laid off from factories. By lunar new year's eve, an estimated 20 million of them had reportedly returned home. For social stability's sake, the government will have to work out an emergency relief program to help troubled rural households and accommodate the unemployed.

There is a proposal to take advantage of the temporary oversupply of laborers in the countryside and update irrigation infrastructure across rural China, which is actually a good idea in the long term.

The central government's $586 billion stimulus package places great emphasis on improving basic infrastructure in rural areas. But we have seen few local government investment plans with irrigation facilities high on their agenda.

The severe drought is not all bad. It does some good by reminding people of our agriculture's continuous vulnerability to weather. And it is just in time to allow decision-makers time to refine investment plans to reinforce irrigation facilities.

The sweeping drought has also generated talk about water-saving irrigation. It would be a tremendous bonus if the disaster finally presses people to rethink the wasteful traditional way of water use. And the unprecedented monetary inputs make the introduction and popularization of water-saving irrigation more feasible than ever.

Here is a real opportunity hidden in the crisis. We hope our farmers will not be as helpless next time when a similar drought strikes.

But that depends on how decision-makers spend the money.