Irrigation works must be upgraded

The current severe drought disaster shows China's longstanding problem in farmland water conservancy infrastructure, says an article on the website www.gmw.cn. The following is an excerpt:

As China is being hit by a drought not seen in five decades, a problem is surfacing: Our country's irrigation and farmland water conservancy infrastructure has long been overused, leading to the ineffectiveness of drought-relief campaigns in many regions.

As the lifeline for agriculture, farmland water conservancy facilities in China are generally used beyond the date when they should have been replaced with new ones or repaired to their normal conditions. The worn-out facilities have left many farmlands unable to retain water and added to the difficulty of fighting against drought despite the usage of modern water-pumping machines and well-digging expediencies. As a result, even rainfall-rich provinces like Hunan and Jiangxi are facing the threat of water crisis.