Rural methane projects with a total investment of one billion yuan (US$some 120 million) started Monday, according to Zhang Baowen, Vice-Minister of Agriculture.

The project will benefit 1.03 million rural households in 6,000 villages in 24 provinces and autonomous regions, said Zhang at a field meeting on methane utilization in Yan'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

China now has more than 200 million simple restrooms without hygiene facilities in rural areas. Animal husbandry creates 2 billion tons of excrement every year. The environmental pollution caused by the restrooms and animal excrement has severely affected the quality of life in China's rural areas.

Most rural areas in the country burn wood for energy, which destroys forests and pollutes the environment, said Zhang.

Using the investment, farmers could remold their restrooms to collect methane and burn it for cooking and lighting.

In the past two years, the ministry has launched a trial plan to help farmers build methane generating pits. So far, China has 11 million such devices in its rural areas.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 20030