Farmers are battling drought-like conditions in some areas of Shandong in order to save their crops.

Tang Kaiping, general manager of Linyin Dayuan Agriculture Co Ltd, got his employees to irrigate a 2.67-hectare wheat-growing area as soon as he returned to work after his Spring Festival holiday.

They have been pumping water from wells to irrigate crops.

"We are desperately hoping for rain as soon as possible," Tang said.

The provincial water resources department said one third of the farmland in Shandong province has been affected by the severe drought.

Tang usually produces 1 ton of wheat per hectare, but is concerned the drought will affect output.

He is not the only one who is worried. Zhong Xingming, a farmer in Zhonghai village, Ershilipu county, has seen his crops turn yellow.

The Shandong provincial meteorological bureau reports that since last November 73 percent less rain has fallen compared with the same period in previous years, and little rainfall is forecast in the near future.

"More than 2,000 hectares of cropland in Linyi has been affected by the drought," Yang Weibo, from the Linyi agricultural bureau, said.

Local governments in Shandong have mobilized more than 1,500 drought-relief teams and 6,000 technicians to alleviate the affects of the drought.

To date, 22,500 water-resource projects have been constructed and 7,500 items of agricultural equipment have been repaired.

Drinking water has been supplied to meet the short-term needs of 100,000 people.

To support the relief work, a more than 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) fund from the ministry of finance has been allocated to drought-hit areas in the province.

Since last November, Shandong province has spent more than 6 billion yuan ($877.9 million) on building water-resource projects, buying agricultural machines and improving agricultural infrastructure.  

(China Daily February 7, 2009)