BEIJING (Reuters) – China has recently issued a disaster prevention and mitigation plan to ensure a stable grain harvest, urging major efforts in response to drought, high temperatures and heat damage, national broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday.
The plan, jointly issued by four government departments, laid out five tasks for agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation during the flood season which also demands work against flooding and waterlogging, typhoon, as well as pests.
The plan came as multiple areas across the country, including China’s Henan province, which produces about one-third of China’s wheat, are battling a protracted period of drought.
China on Tuesday also sent out warning of severe drought conditions in regions like northwest China’s Shaanxi, Jiangsu in the east and Guangxi in the southwestern part of the country.
A National Climate Center forecaster Gao Hui said drought is affecting wheat fields in several northern regions in China with insufficient irrigation, a report from state media Xinhua said.
In some regions in southwestern China like Guangxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan, rice transplanting is lagging behind compared to last year due to drought which has also led to uneven growth of some plants, Gao added.
While rainfall is expected in some parts of China this week, meteorologists warned about sudden shifts between drought and flooding, as well as adverse effects of rainy and wet weather on wheat drying and harvesting.
China was the world’s top wheat importer in 2022 and 2023, but imports plummeted last year. A reduction in wheat output could prompt the Asian nation to boost imports again to make up for the shortfall.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson and David Evans)
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