Total agricultural irrigation water use has seen zero growth for 14 consecutive years
On the 14th, the reporter learned from the Ministry of Water Resources news briefing: the construction of farmland water conservancy is continuously accelerating, China's effective irrigated farmland area has reached 952 million mu, of which the area of water-saving irrigation projects has reached 407 million mu. Farmland irrigation efficiency continues to improve, and the effective utilization coefficient of irrigation water has reached 0.52. While maintaining consecutive years of bumper grain harvests, the total volume of agricultural irrigation water use has achieved zero growth for 14 years.
Ni Wenjin, deputy director of the Department of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Water Supply of the Ministry of Water Resources, introduced that the national winter-spring farmland water conservancy construction has progressed rapidly. As of the end of March, a cumulative investment of 346.7 billion yuan had been completed. Water-saving renovation and construction of large and medium-sized irrigation districts have been continuously strengthened. At present, among the 434 large irrigation districts included in the plan, central investment of 86 billion yuan has been arranged, and nearly 60 percent have completed investment tasks. A number of new irrigation districts, including Nierji and the Heilongjiang Sanjiang Plain, are being accelerated. The renovation and upgrading projects of 251 large irrigation and drainage pumping stations have been fully implemented.
Dredging the “capillaries” in the fields, the construction of key counties for small-scale farmland water conservancy has reached 2,450 county-times, basically covering major farming and pastoral counties, and tilting toward drought-prone hilly areas and contiguous poverty-stricken areas. Fully implementing the construction of terminal facilities in irrigation district fields, “five small water conservancy” projects, rainwater collection and water-saving irrigation in hilly areas, and river and pond dredging and renovation, initially forming a farmland water conservancy engineering system with large, medium, small and micro projects developed simultaneously, and solving the “last kilometer” of farmland irrigation.
Water conservation first, regional large-scale efficient water-saving irrigation engineering construction. Since 2011, China has added more than 93 million mu of efficient water-saving irrigation area. Among them, the four provinces and regions of Northeast China have built 19.6 million mu of efficient water-saving irrigation area, supporting the arid areas of Northwest China in vigorously developing efficient water-saving irrigation, and launching a pilot project for comprehensive treatment of groundwater overexploitation in North China. Through project implementation, the comprehensive grain production capacity has been significantly improved, irrigation efficiency has been improved, and an important role has been played in fighting drought and ensuring bumper harvests.
Ni Wenjin said that the new situation calls for new mechanisms, and farmland water conservancy reform is continuously deepening. The reform of the property rights system for small-scale farmland water conservancy facilities has been launched in 100 counties nationwide. This year, on the basis of the pilot program, the operation and management mechanism will be further innovated to gradually achieve benign operation of projects; the comprehensive reform of agricultural water prices is steadily advancing, exploring and clarifying agricultural water rights through pilots, establishing a precise subsidy mechanism, and improving the formation mechanism of agricultural water prices; implementing the system of total agricultural water use control and quota management, and gradually establishing constraints and incentive mechanisms for agricultural water use.