Put drought-resistance efforts into practice during normal times, and you won't panic when drought hits; the follow-up investment challenge remains to be solved
Zhang Chunhai, a villager from Sanxing Village in Kailu County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, clearly remembers the rain in early May, when pattering raindrops merged into lines, flowing into the just-sown corn fields and also into his heart. Zhang Chunhai figured: at this rate, this year will be worry-free, and the corn harvest will certainly be good. Farmers hope for favorable weather, but drought arrives unexpectedly. "In the 3 months after June 11, we did not have a single decent rain here," Zhang Chunhai said.
According to statistics from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, starting in late June, especially after entering August, due to below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures, drought began to spread across Northeast China, including Tongliao.
The development of the drought coincided exactly with the critical stage for the formation of autumn grain yields. Will the drought affect the harvest in these areas of Northeast China's "major grain barn"?
Facility construction must be consolidated
Tongliao has more than 20 million mu of arable land, and its grain output accounts for one quarter of Inner Mongolia's. It is one of China's 23 prefecture-level cities with 10 billion jin of grain. In another month, Tongliao's corn will enter the harvest period.
"Rainfall has indeed been low during this period, but for us, it is just a matter of watering twice more," said Sun Lixin, a farmer from Liaoyang Village, Fengtian Town, Horqin District, Tongliao. Liaoyang Village's 3,400 mu of arable land has sufficient irrigation facilities, and more than 1,000 mu of it also used drip irrigation under film this year. "With one card swipe at the well house, water goes directly along the drip irrigation tape to the corn roots," Sun Lixin said. "With timely watering, the yield is not expected to be affected much."
"Being able to ensure an overall bumper harvest in a year of severe drought would be impossible without our years of persistent construction of basic farmland water conservancy facilities," said Li Jianguo, deputy director of the Tongliao Water Affairs Bureau. He recalled that the construction of farmland water conservancy facilities in Tongliao began to accelerate after 2000, especially since 2011, when water-saving irrigation facilities such as drip irrigation under film and high-standard low-pressure pipe irrigation came into wide use. "At present, Tongliao's groundwater irrigation area reaches more than 10 million mu, which can ensure a basic grain output of 10 billion jin."
Of course, the severe drought did not have no impact at all. In the hilly areas of Tongliao lacking water sources, the drought affected 3.7 million mu of arable land. "Fortunately, this year we built 1.66 million mu of water-saving, high-yield and high-efficiency grain functional zones. The functional zones can increase yield by 300 jin to 700 jin per mu, which can offset the production reductions caused by drought in some areas. On balance, a bumper grain harvest should not be a problem," Li Jianguo said.
"Drought resistance depends on what is accumulated in normal times. When farmland water conservancy construction is in place, even if drought occurs, a bumper harvest can still be achieved," said Wang Hongjiang, deputy county magistrate of Kailu County.
Agricultural water conservation must be sustained
Drought-stricken Tongliao is hoping for a soaking rain. However, heavy rain can ease a temporary drought but cannot change the fact of long-term water shortage. "In the 1980s, the large and small reservoirs in Tongliao were all full of water," Li Jianguo said, adding that he could not remember exactly when water resources became increasingly tight.
One statistic shows that Tongliao's per capita water resources are less than 1,200 cubic meters, making it one of China's 110 cities with severe water shortage. Water conservation is imperative. Another statistic shows that in 2012, Tongliao's agricultural water use was 2.370 billion cubic meters, accounting for 83% of total water use. Agriculture is the largest water user, so agricultural water conservation must come first.
Tongliao's situation is not an isolated case. In 2012, the Ministry of Water Resources and multiple other departments jointly launched the project to save water and increase grain in the four northeastern provinces and regions, planning to invest 38 billion yuan from 2012 to 2015 to build 38 million mu of high-efficiency water-saving irrigation projects such as drip irrigation under film in the four northeastern provinces and regions, in order to improve comprehensive grain production capacity and the agricultural irrigation water use coefficient. As of now, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has completed 451 million mu of construction tasks.
Xiaonanjingwa Village in Kulun Banner, Tongliao, is located in a hilly area and formerly depended basically on the weather for survival; in a good year, the corn harvest was only 500 jin per mu. In 2012, the Tongliao Water Affairs Bureau took the lead in implementing a drip irrigation under film project there. "At first, people did not believe that dripping water through a thin pipe could soak the land thoroughly," recalled Yang Jingxiang, Party branch secretary of Xiaonanjingwa Village. Now, practice has dispelled everyone's doubts. "Drip irrigation under film uses only 15 cubic meters of water per mu each time, saving water. With one card swipe, water and fertilizer are delivered together to the corn roots, and 7 people can finish irrigating 5,000 mu in 8 days, saving fertilizer and labor."
Zhang Chunhai also felt the advantages Yang Jingxiang mentioned. It is just that his Sanxing Village is located in a plain area, with better natural conditions than Xiaonanjingwa Village. "Previously, one mu could harvest 1,600 jin to 1,700 jin of corn. Now water, electricity, fertilizer and labor use have all clearly decreased, and yield per mu has increased by more than 300 jin." But Zhang Chunhai also has his own calculation: using drip irrigation under film requires an investment of about 200 yuan per mu each year to replace the plastic film and drip irrigation tape. "Investing 200 yuan to gain 300 yuan in income, the investment is a bit high."
Follow-up investment remains to be tackled
Zhang Chunhai's concern is exactly what Li Jianguo worries about. "The state implemented the water-saving and grain-increasing project and invested a large amount of funds. Well houses, main pipes and the like are one-time investments that can be used for a long time, but plastic film, drip irrigation tape and the like need to be renewed every year, requiring long-term investment."
The water-saving account for using drip irrigation under film is clear: irrigating one mu by traditional methods requires 300 cubic meters of water, while drip irrigation under film requires only 120 cubic meters of water. But farmers also have to calculate the economic account: how much benefit can an investment of 200 yuan per mu per year bring?
"If the original grain production base is already relatively high, as in Zhang Chunhai's household, or in a year with favorable weather, farmers' enthusiasm for investment will be discounted," Li Jianguo said, and the water-saving effect will be discounted along with it.
It is understood that concern about insufficient follow-up investment in drip irrigation under film is widespread. Li Jianguo said he has discussed solutions with counterparts in various places more than once. "We hope relevant departments can establish a stable investment mechanism for water-saving irrigation, introduce preferential policies and compensation policies that encourage water conservation, and mobilize farmers' enthusiasm for water conservation. At the same time, we also hope to use a reasonable water price formation mechanism to constrain extensive agricultural water use behavior."
The long-term mechanism still needs study, but practical solutions are already in practice. This year, a company producing plastic film and drip irrigation tape began production in Tongliao. Company head Xiang Judong said they will carry out trade-in for used plastic film and drip irrigation tape, on the one hand reducing the company's raw material costs, and on the other hand reducing farmers' investment.
Wang Hongjiang is trying to solve the problem from another angle. "We have opened an experimental field in Wangjiadian Village and, under the guidance of scientific research departments, are trial-planting corn with drip irrigation but without film. If the data in all aspects are satisfactory, we will consider promoting it in the future to reduce investment in plastic film." In the experimental field, the reporter saw corn planted with different varieties, different densities and different fertilizers. "We need to find the planting method most suitable for Kailu, increase per-unit yield from multiple angles, increase farmers' income, and improve the input-output ratio of farming," Wang Hongjiang said.