Farmers in central China face crop failures in a "devastating" drought June 20, 2024
- Ana Cunha-Busch
- Jun 19, 2024
- 2 min read
By AFP -Agence France Presse
Farmers in central China face crop failures in a "devastating" drought
Farmer Bao Mingchen pointed to a dried-up pipe where water normally irrigates a field, whose soil is now cracked due to the drought gripping China's vast agricultural hinterland.
"Everything is dry," he said as he walked around the perimeter of a rice field near his home in Hudian, a humble town in the central Chinese province of Henan.
The rice plants still glow a radiant green, but Bao, smoking a cigarette, told AFP that local farmers are beginning to worry about how long they can go without rain.
Recent years have brought a long list of extreme weather events to China, including destructive floods and record heatwaves which experts say are becoming more frequent due to global climate change.
Even as parts of central China were hit by drought, heavy rains and landslides in the south killed four people and left more than a dozen missing this week.
The weeks-long dry spell gripping central China has caused many farmers to postpone planting as agricultural authorities warn of crop damage.
A short drive from Bao's home, reservoir manager Liu, 70, told AFP that the area had not seen significant rain since April.
"The drought conditions are very severe at the moment," said Liu, who gave only his surname, as he stood on the bank of the reservoir, whose shallow level was emphasized by a ring of stained concrete.
Liu's reservoir serves as an important source of water for the surrounding area, where farmers grow produce such as rice and corn.
"If it doesn't rain, the reservoir will be lost and the farmers' rice crops will have to be saved," he said.
"If it doesn't rain, (the crops) will all die."
- 'All withered' - you
Nearby, a 59-year-old farmer surnamed Wang laid out bushels of Chinese mugwort, an aromatic herb used in traditional medicine, beside the road.
"Look at it, it's all wilted," said Wang.
"The lower half is already dead. There are a few shoots at the top, but they too are about to wither."
On the other side of the road, Wang showed AFP a patch of dry, ruined soil where corn normally grows.
In a stroke of bitter irony, a sprinkling of rain fell for a few minutes, quickly evaporating on the scorching ground before the pale clouds dissipated under the blinding sun.
Wang said he hoped the authorities could harness the power of technology to help local farmers overcome the drought.
"With advanced technology and artificial rain, there would be some hope for us," she said.
"But if there is no rain, ordinary people like us will face total crop loss," she said.
"That's the way it is."
By Peter CATTERALL
pfc/oho/pbt
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