Zhanyi Gao
Engineer in Chief, IWHR President of ICID
October 17, 2012
Policy and Practice for Food Security in China
South China North China
Water Land
0
20
40
60
80
100 %
80%
20%
38%
62%
Uneven Distribution of Water and Land
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1949 1957 1965 1980 1990 1996 2001 2008 2009 2010
Million ha
Irrigation development in China Water is the life blood of agriculture
Challenge 1 Growing Population
1272
1372
14591476
1150
1200
1250
1300
1350
1400
1450
1500
2000 2010 2020 2030
(million)
Grain Demand Increasing with Population Increasing
504566
625664
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2000 2010 2020 2030
(million T)
Challenge 3 Water Scarcity and Competition 2005
68. 8
20. 710. 5
0102030405060708090
100
Agr i cul t ur e I ndust r y Domest i c
(%)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Irrigation water
Grain output
B m3 MT
Irrigation Water and Grain Production
No. 1 Document in 2011
• The 2011 No.1 Document titled the Decision of the
Central Government on Accelerating the Water Sector
Reform and Development;
• Highlights the role of Water Resources under the New
Situation, as water is essential to modern agriculture,
the irreplaceable foundation of social and economic
development and the integral part of eco-system
protection and environmental improvement, with
strong public, fundamental and strategic nature
1. To optimize water allocation
Key water source projects
Integrated water resources management
Medium and small-sized projects for water storage
Improve temporal and spatial water regulation and storage
capacity guarantee reasonable agricultural water use
Increase water use efficiency and productivity
2. To develop water-saving agriculture
Pipeline watering
Dripping-irrigation
Sprinkling-irrigation
Micro-irrigation
Water-saving facilities
Rainfed agriculture
The total irrigated area will be increased from 60 million ha to
more than 66 million ha
3. To expand effective irrigation area
Renewal and upgrading of pumping stations for irrigation
and drainage will be accelerated
New irrigation areas will be
added in regions with proper conditions
medium- and low-yield farmlands vigorously will be improved, and high-standard farmlands with steady yields despite of drought and flood built in
large scale
Small irrigation facilities, such as
small water cellars, ponds,
reservoirs,
pumping stations and canals, will
be encouraged in hilly regions,
while rainwater-harvesting irrigation
and dry farming will be actively
developed.
4. To enhance development of small irrigation project
5. To improve the capacity for disaster prevention and mitigation
The management of small and medium rivers
Reinforcement of small reservoirs
Prevention and management of flood disaster
The national drought relief
Variety improvement
Farming practise
Soil protection
New fertilizer
Agricultural machinery
To promote integrated innovation
Yield Quality Efficient Ecological Safety Modern agriculture
6. To actively promote integration of advanced science and technology
Improvement of water supply system management
and service
Establishment and development of farmer’s water user
association
Promoting scale-cultivation by adopting cooperative
system
7. To promote reform in rural areas
Public investment will be increased for irrigation and drainage
development
Channels for fund raising for irrigation and drainage
development will be expanded
8. To increase investment for irrigation and drainage