Material 1 for the press conference of the State Council Information Office

Speech at the Press Release of the State Council Information Office September 29th, 2014

Vice Minister, Mr. LI Guoying

Ministry of Water Resources, P.R. China

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. Welcome to this press conference and thank you for your long-term care and support to the water sector. Hereby, I would like to introduce to you the development of water-saving irrigation in China.

I. Status Quo and Achievements of Water-saving Irrigation

A large population but limited land and scarce water resources constitute the basic national situation of China. In particular, water, as an irreplaceable resource, only counts to 2,100 m3 per capita in China, a mere 28% of the world average. Along with continuous population growth, rapid sustained economic development and increasingly high demand for eco-environmental quality, shortage of water becomes a severe bottleneck for China.

There are two solutions to the water crisis, namely, to tap new sources of supply in the first and to reduce consumption secondly. In view of current stage of development in China, reduction of consumption should be regarded as the primary solution. Agriculture is the largest water user and therefore the sector with the greatest water-saving potential in China. Hence, vigorous development of water-saving irrigation naturally becomes the inevitable choice for China to mitigate the conflict between water supply and demand.

Bearing this in mind, the Chinese government has proposed to “develop water-saving irrigation as a revolutionary measure”. Since the beginning of the new century, 11 successive No. 1 Documents of the central government and the 2011 CPC’s Central Working Conference on Water Conservancy have all emphasized the need to regard water-saving irrigation as a key strategic measure. The National Outline on Agricultural Water Saving (2012-2020) released in 2012 put forward explicit goals for and requirements on water-saving irrigation. With the birth of a series of central and local policy measures and continuous increase of central and local financial input, water-saving irrigation in China has entered an unprecedented fast track. As of the end of 2013, effective irrigation area nationwide amounted to 952 million mu (63.47 million hectare), of which 407 million mu (27.11 million hectare) or roughly 43% was covered by water-saving irrigation projects, and 214 million mu (14.27 million hectare) of land or about 22% enjoyed highly efficient water-saving irrigation, in which low-pressure pipe irrigation, spray irrigation and micro irrigation take up 111 million mu (7.40 million hectare), 45 million mu (3 million hectare) and 58 million mu (3.87 million hectare) respectively.

Water-saving irrigation has produced the following major benefits: (1) Conservation of water resources. Since 2000, irrigation water consumption per mu of farmland in China has declined from 420 m3 to 361 m3, the farmland irrigation water use coefficient has gone up from 0.43 to 0.52, the proportion of farmland irrigation water consumption in total water consumption has declined from 63% to 55%, and effective irrigation area has increased from 825 million mu (55 million hectare) to 952 million mu (63.47 million hectare). (2) Higher grain output. Average grain output per mu has increased by 10%-40% with the use of water-saving irrigation. Since 2000, grain output per 1 m3 of irrigation water has increased from 1.33 to 1.75 kilograms. (3) Greater use efficiency of fertilizers and pesticides. Highly efficient water-saving irrigation realizes integration of water, fertilizers and pesticides, which, when compared with traditional irrigation methods, improves use efficiency of fertilizers and pesticides by 5%-20%. (4) Comprehensive benefits for promotion of modern agricultural development. Water-saving irrigation not only brings along comprehensive benefits such as energy conservation, saving of land, time and labor, and reduction of emission, but also enhances technological integration, mechanization and modernization, and thereby promotes the development of intensive modern agriculture with economy of scale. (5) Catalyzing development of the water-saving industry. At present there are more than 2,000 manufacturers of water-saving irrigation devices and materials nationwide, with a combined capacity of supplying water-saving irrigation devices and materials for an aggregate area of over 30 million mu (2 million hectare) on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the manufacturing, study and research relating to water-saving irrigation have all witnessed continuous progress.

II. Goal and Measures for Further Development of Water-saving Irrigation

In line with the decisions and deployment of the State Council, China is actively promoting the construction of key water saving and water supply projects and vigorously developing water-saving irrigation. It is targeted that by 2020, the proportion of water-saving irrigation project area nationwide is enhanced to over 60% over total effectively irrigated area, and that of highly efficient water-saving irrigation area is up to over 30% in total effectively irrigated area, while the farmland irrigation water use coefficient is raised to above 0.55.

(1) Enhance water-saving renovation of existing irrigation areas. By 2020 China shall complete water-saving renovation of 434 large irrigation districts and 2,157 key medium-sized irrigation districts, and construct a group of new water-saving irrigation districts in places with approproate water and soil conditions.

(2) Develop highly efficient water-saving irrigation with economy of scale. Highly efficient water-saving irrigation with economy of scale shall be put into practice in a full manner, including water-saving irrigation for higher grain yield in north-eastern China, water-saving irrigation for higher efficiency in north-western China, less extraction of ground water through water-saving irrigation in northern China, and water-saving irrigation for emission reduction in south China. In hilly areas, tailored “five categories of small water works” (i.e., small water cellars, small water ponds, small ditches, small dams and small drainage/irrigation stations) shall be constructed, and rainwater shall be harvested for water-saving irrigation. Technologies for water-saving control irrigation shall be extended vigorously in rice paddocks.

(3) Establish reversal pressure mechanisms that compel the practice of water-saving irrigation. We will implement the most stringent water resources management system, practice total quantity control and quota management of irrigation water consumption, implement corresponding mechanisms for rational pricing of agricultural water consumption, and thereby reversal pressure mechanisms of performance evaluation and economic regulation favoring the development of water-saving irrigation should be in place.

(4) Set up incentives for water-saving irrigation: Efforts shall be made to actively explore ways that facilitate water-saving irrigation such as government support for private operation, substitution of subsidies with rewards and compensation after construction, encourage and guide farmers, farmers’ water use cooperatives and new-style agricultural business owners to become major players in the construction and management of water-saving irrigation works. At the meantime, preferential policies on water tariff, taxation and financial services will be improved to attract the investment of more social capital into water-saving irrigation. In addition, explorations will be made to establish mechanisms for water using rights trading and government repurchase of water saved through water-saving irrigation.

(5) Construct a long-term operation mechanism for water-saving irrigation. Ownership reform of water-saving irrigation projects shall be actively driven forward to clarify project ownership and use rights, and set up the responsibility system for management, maintenance and operation of the projects. Grass-roots water service systems shall be further constructed and irrigation experiments and outcomes thereof better utilized to provide scientific guidance for water-saving irrigation. At the same time, we will work hard to provide more professional high-quality social services in association with water-saving irrigation and enable water-saving irrigation works successful construction, good governance and long-term benefits.

Now my colleagues and I are ready to take up your questions.