21 November 2012: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it is providing a US$200 million loan to improve crop output and farming productivity in some of China’s most important grain producing regions.

Yaozhou Zhou, Senior Water Resources Specialist of ADB’s East Asia Department, noted that China’s future food security is dependent on more efficiently using available water and making farming more productive. Funds for the Comprehensive Agricultural Development Project will improve irrigation and drainage in some of the Chinese provinces that collectively produced more than 28% of China’s total grain output in 2008.

The project will upgrade poorly maintained irrigation systems and will also finance land leveling, soil testing, fertilizer application and windbreak trees to reduce soil degradation and increase fertility. Finally, training in modern, environmentally friendly agricultural techniques will be provided to farmer groups. The goal is to increase grain output by more than 30% in some of the provinces from 2009 levels by 2020. [ADB News]