East China's Jiangxi Province plans to connect 200,000 mu (13,333 hectares) of farmland to highly efficient water-saving irrigation equipment, authorities said.
Jiangxi is a water-rich province but rapid urbanization and industrialization make saving water a pressing issue. By 2020, annual water usage should not exceed 26 billion cubic meters, according to a provincial regulation. Last year, the province used 24.5 billion cubic meters, according to Yang Pilong, deputy head of the provincial department of water resources.
"Jiangxi needs to hook up 1 million mu of farmland to an efficient water-saving irrigation system during the 2016 to 2020 period," Yang said.
To achieve this, the provincial authorities have set up special funds and released standards for water-saving projects. The quality and progress of the projects will be reviewed through evaluations and supervision.
