China’s northern province of Henan is currently experiencing its worst drought in 63 years with more than 27 mu (approximately 4.5 million acres) of cropland needing water. In an effort to remedy this situation, the country’s south-to-north water diversion project is expected to begin operating within the coming days. The middle-route of the project will see 9.5 billion cubic meters of water pumped via canal and pipeline from the Danjiangkou Reservoir in Hubei Province to the northern grain producing provinces of Henan and Hebei, and to Beijing. Of the total water pumped north, 13% will be allocated for agricultural and ecological use adding 6 billion cubic meters of water for crop production. In Henan province there are currently 16 million mu (2.6 million acres) of dryland wheat being planted with an average output of between 150 and 200 kilograms per mu. With the additional water this output is expected to increase to between 400 and 500 kilograms per mu. It is hoped that this project which was initially conceived by Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1952 will gradually restore grain production in the north and strengthen food security for the country.
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