Agricultural water-saving irrigation market has strong demand

China's agricultural water-saving irrigation is lagging behind

As we all know, China has a shortage of water resources and its spatial and temporal distribution is uneven. On the whole, summer and spring are less frequent in winter and spring, and there are fewer northern and southern regions. The provinces with abundant water resources are mainly concentrated in the southern region, while in the northern regions, especially in the northwest regions such as Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, and central regions such as Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, and Hebei, the water resources are extremely scarce.

In recent years, frequent droughts in the southwest, northwest and northeast regions of China have recurred. In China, the area of ​​water-saving irrigation is small, and the proportion of high-efficient water-saving irrigation area is even lower, which further aggravates the drought situation. Up to now, of the 900 million mu of irrigated area in China, the area of ​​water-saving irrigation projects only accounts for 45%. The area of ​​efficient irrigation and water-saving irrigation such as micro-irrigation and sprinkler irrigation accounts for only 8%, and the regional development is unbalanced. not tall.

In contrast to the shortage of water resources, the development of water-saving irrigation in China is lagging behind. At present, there is a big gap between China's agricultural water-saving irrigation and foreign countries. The area occupied by advanced agricultural water-saving irrigation technology and the degree of modernization of water-saving irrigation technology are lagging behind that of developed countries. There are major challenges in the construction and promotion of technological systems. Farmers' own economic capacity is limited, central input and local matching funds are insufficient, and the concept of light water saving for water supply by rural households is difficult to change. The backwardness of technical and agricultural water management networks are limiting the development of China's water-saving irrigation industry.

Policies favor water-saving irrigation development

China's total social water consumption and agricultural water consumption have basically remained stable, with agricultural water accounting for the largest proportion of total social water use. As of 2013, China’s total social water consumption was 617 billion cubic meters, of which total agricultural water consumption was 390 billion cubic meters, accounting for 63.2% of the total social water consumption, which was the largest proportion.

As agricultural water accounts for the largest proportion of total water consumption in the society, agricultural water-saving irrigation has also received increasing attention from the state and relevant ministries and commissions. The government will increase its input to promote the development of agricultural water-saving irrigation. In addition, the frequent occurrence of droughts has also led the government to turn more attention to farmland irrigation and water-saving irrigation construction.

Recently, the Ministry of Water Resources, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the “National Implementation Plan for Drought Relief Planning (2014-2016)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Plan”), requiring all provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government) to base themselves on strengthening key personnel. Water source engineering and construction of drought-responsive emergency water sources, large-, medium-, small-, and micro-scale drought-resistant water conservancy projects will be carried out concurrently to further enhance China’s ability to provide water supply capacity and drought relief. To this end, the Central Ministry of Finance has issued 10 billion yuan in subsidies to support the "Implementation Plan." ,

In the context of water conservation, agricultural water-saving irrigation will also be an important part of the forthcoming Water Pollution Prevention Action Plan. In addition, the Ministry of Water Resources also requires that the total investment in the construction of farmland water conservancy projects in the winter and spring of this year will strive to increase by more than 10% from the previous year. Based on the estimated total investment of 337.1 billion yuan last year, the amount of investment in farmland water conservancy construction in 2014-2015 is expected to reach 370 billion yuan. It can be foreseen that a new round of upsurge of farmland water conservancy construction will set off. As an important component of farmland irrigation, agricultural water-saving irrigation will also usher in a broad development prospects.

Rigid demand for water-saving irrigation market is strong

Shanlun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that water-saving irrigation technology can greatly increase the utilization of water resources and is the basis for the development of water-saving agriculture in the future. At present, there is a big gap between China's agricultural water-saving irrigation industry and foreign countries.

It is expected that the focus of follow-up work in China may be: to increase capital investment in agricultural water-saving irrigation and give priority to supporting arid regions; to establish a regional agricultural water-saving irrigation technology system; advanced technologies such as sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation are future development trends; Users of irrigation technology are financially and financially supported.

The state will give priority to supporting dry regions, and the local economic development level is an important consideration. Under the background of the Ministry of Finance's vigorous implementation of the PPP model, the central and local governments will actively encourage other channels to invest while they occupy the dominant position of their own funds. As water resources, climate, agriculture, and economy in various regions of China have strong regional characteristics, the country may establish and promote regional agricultural water-saving irrigation technology systems. In addition, financial and financial support is given to users of agricultural water-saving irrigation technologies.

In the second half of 2014, the situation of the national water-saving irrigation market was gratifying. The State Council has successively arranged to deploy Northeast China to accelerate the construction of major water conservancy projects for water saving and water supply, which will provide market opportunities for related companies to improve their performance.