Water management and grain production in dryland farming areas in China

The grain production from dryland farming areas of China has great potential. At present, water utilized for grain production is only 37% of the potential. The potential yield per unit is 2.7 times that of current yield on dryland farming. Obtaining higher grain output and water use efficiency will involve many techniques including traditional farming systems, mulching tillage, water harvesting and water-saving irrigation engineering. From present agricultural production situations of the arid and semi-arid areas, rain-fed agriculture should be developed to a reasonable extent to meet the requirements of increasing grain production and economic growth. The approach for sustainable development should be adopted to strengthen international exchange and cooperation so as to enhance comprehensive sustainable development of dryland farming in China.