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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 06, 2002

Farmers Get Aid in Drought-Stricken E. China Province

For Wu Guo'en, a farmer in Leling of east China's Shandong Province, worries about the coming winter were eased when he received 200 kilograms of wheat and several hundred yuan from the local government.


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For Wu Guo'en, a farmer in Leling of east China's Shandong Province, worries about the coming winter were eased when he received 200 kilograms of wheat and several hundred yuan from the local government.

His fields suffered a drop of 30 percent in output this year as the province was hit by the worst drought in 53 years.

Figures from the provincial government show that 504.17 hectares of farmland have suffered from the drought, 91.66 hectares of which had no output, and 9 million farmers have been affected.

The government has given about 180 million yuan to about 6 million farmers affected, 86 million of which came from the central government and 94 million from local administrations.

To meet the need of about 771,200 tons of food to survive the winter, the government decided to use its food reserve for disaster relief.

Most farmers will pay only one-third of the price for the grain loaned by the government and poorer ones will enjoy a lower price. They are allowed to return the grain in the summer or fall next year.

The province has an ample reserve of food so far and can afford the need, said Qi Fenghai, head of the provincial authority of civil affairs.

The administrations also plan to cut taxes in the rural areas heavily affected by the drought, especially for poor families, the disabled and elderly people.

The government said it is still short of 200 million yuan for the disaster relief and is asking for donations in the province.


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