Eight Chinese specialists will be sent from northwest China's Gansu Province to Nigeria on Saturday to teach locals expertise on rain water utilization.

Li Yuanhong, president of the Gansu Provincial Academy of Water Resources, said the eight specialists, who are from the Water Resources Institute attached to the Gansu

Provincial Department of Water Resources and the Dingxi County Bureau of Water Resources in the province, would stay in Jigawa State for three to six months.

During their stay, they will help build silos and train local residents in rainwater collection, said Li, who is also secretary-general of the Professional Committee of Rainwater Utilization with the China Water Resources Society.

Those are just a few of the missions they are supposed to accomplish under a one-year cooperation program on rainwater utilization launched in accordance with an agreement signed between Jigawa State of Nigeria and Gansu Province of China in April, said Li.

In addition, the Chinese specialists are also expected to help locals build a number of small water irrigation facilities and solve difficulties in obtaining drinking water for both human beings and livestock.

Gansu, where the climate is arid, leads the world by using rainwater to meet the needs for agricultural production and daily life. A total of 2.52 million farmers in the province have bid farewell to a history of having difficulty finding drinking water, thanks to the construction of 2.53 million water silos.

Moreover, 304,667 hectares of farmland are now irrigated by irrigation works based on rainwater collected, according to Li.