China's central government  announced funding for the use of water-saving irrigation technologies in major grain-producing regions, a move aimed at boosting grain output for the country's 1.3 billion people.

According to a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture, China will invest 38 billion yuan (6.03 billion U.S. dollars) in water-saving irrigation projects covering 2.53 million hectares of farmland in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces and Inner Mongolia autonomous region.