In addition to the central government's 400 million yuan subsidy to counter the drought, it has expedited issuance of an 86.7 billion yuan subsidy for agricultural materials and grain production.

Local governments will receive the subsidy from the central government a month earlier than scheduled in order to alleviate drought woes.

In addition, the subsidy fund for farmers' purchases of farming machinery has increased to 10 billion yuan from last year's 4 billion yuan.

As of Wednesday, the eight most parched provinces also poured 2.57 billion yuan into drought relief, the ministry said.

"I have spoken with some farmers during my trip to Hebei province, and they have shown great enthusiasm for fighting the drought," Wei said.

"There is still great potential for a good summer harvest if we boost efforts to overcome the drought and minimize losses."

(China Daily February 13, 2009)