A successful province of agriculturalwater-saving: Gansu

Gansu, located in the northwestern region, is a typical agricultural province of arid, semiarid in China. The shortage of water resources is the biggest obstacle of Gansu Province's development, and the dry farming water-saving is the eternal theme of Gansu agricultural sustainable development. In recent years, intensify reform in Gansu, has walked out a successful way in the agricultural water-saving. Using the integrated river basin governance as opportunity, the total water-using quantity was regarded as rigidity to retrain, distributed to counties (districts), irrigated areas, towns, associations, groups step by step. Agricultural water price was substantially increased, with the surface water price from about $0.1RMB/m^3$ to more than $0.2 RMB/m^3$, and the ground water from zero to more than $0.1RMB/m^3$. Simultaneously, the difference water prices and over-quota water progression price markup were carried out. The transaction of water rights was encouraged to impel the peasant to establish the consciousness of saving-water. The regulatory documents were formulated to standardize the scope, condition, mode, program etc. of agriculture water-rights transaction, to guarantees the transaction of water rights is carries out in order. The pattern of farming was optimized and adjusted, reducing the high water-consumption crop, increasing economic crops with high benefit and low water-consumption, developing industrialized agricultures such as green house. The relative engineering and measuring facility were comprehensively improved, with the anti-seepage of canal system and the enforcement of dynamo-electric well, developing high-efficient water-saving irrigation and overall metering facilities. The water fine-grained management has realized, and obvious water-saving effect has obtained: water-using rate in the irrigation area by river water has brought up to 0.57 from 0.52, and by well water up to 0.84 from 0.76. Although the water price has increased, the proportion that the water rate expenditure accounted for the cost lasts decline, and the farmers' income has gone up. The peasants express, the used water is few, and it is few to till land, but the income is many, and life is better.