BEIJING, April 21 -- The Ministry of Water Resources said on Sunday it had concerted efforts to secure water supply in around 500 large and medium-sized irrigation areas in drought-affected regions of southwestern China.

Since this spring, droughts have hit the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, producing areas of wheat and corn, according to Zhang Xiang, a researcher with the ministry.

Zhang highlighted that Yunnan's precipitation level since the spring is 42.3 percent less than usual, with the drought projected to persist.

To date, a total of 160 million cubic meters of water have been delivered to the drought-affected regions in Sichuan and Yunnan, irrigating over 3.5 million mu (about 230,000 hectares) of farmlands.

Meanwhile, China has earmarked 174 million yuan (about 24.49 million U.S. dollars) for bolstering drought relief and ensuring sufficient water supply.