BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the importance of stepping up the country’s construction of farmland water conservation projects.

In an instruction issued to a conference held on Nov 14, Premier Li said the building of basic farmland water conservation projects was crucial to ensure China’s grain safety and enhance the development of modern agriculture. While further enhancing the construction of farmland water projects and other major water conservation projects, China should attach importance to raising those projects’ capacity of disaster prevention and relief, Premier Li said.

“China must set up a mechanism to ensure steady capital input growth, capitalize on different sources of construction capital, and attract the participation of private capital,” he said.

Efforts should also be made to encourage farmers to participate in the construction and daily maintenance of those projects, the Premier said.

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua attended the conference on water conservation project construction, saying that efforts should be made on building farmland water conservation projects to create high-standard farmland and improve overall agricultural productivity.