Growing pains of China's agricultural water needs

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27978124


Northern areas of China have an abundance of arable land, but groundwater resources are scarce

China's scarce water supply is being wasted as crops grown in water-stressed provinces are exported to wet, rainfall-rich areas, a study reports.

Farming accounts for about 65% of water use in China and the limited resource is coming under pressure from rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.

Officials have called the nation's water shortage a "grave situation" and called for strict water controls.

The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.