Aerial photo taken on August 24, 2022 shows a section of the Yangtze River in Chaisang district of Jiujiang city, East China's Jiangxi Province.

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua supervised the work of drought relief and grain production in East China's Jiangxi Province from Saturday to Sunday, stressing strong and effective measures to combat drought and ensure a harvest of autumn grain, minimize disaster losses, and strive to maintain stable grain production throughout the year.

Hu paid visits to Nanchang, Shangrao and other cities and counties in Jiangxi, inspected grain production bases, as well as reservoirs and emergency drought relief stations, to learn the situation of the drought and drought relief work, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Jiangxi and other regions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are important rice-producing areas in the country. However, as high temperatures and lack of rainfall have continued since July, fighting against drought and ensuring a harvest of autumn grain is proving to be a difficult task.

Hu stressed giving priority to ensuring the safety of drinking water for people and livestock, as well as water for agricultural production. The scientific distribution of water sources must be strengthened, and full play should be given to the role of water conservancy projects such as reservoirs and irrigation channels, he said, stressing that water resources must be increased by any means to combat drought.

China's Ministry of Finance recently allocated 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in central reserve funds to support drought relief work and the production of autumn grain, of which 6.5 billion yuan will be used for water conservancy and drought relief, and the remaining 3.5 billion yuan will be mainly used to support disaster-stricken households in purchasing fuel oil, pesticides, seeds and other materials needed for the recovery of agricultural production.

In 2021, China's total grain production reached 1.37 trillion jin (685 billion kilograms), hitting a new record. The country's grain output has exceeded 1.3 trillion jin for seven consecutive years. In addition, China's per capita grain supply hit 483 kilograms in 2021, higher than the internationally recognized safety line of 400 kilograms, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

China recorded growth in summer grain production in 2022 as well, with grain output totaling 147.39 million tons in this year's summer harvest, up 1 percent year-on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.