Water has long been one of the most essential resources for spring plowing, and the shortage of water resources remains a major constraint to sustainable agricultural development in many parts of China.

This week, an irrigation system upgrading project with a total investment of over $0.3 billion kick-started in northeast China's Liaoning Province, covering 40 percent of the arable land in the region.

Irrigated land is more productive than non-irrigated land, and agricultural studies have shown that crop yields are significantly higher in crops that have been professionally irrigated, as opposed to rain-fed crops.