On Wednesday, China’s State Council announced 19 new measures to stabilize and boost the economy, including an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.5b USD) in subsidies for agriculture.
In 2022, the central government has already issued subsidies of 30 billion yuan ($4.4b USD) to farmers to help after a difficult start to the winter wheat crop, rapidly rising input costs, and to encourage grain production.
In addition, the government is also providing 10 billion yuan for drought and disaster relief that is primarily focused on helping the current rice crop.
Rice is the crop most affected by the current drought and heat conditions. In a message to investors, Winall Hi-tech Seed, a rice seed company, said while some varieties of seed had better temperature resistance, the heat and drought will affect the growth and seed setting of current rice crops.
Henan province also issued another 130m yuan ($19m USD) in subsidies for agriculture and drought relief.
The funds are intended to help in water conservation efforts, planting and replanting efforts, and to fund fertilizer, insecticide, and pesticide treatments.