Jilin province achieved a great harvest thanks to prompt resolutions to handle a severe drought that plagued the province this year, according to a report on Thursday, Nov 20, from the provincial grain administration.

Jilin is an important granary filler for China, making a huge impact on the country’s food production. According to the figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics, the province ranks first for per capita grain production exceeding total tons in 2013

However, the final results will be heavily affected by the severe drought.

The province attributes the harvest largely to the prompt artificial precipitation. The provincial grain office, with the assistance of the meteorological bureau, utilized several artificial precipitations during the drought season.

"Thanks to the rain, our county saw a 10 percent increase in crop production," said Wang Mangui, a farm official in Li Shu county. "It’s unbelievable to get such a good result in a drought year."

Moreover, the west part of Jilin has become a new rice-growing area thanks to the newly-built irrigation projects. The growing harvests over the five-year period are mainly in the Baishan area, where the local government diverts rivers into the paddy fields for constant irrigation.

According to a Baichan local official, "We have a good harvest this year with the total amount increasing 10 percent because of the irrigation projects."

Jilin is rich in corn and rice. Production saw a big increase this year thanks to efforts made by the local farm administration, which pays attention to the quality of seeds.

In commenting on this, the provincial farm official said they have been cultivating good corn and rice seeds for many years. "Those first-class seeds helped raise total production by 43 percent," said the official.

The increasing production of the province has raised enthusiasm for farming, with the province now boasting 20,000 family farms and more than 40,000 farmer cooperatives.

"We need to keep their passion and make sure our farmers benefit from their hard work," said the official from the Jilin Farmland Office.