Mongolia vows to improve irrigation

ULAN BATOR - Mongolia was seeking to improve irrigation facilities in the southern Gobi region to develop local agriculture, an official said Tuesday.

Mongolia was implementing all feasible measures to prevent risks facing agricultural development in the region, its lack of water resources in particular, L. Bayartulga, director of agriculture policy at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, told local media.

Mongolia's agricultural region is mainly located in the north, while the vast Gobi region's agriculture lags behind due to water shortage.

Experts from the region's Dornogobi and Bayankhongor provinces also stressed that the irrigation issues should be resolved to further promote agricultural development.

Under the third campaign of Reclaiming Virgin Lands, launched in 2008, Mongolia's grain output has increased for four years. In 2011, the country's grain output reached 430,000 tons, making it self-sufficient.