China: Water shortages: Ms Fang's parched patch

Economist: FANG HAIXIN, a subsistence farmer near the village of Huopu in western Guizhou province, never used to fret about not having enough water. True, there was the odd dry year. But rainfall was usually abundant, and harvests adequate. Yet like many in south-west China over the past three years, Ms Fang has learnt to grapple with the sort of drought conditions that, until now, were more commonly a feature of China's dry northern plains. Accustomed to finding water close to the surface, Ms Fang and...

URL: http://www.economist.com/node/21552583