Anti-desert technologies, viable in north China, are badly needed because the desert has become a major threat to residents there, said a senior official Wednesday.

People in many remote villages in north China do not know how to properly protect their farmland from the desert, which also aggravates their poverty, said Li Yucai, deputy director of the State Administration of Forestry (SAF).

About 2,460 square kilometers of farmland and grassland have become desert annually in China since the early 1990s, and only 10 percent of the desert has been brought under control.

In an effort to tackle this problem, about 100 experts in this field have been sent to villages in north China's Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei and the suburb of Beijing.

The scientists and technicians will not only introduce new technologies but also give training courses to farmers, teaching them how to use these techniques, according to the SAF source. The forestry authorities plan to establish a number of model villages where advanced tech and living pattern are introduced.

A tree-planting project, which has been implemented in north China for 20 years, will start its fourth phase soon, said Li, adding that viable technologies will be vital to it.
The 100 experts were divided into groups with four to six members and they will also collect information and material to shape environmentally friendly growth patterns in these areas.