North China's Hebei province will intensify its efforts to combat the winter drought by conserving water resources and improving the irrigation system in the province, a local newspaper reported.

Officials from the provincial department of water resources said the provincial government this year will improve the irrigation system and focus on water conservation, adding the equivalent of 17,333 hectares of arable land by conserving water, Shijiazhuang Daily reported.

Most parts of the province have not seen rain or snow since last November, and about 7.15 million hectares of land used to grow crops are affected.

The provincial government promises to take measures to ease the drought, the newspaper reported, adding that infrastructures such as reservoirs, dams and cisterns will be cleaned and upgraded.

In addition, an emergency mechanism will be improved, an assessment mechanism for the irrigation system will be taken into account, and efforts will be made to pool capital to update the irrigation system for water conservation efforts.

By Guo Changdong and Chen Keyu