Similar to many areas in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Shanxi Province is experiencing reduced water security for the agriculture sector. Changing climate conditions, including reduced rainfall, are increasing reliance on groundwater resources in the province. Unsustainable groundwater use for food production intensifies the impacts of climate change, and cost-effective adaptation responses are needed to better equip vulnerable agricultural regions. Groundwater is the main source of water supply for many local farmers in Shanxi Province. Water is often used with inefficient and outdated irrigation techniques. However, most traditional farmers are eager to improve and modernize their crop production and adopt more sustainable agricultural methods. Following increasing agricultural and industrial water use, Shanxi Province’s groundwater tables have been declining since 1956, a problem compounded by the impacts of climate change. Currently, roughly a quarter of the province’s land area—especially the fertile valleys—is experiencing falling groundwater tables. An estimated decrease
in rainfall of 12% since 1960 and a rise in the average temperature of 1.2°C over the same period have added to the pressure on groundwater availability.
