People in China's Southwest province of Guizhou are taking advantage of the artificial rain that fell three days ago. It's given them the opportunity to recover some of their losses from the drought that has ravaged the region since July. Our reporter Ji Yi tells us what they managed to salvage.

Artificial rain has brought some of the vegetation back to life, but the problem remains. The land is still arid, making it impossible to grow crops like rice and corn.

One farmer said "This period is critical for growing corn, but the water shortage makes it impossible. I already know my losses, I will lose at least half of my income."

However, the rainfall did give farmers like Mr. Wu another chance to plant their fields.

One farmer said "This is my farmland. The rice I planted all died because of the drought. But I decided to replant vegetables, and I will recover 80% of the income."

80% of the farmland in Mr. Wu's village was about to be given up due to the water shortages. But now short-season cash crops are giving farmers the chance to recover some of their losses.

According to the Agriculture department of Anshun city, more than 13 thousand hectares of farmland in the city have not been planted. While the local government has been persuading farmers to replant using short-season crops, intense heat and the speed of evaporation means villagers will have to depend on the weather in the coming days to see if they can recover their losses.

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