China to spend $95 mn in pest control

Beijing, Aug 21 (IANS) China will spend a whopping 600 million yuan (around $95 million) to protect agricultural fields from pests, Xinhua reported.

The ministry of commerce said Tuesday that it has allocated an additional 200 million yuan (around $32 million) in addition to the earlier issued 400 million yuan.

The fund is designated to protect cornfields in northeastern and northern China from armyworms and southern rice-producing areas from rice plant hoppers and rice blast disease, the ministry said.