A total of 160 million Chinese farmers will get access to clean drinking water in the 2006-2010 period, Minister of Water Resources Wang Shucheng said on Sunday.

The central government will invest 32 billion yuan (about US$4 billion) to ensure clean water supply to the farmers in the period, Wang said at a national conference in Qinhuangdao of Hebei Province attended by water resources officials.

Last year, the central government injected 6 billion yuan to provide safe drinking water to nearly 29 million farmers.

By the end of 2004, there were still 323 million Chinese farmers who had to drink unclean or unhealthy water, accounting for 34 percent of the country's total rural population, statistics from the ministry showed.

Contaminated underground water, bitter salty water and water polluted by excessive fluorin and arsenic are three major threats to the health of Chinese farmers.

To provide safe drinking water for farmers has been put as a priority by the ministry since 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2007)