Drought-stricken growers in California have been handed a boost by the news that governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken action to try and ease the problems ravaging some of the state's key production areas.
According to media reports in the US, governor Schwarzenegger has signed a letter to president Barack Obama requesting that western Fresno County be declared a federal disaster area and that financial aid be given to the area, The Packer reported.
During a visit to Mendota, he also revealed that an executive order had been issued for the state to provide around US$4m per month to residents, for emergency food assistance and additional unemployment benefits.
There's such an emergency in the San Joaquin Valley when it comes to water and unemployment that it needs immediate attention,' governor Schwarzenegger told local media.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has reported that around 500,000ha of San Joaquin Valley farmland are fallow this year.
'I will fight, and I will fight, and I will do everything that I can to create the immediate water that is needed and an infrastructure that can serve 50m people,' governor Schwarzenegger added.
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