BEIJING - The State Council, China's cabinet, is looking to the private sector to help modernize the country's irrigation facilities, according to a regulation published Thursday.

Together, government funds and private investment will support the development of farmland irrigation systems, according to the new regulation.

The government should help private investors identify suitable construction and production projects, and bring the nations's irrigation facilities up to modern standards, it said.

Banks are also encouraged to offer more loans to investors who want to back irrigation projects. In the meantime, the government plans to engage the services of private contractors to maintain the facilities.

The State Council called for more efficient systems and processes, such as sprinkling irrigation and capillary watering.

The country's rural watering facilities do not meet the demands of modern agriculture and population growth, the State Council admitted in a press release.

They are also held back by out-of-date facilities, poor maintenance, low efficiency and improper resources allocation, it said.

With a clearer division of duties and preferential policies, the new regulation is expected to better manage resources from governments, rural communities and private forces, it said.

The government will take charge of backbone irrigation facilities while villages, farmers and private firms will be responsible for maintenance and operation of smaller, local facilities.