Editing Gansu (section)

=== Agriculture ===
[[File:5920-Dongxiang-County-Daxiahe-valley-fields-seen-from-Linxia-County.jpg|thumb|Farmland in [[Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture|Linxia]]]]
Due to poor natural conditions such as aridness, Gansu is one of the Chinese provinces with smallest per  capita  area of arable  land.<ref name=":1" /> Agricultural production includes [[cotton]], [[linseed oil]], [[maize]], [[melons]] (such as the [[honeydew melon]], known locally as the [[Bailan melon]]), [[millet]], and [[wheat]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Gansu is known as a source for wild medicinal herbs which are used in [[Chinese medicine]]. However, pollution by heavy metals, such as [[cadmium poisoning|cadmium]] in irrigation water, has resulted in the poisoning of many acres of agricultural land. The extent and nature of the heavy metal pollution is considered a state secret.<ref name="Caixin030113">{{cite news|title=The Poison Eaters of Gansu Province: Pollution is not a problem some western farmers can choose to ignore, as many say they have suffered from chronic bone pains for decades|url=http://english.caixin.com/2013-03-01/100496199.html|access-date=1 March 2013|newspaper=Caixin|date=1 March 2013|author=Liu Hongqiao}}</ref>