Guard Strictly Against the Negative Effects of Industrial and Commercial Capital Going to the Countryside
Recently, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave important instructions on farmland protection, proposing that "particular attention must be paid to preventing problems such as some industrial and commercial capital going to rural areas, becoming involved in land transfers, and then carrying out non-agricultural construction, affecting farmland protection and grain production." In accordance with the spirit of these instructions, strictly guarding against the "negative effects" of industrial and commercial capital going to the countryside has important practical significance for standardizing land transfers, strengthening farmland protection, and safeguarding food security.
Promoting land transfers and achieving large-scale operations is the only way to develop modern agriculture and is also the basic direction of the new round of rural reform. Land transfers and large-scale operations often require the participation of capital. Urban industrial and commercial capital, precisely in response to this situation, has gone to the countryside one after another to participate in rural construction, and to a certain extent has solved problems such as the funding gap for large-scale rural land operations.
However, the profit-seeking nature of capital has led some industrial and commercial capital going to the countryside to pursue profits one-sidedly. Some industrial and commercial capital is "up to no good," going to rural areas to "sell dog meat under the sign of mutton," and under the name of agriculture engaging heavily in non-agricultural construction. Some, under banners such as "tourism and sightseeing agriculture" and "rural tourism development," wantonly seize good farmland and engage in real estate development; some defy repeated government warnings and build golf courses. All of this not only destroys precious farmland resources, but also endangers the country's red line of 1.8 billion mu of farmland.
Moreover, some industrial and commercial capital going to the countryside does not focus on agriculture, but instead targets the state's agriculture-related support policies, spending a great deal of energy on departmental lobbying and racking its brains to seize various subsidies and project support funds, with no intention of operating the land normally, allowing large areas of good farmland transferred into its hands to lie waste.
The "willfulness" of some industrial and commercial capital can also become a cause affecting harmony and stability in rural society. After going to the countryside, some industrial and commercial capital does not act strictly in accordance with relevant laws and regulations on land transfer or expropriation, but instead tries to obtain land by "buddying up" with local power holders, infringing on farmers' legitimate rights and interests, arousing public dissatisfaction, and even triggering some social problems.
To prevent industrial and commercial capital from going astray and producing "negative effects," the dominant position of farmers in land operation and transfer should be respected. At present, the governance structure in some rural areas is still imperfect, and democratic decision-making procedures are not fully implemented. It is necessary to further improve institutional design so that farmers have a real say in land transfers, so that land transfers conform to farmers' wishes and proceed lawfully and in an orderly manner.
Relevant local departments must shoulder their regulatory responsibilities. They must not only keep a good watch on the "money bag" of agricultural support funds and prevent fraudulent acquisition of support funds, truly ensuring that support funds are used for agriculture. At the same time, they must strictly guard the "red line" of farmland protection, and through whole-process and fully in-place supervision ensure that land transfers are carried out reasonably and in a standardized way, avoiding land use deviating from the normal track.