New round of returning farmland to forest and grassland receives strong support from the Ministry of Finance

According to the "Overall Plan for the New Round of Returning Farmland to Forest and Grassland", in 2015 the state arranged a new round of tasks for returning farmland to forest and grassland of 10 million mu, mainly concentrated in 18 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) including Hebei and Inner Mongolia, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, of which: 9.4 million mu to forest and 600,000 mu to grassland. In 2015, the central government allocated 4.964 billion yuan in special funds for the new round of returning farmland to forest and grassland, of which: 4.928 billion yuan in cash subsidies and 36 million yuan in one-time subsidy for operating expenses, double that of 2014.

In order to further implement the new round of returning farmland to forest and grassland and accelerate the pace of ecological development, since 2015 the Ministry of Finance, together with the State Forestry Administration, has successively carried out research in the three provinces of Yunnan, Shaanxi and Hubei. At present, the Ministry of Finance is working with the National Development and Reform Commission, the State Forestry Administration, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and other departments to promptly study and improve the relevant policies for the new round of returning farmland to forest and grassland.