Land transfer should fully respect farmers' wishes

In recent years, the process of rural land transfer has been continuously accelerating, but the author has found in their work that some farmers still have concerns about land transfer.

The main reasons farmers have concerns are: first, expectations for land are too high. In recent years, national grain prices have risen for many consecutive years, and given the current high level of mechanization in crop planting and harvesting, farmers generally have high expectations for land, and many farmers are reluctant to transfer it. Second, transfer prices vary. At present, there is no clear guiding price for rural land transfer in various places, and farmers do not know how much money would be reasonable to transfer their land for. Third, there is a lack of safeguard mechanisms. In many places, the transfer of land management rights is only a short-term arrangement between households, and some are even oral agreements, with no clear provisions on the transfer period or scope of operation, creating hidden risks of disputes.

In response to these concerns of farmers, first, farmers' wishes should be respected so that farmers can transfer land with peace of mind. Whether land is transferred, and in what form it is transferred, should adhere to the principles of equal consultation and paid transfer, and be decided independently by farming households.

Second, adhere to policy principles and ensure standardized land transfer. Farmers' concerns about land transfer cannot simply be attributed to outdated thinking among farmers. Before farmers can obtain higher levels of employment and social security, the government should carefully and meticulously carry out planning guidance, institutional improvement, and publicity and guidance work.

Third, strengthen the management and services of land transfer. Establish land transfer management institutions to coordinate and handle relationships among all parties; improve the transfer mechanism for land management and study and formulate a unified transfer contract; form a price formation mechanism and compensation mechanism for rural land transfer, and improve the risk protection mechanism for land transfer; establish a system for mediating rural land contractual management disputes, strengthen arbitration and mediation work for disputes, promptly resolve land transfer disputes, and protect the lawful rights and interests of both parties to the contract.