How to Build a Long-Term Mechanism for Agricultural Land Transfer? An In-Depth Analysis
Agricultural land is a scarce production factor in China. From the perspective of overall social benefit, economies of scale can be achieved through agricultural land transfer. On the one hand, land consolidation can reduce the abandonment and waste of cultivated land; on the other hand, intensive management can achieve economies of scale, give play to the role of China's scarce agricultural land production factor, ensure food security and realize agricultural modernization. But overall, China's agricultural land has been divided too finely in the contracting process, which has hindered the intensive management and socialized production of agriculture. Since the implementation of the agricultural land transfer policy, the short transfer period has seriously affected the input of science and technology and capital in agricultural production. Therefore, promoting the long-termization of agricultural land transfer will be an important direction for China's agricultural land transfer.
The longer the agricultural land transfer period, the greater the quantity of agricultural land transferred. Long-term agricultural land transfer is the key to effectively solving the "short plank" problem in China's agricultural modernization and the "short leg" problem of farmers' income. The agricultural production cycle is long, and the cycle of return on agricultural investment is also long, requiring a long-term stable social environment and institutional guarantee, which requires long-term agricultural land transfer. To advance China's urbanization, a large number of farmers need to enter cities and towns for work and life, which also requires long-term transfer of contracted land. To adjust the economic and social structure and transform the economic growth mode, long-term agricultural land transfer is likewise required.
I. Long-term agricultural land transfer is a common experience of agricultural land governance in developed countries
1. Long-term agricultural land transfer is the foundation of agricultural construction in developed countries
In the early period, Britain once used the "enclosure movement" to expand the scale of agricultural production and operation. In the course of its westward expansion, the United States once used the methods of allocating public land and selling public land at low prices to expand the scale of agricultural production and operation. More countries adopted the method of market competition to prompt small farmers to give up farming and enter cities and towns for work and life. After World War II, developed countries continued to implement policies supporting and encouraging intensive agricultural land management, and the per capita scale of agricultural land operation continued to expand. France encouraged elderly farmers to give up farming and sell or lease their land to young farmers by providing appropriate financial subsidies. By the end of 1977, 543,000 farm owners in France had handed over a land area of 9.5 million hectares after receiving lifelong annuities for leaving farming, accounting for about 1/3 of the national farmland area. Mutual-aid agricultural development cooperatives were encouraged; for example, France established the General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in 1959 to coordinate policies and promote the development of agricultural cooperatives. Credit was issued to support large-scale agricultural operations, with long-term low-interest and interest-free loans supporting large-scale agricultural operations; for example, the agricultural loan interest rate in France at that time was generally 3%, about half lower than the general loan interest rate. The state gave direct subsidies to agricultural production, subsidized water conservancy, electricity and other projects built for agriculture, subsidized production materials purchased by farmers, and subsidized the development of agricultural scientific research and education. It protected the prices of agricultural products and gave certain subsidies to agricultural products. Through the above measures, the degree of intensive agricultural management was continuously raised; for example, in the 1990s in the United States, the average cultivated land borne by each agricultural laborer was 714.2 mu.
2. Developed countries legally guarantee long-term agricultural land transfer
After Charles de Gaulle came to power, France stipulated that the minimum term of a land lease contract must not be less than 9 years, and the lease could be extended after expiration. When the lessor intends to transfer the leased real estate, the lessee has the right of first refusal. Japan's Agricultural Land Law amended in 1970 stipulated that for lease contracts with a term of more than 10 years, the right to terminate the contract is not allowed to be retained during the contract period; this provision was set up to promote the signing of lease contracts of more than 10 years. Japan's Agricultural Land Law of 1976 also stipulated that the land lease term is generally 10 years. Japan established a land management company to manage agricultural land. When the land management company leases land from farmers, it pays the leasing farmers 10 years of rent in a lump sum, while agricultural production units leasing land from the land management company only need to pay rent annually, and the government provides financial subsidies to the agricultural land management company and the tenants. The legal system for the transfer of agricultural land use rights in Britain stipulated that the terms of leasehold rights were 125 years, 40 years, 20 years and 10 years respectively. The former West Germany once implemented social policies to support long-term agricultural land transfer, such as rewarding farmers for early retirement, giving up farming, handing over land, and rewarding long-term land leasing, in order to expand the scale of farm operations; it also directly supported farmers with development potential through methods such as issuing subsidies and reduced-interest loans. Through a series of policies and measures, governments of various countries have continuously extended the term of agricultural land transfer.
3. Developed countries guide long-term agricultural land transfer through economic policies
The United States provides farms with mortgage loans with long terms and low interest; the short term is 5 years, and the long term can reach 40 years, with interest of 3%-7%. The Japanese government encourages long-term agricultural land transfer. For leasing households, the government provides different rent subsidies according to the length of the lease term. If the lease period is 3-6 years, the leasing household can receive a subsidy of 100,000 yen per hectare; if the lease period exceeds 6 years, it is raised to 200,000 yen per hectare. In Britain's leasehold estate rights, fixed-term estate rights stipulate that termination occurs only when the landlord or tenant notifies the other party before the expiration of the term agreed in the contract; if no notice is given before the deadline, the next lease term starts anew. Land lessees, apart from paying taxes and rent, bear no other obligations. France not only issues lifelong annuities for leaving farming to elderly farmers who abandon farming, but also controls land rent at an extremely low level to encourage farms to expand scale through land leasing.
In short, because governments of various countries support and encourage long-term agricultural land transfer, the term of agricultural land transfer has been gradually extended, creating a stable environment for agricultural production.
II. The current situation, problems and reasonable term of China's agricultural land transfer
1. The current situation and problems of China's agricultural land transfer
China's agricultural land transfer began since the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, but these agricultural land transfers were mainly small-scale, short-term and scattered transfers. The reasons for land transfer were mainly caused by changes in individual farmer households' family production; for example, some transferred land because they were old and weak and had no children to continue agricultural production; some transferred land because they worked and lived in cities and towns and it was inconvenient to return home to farm; some transferred land because they followed their children to another place for elderly care; some transferred agricultural land to agricultural companies in their own village and at the same time participated in production and operation activities in these companies; some transferred land in order to exchange it for social security. These land transfers did not have economies of scale and were merely small-scale land transfer activities among farmer households. However, in recent years, with the improvement of agricultural production technology, the agricultural labor force has been effectively released, and urbanization has attracted a large number of agricultural laborers to move to cities. Under this social opportunity, carrying out large-scale and socialized agricultural land transfer has become possible. Therefore, the government also actively encourages farmers to voluntarily transfer contracted land in accordance with the law and for compensation, and to increase the area of transferred agricultural land and lengthen the term.
However, at present the term of China's agricultural land transfer is not long, and compared with developed countries it is even rather short. Using the mode calculation method, we organized the survey data of Ding Guanliang on 919 farmer households in Zhejiang, Luo Dongqi on 424 farmer households in Chongqing, Qiu Daochi on 142 farmer households in Chongqing, and Wang Zhixiao on 89 farmer households in Shandong, and obtained the average term of farmers' transfer of contracted land: those with a transfer term of 1-5 years accounted for 69.15%, 5-10 years accounted for 16.6%, and 10 years and above accounted for 14.25%, with a median of 3.62 years. These research results are consistent with the results of our surveys and interviews, indicating that the current transfer term of rural contracted land in China is indeed relatively short. A short transfer term affects the stability of agricultural production, affects investment in agricultural production, and may also trigger disputes over agricultural land transfer. In addition, the risks of agricultural production and operation are high, agricultural investment yields meager profits, and the cycle for agricultural input to take effect is long, which has delayed the realization of China's agricultural modernization.
2. Main influencing factors
First, the pulling force attracting long-term agricultural land transfer is insufficient. For a long time, the prices of agricultural and sideline products have been relatively weak, the return on investment in agriculture is relatively low, and the attractiveness of agriculture is poor; moreover, there are relatively few mature leading agricultural enterprises. At the same time, the level of popularization of agricultural science and technology is not high; the training of agricultural professionals is insufficient, especially the number of agricultural professionals able to take root in rural areas for the long term is even smaller. In addition, the procedures for agricultural land transfer are not standardized, and there are many disputes in the process of agricultural land transfer; the agricultural industry chain is short, and the production and sales channels for agricultural and sideline products are narrow.
Second, the pushing force prompting farmers to actively transfer out agricultural land is insufficient. Since 1949, China's agricultural land policy has undergone several changes, and after reform and opening up, some regions have also been reallocating agricultural land within collectives in accordance with the law, which has caused farmers' concept of land to remain relatively conservative; they fear that agricultural land policy may change and take a wait-and-see attitude toward agricultural land transfer. At the same time, in some areas the returns from agricultural land transfer are small. By comparison, agricultural land not only does not pay taxes, but can also obtain government subsidies. For some farmers who go out for employment, returning home in the future to engage in agricultural production is their guarantee. In addition, because urban household registration is difficult to obtain, the treatment gap between farmers and urban residents and employees is very large, and the replacement rate of social security is very low, so farmers do not dare to transfer contracted land easily or choose short-term temporary transfer.
Third, government support is insufficient. Government grain subsidies are relatively scattered and not concentrated on large grain-producing households, and have the nature of social welfare; agricultural infrastructure is incomplete, existing infrastructure is relatively extensive and has not reached the fields; agricultural financing is difficult, with short terms and high interest, and does not suit the characteristics of agricultural production and operation; agricultural service institutions are not sound, especially intermediary institutions for land transfer are not sound, and agricultural land transfer procedures are not standardized; relevant laws and regulations on agricultural land transfer lag behind, and some even conflict with each other; agricultural land property rights are unclear, and some grassroots organizations interfere greatly in agricultural land transfer; agricultural insurance, as a quasi-public product, receives insufficient government support and is not implemented comprehensively; the housing, social security and household registration policies for farmers realizing urbanization are difficult to implement. These factors all restrict agricultural land transfer.
3. Principles for determining the term of agricultural land transfer
To determine a reasonable term for agricultural land transfer, it is necessary to proceed from the reasonable interests of the government, inflow households and outflow households, so as to achieve a balance of the three parties' interests to the greatest extent and in a reasonable manner.
The government hopes that the term of agricultural land transfer will be as long as possible, because long-term agricultural land transfer is conducive to realizing intensive management and socialized production, ensuring food security and realizing agricultural modernization. Therefore, the government needs to improve and implement corresponding measures, such as further subsidizing large grain-producing households, improving the financial environment, raising the treatment of farmers who become urban residents, and realizing agricultural insurance.
The farmer households among inflow households are generally young and middle-aged; to realize full-load work of family labor, they engage in agricultural production for a relatively long time and hope to inflow agricultural land for a relatively long time. The agricultural investors among inflow households, such as family farms, agricultural cooperatives and leading agricultural enterprises, hope to inflow agricultural land for a relatively long time because after taking in agricultural land they need to carry out land consolidation, infrastructure construction, agricultural machinery purchase and sales channel development, and the return cycle of these inputs is relatively long.
There are three situations among agricultural land outflow households. First, elderly farmers are unable to engage in production and operation, the agricultural land transfer fee will increase year by year, and the agricultural land transfer fee can be exchanged for social security. Second, some young and strong farmers who go out to work have increased income, and the existing agricultural land policy remains unchanged for a long time, so the term of agricultural land transfer can be extended. Third, farmers who settle in cities and towns will also transfer contracted land for the long term as they enjoy the treatment of urban residents. According to practical experience, with the development of agricultural productivity and the improvement of agricultural production and operation conditions, the term of agricultural land transfer will become longer and longer.
III. Building a long-term mechanism for agricultural land transfer
1. Activate the pulling force of the agricultural land inflow side to absorb transferred agricultural land
To realize agricultural land transfer, the most essential pulling force is the enhancement of transfer value. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the rate of return of agricultural production from aspects such as technology and capital, so that the return on transferred agricultural land is fundamentally raised. It is necessary to designate basic farmland, consolidate cultivated land, introduce water sources, dig drainage and irrigation channels, and strengthen agricultural infrastructure construction. It is necessary to develop agricultural science and education, train large numbers of agricultural professionals, especially encourage graduates of agricultural universities to engage in agricultural production and operation activities, provide free training for large grain-producing households and family farm owners, and popularize agricultural science and technology, such as the use of agricultural machinery and tools, plastic film mulching, and pest and disease control. It is necessary to support the development of large grain-producing households, family farms, agricultural cooperatives and agricultural companies, and promote the organic combination of technology, capital and agricultural land.
In addition, it is necessary to institutionally guarantee the long-term nature, reasonableness and standardization of agricultural land transfer. It is necessary to realize standardized operation of agricultural land transfer, reduce unnecessary disputes over agricultural land transfer, and enable farmer households, cooperatives and enterprises that absorb agricultural land to concentrate on agricultural production and operation activities. It is necessary to strengthen support for modern agriculture, implement price subsidies for agricultural machinery and tools, and implement direct subsidies for large grain-producing households or enterprises. Long-term low-interest loans should be given to large grain-producing households, family farms, agricultural cooperatives and agricultural enterprises that absorb agricultural land for more than 5 years. It is necessary to implement a price protection policy for agricultural and sideline products to prevent cheap grain from harming farmers. When the prices of agricultural and sideline products are sluggish, government protective-price purchasing should be implemented for agricultural and sideline products, protecting the interests of farmer households, cooperatives and enterprises that have long-term inflow of agricultural land and engage in modern agricultural production, enhancing the pulling force for long-term agricultural land transfer, and realizing long-term agricultural land transfer.
2. Strengthen the pushing force for agricultural land transfer on the agricultural land outflow side
It is necessary to publicize and encourage agricultural land transfer, guide and direct agricultural land transfer, and where conditions permit, give certain rewards to farmer households that transfer agricultural land. It is necessary to improve the environment for farmers' non-agricultural employment, increase opportunities for farmers' non-agricultural employment, and let farmers who change occupations enjoy the comparative benefits of industry. It is necessary to reform the household registration system, realize the integration of urban and rural social security, accelerate the process of urbanization, and let farmers entering cities enjoy the same treatment as urban residents. It is necessary to implement a dynamic benefit-sharing system for transferred agricultural land, that is, allow farmers to share a certain amount of the benefits formed by realizing large-scale operation of the contracted agricultural land transferred out. For rural households enjoying the five guarantees and elderly farmer households willing to give up agricultural land management rights, it is necessary to implement exchanging contracted land for social security, explore ways to buy out their contracted land management rights, and create conditions for farmers to transfer out agricultural land for the long term.
3. The government should give steady support to agricultural land transfer
The government should support long-term bulk agricultural land transfer to meet the requirements of intensive agricultural management and socialized production. Detailed laws and regulations should be formulated to standardize agricultural land transfer, because the degree of intensive agricultural land management in China is too low, and agricultural land transfer will be a process requiring long-term legal adjustment. Corresponding organizations should be established specifically responsible for guiding and managing agricultural land transfer and handling disputes caused by agricultural land transfer. It is necessary to comprehensively use means such as publicity, administration, economics, law and market competition to promote agricultural land transfer. It is necessary to lay the foundational work for agricultural land transfer, such as building agricultural infrastructure, doing well in agricultural land consolidation and water conservancy work, and strengthening education and training for agricultural practitioners and scientific farming work. It is necessary to accelerate the process of urbanization, realize that the agricultural transfer population entering cities enjoys the same treatment as urban residents, and create conditions for agricultural land transfer. For large grain-producing households, family farms, agricultural cooperatives and enterprises that transfer agricultural land for more than 5 years, comprehensive long-term low-interest loans and higher fiscal subsidies should be given, and the number of years of agricultural land transfer receiving preferential treatment should be gradually raised.
According to the needs of intensive agricultural management and socialized production, in China the increase in the quantity of transferred agricultural land and the extension of its term should be promoted in a gradient sequence according to the eastern, central and western regions.