What should be avoided most in land transfer is arbitrary division
Against the backdrop of economic development entering a new normal, China's approach to agricultural development should also seek change, said Chen Xiwen, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and deputy head of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, who stated that under the backdrop of slowing economic growth, continuing to strengthen the foundational position of agriculture and promoting the sustained increase of farmers' incomes is a major issue that must be resolved, and the specific approach is to accelerate the transformation of agricultural development methods and accelerate the building of modern agriculture.
"The reason we say that accelerating the transformation of agricultural development methods must be placed in a very important position this year is that it is consistent with the requirements and goals of building modern agriculture, and it is also directly related to the prominent problems currently facing agriculture and rural areas. In current agriculture and rural areas, the most prominent issues are three: First, the production costs of agriculture are constantly rising, and rising costs will lead to constantly rising prices, and rising prices will lead to the second problem, that the prices of major bulk agricultural products are now higher than the international market, which creates great pressure. Third, for a long time, with many people and little land, in order to have enough to eat we have had to pursue grain output, which has placed too much pressure on agricultural resources. Only by solving these three problems can we maintain rural agricultural development, so we must transform agricultural development methods."
There are two key indicators for judging the development situation of modern agriculture: one is agricultural production, and the other is farmers' income. Against the backdrop of the new normal of the national economy and slowing economic growth, will the state's investment in agricultural production and the potential for farmers' income growth be affected? Chen Xiwen said: Policies benefiting farmers will absolutely not be weakened, funds supporting agriculture will absolutely not be reduced, and there is still potential for increasing farmers' incomes!
"The Premier gave a very clear answer in the government work report. He said that no matter how difficult the finances are, policies benefiting farmers can only be strengthened, not weakened. Funds supporting agriculture can only be increased, not reduced. The state has absolutely not reached the point where it cannot come up with money to increase agricultural investment. In addition to fiscal investment, we must also, through reform and innovation, through scientific and technological innovation, and through a series of specific measures, increase farmers' incomes. In addition to developing agriculture to increase farmers' incomes, we must also rely on the characteristics of the current stage, and through the drive of industrialization and urbanization, enable more farmers to have employment opportunities in non-agricultural industries and have better incomes."
The impact of the new normal of China's economy is comprehensive and profound. Only by actively adapting to the new normal can the rural economy achieve sustained and healthy development. Among these, the land issue is the top priority in the work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. In the government work report, Premier Li Keqiang proposed prudently carrying out rural land expropriation, the entry of collective operational construction land into the market, the homestead system, the collective property rights system, and other reform work. Regarding rural land transfer, Chen Xiwen believes that China's land transfer work is steadily advancing, but whether to transfer should be decided by farmers themselves, avoiding trying to help seedlings grow by pulling them up.
"What we must avoid now is arbitrary division, and avoid compulsory implementation through administrative means, because when farmers transfer land they certainly have their own considerations. If they feel they have better income from working in business or industry and are willing to transfer their land to others, then that is fine. If they do not have better income, and you force them to transfer, then to some extent you are depriving them of their rights. Therefore, as industrialization and urbanization steadily advance, we must give corresponding legal protection and formulate corresponding policies for land transfer, letting farmers make their own choices. On this basis, land transfer will certainly gradually expand, and moderately scaled operations will gradually develop. Conversely, if you try to help seedlings grow by pulling them up, it will instead produce the result you do not want."