No one-size-fits-all approach to land confirmation; localities not required to march in lockstep

Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said on the 11th that all localities should actively and steadily carry out the work of confirming, registering and certifying rural land contractual management rights, not seeking to march in lockstep and not resorting to a one-size-fits-all approach.

Han Changfu made the remarks on the 11th at a video conference on the work of confirming, registering and certifying rural land contractual management rights, jointly convened by the Ministry of Agriculture and five other departments.

Han Changfu said that to do a good job in confirming, registering and certifying land contractual management rights, the existing land contracting relationship should be stabilized, operations should be carried out in an orderly manner in accordance with laws and regulations, and matters should be properly resolved through democratic consultation among members of collective economic organizations within the framework of existing laws, regulations and policies; the enthusiasm of the farmers should be fully mobilized, turning "I am asked to confirm rights" into "I want to confirm rights," and the lawful rights and interests of groups such as migrant workers and rural women should be protected; the practice of confirming rights and shares but not land should be strictly controlled, ensuring that progress is subordinate to quality and that the work at every stage and every point is done in a detailed and solid manner; in accordance with the requirements of the central authorities, territorial management responsibilities should be strengthened and tiered responsibility by local authorities should be implemented; the work should be grasped firmly, effectively and in detail, and advanced prudently and steadily, and under no circumstances should quality requirements be relaxed or half-cooked results accepted in order to rush progress.

Experts on "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" said that confirming, registering and certifying land contractual management rights is an urgent need for resolving practical problems in rural land contracting, developing appropriately scaled operations, advancing reform of the rural collective property rights system, and safeguarding farmers' land rights and interests. It is a historic and foundational task that concerns the vital interests of hundreds of millions of farmers, the consolidation of the basic rural management system, and the overall situation of rural reform, development and stability.

In 2014, the central authorities selected 3 provinces - Shandong, Sichuan and Anhui - and 27 counties in other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to carry out overall pilot work on confirming, registering and certifying rural land contractual management rights, and many localities also expanded the pilot scope in light of actual conditions. At present, 1,988 counties (cities and districts) across the country have carried out pilot work, involving 13,000 townships and 195,000 villages, with pilot coverage area of 330 million mu.