Land transfer requires written authorization from farmers; the Ministry of Agriculture stresses that a Great Leap Forward approach must not be taken
Recently, the central government reviewed and approved the "Opinions on Guiding the Orderly Transfer of Rural Land Management Rights to Develop Moderate-Scale Agricultural Operations." What is the background behind the introduction of the "Opinions," what are the main contents, and what policy innovations are there? A reporter interviewed Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu on this matter.
1 Background of Introduction
Scale of land management by operators expands
Please introduce the background and process of the introduction of the "Opinions." What are the main policy orientations of the "Opinions"?
Han Changfu: In the process of industrialization and urbanization, the rural labor force has gradually shifted, and the land they originally managed has been transferred out, causing the scale of land management by agricultural operators to continuously expand. Advanced agricultural technology and equipment have been utilized, creating the necessary conditions for building modern agriculture. From a deeper perspective, in terms of protecting farmers' contracting rights and interests and strengthening transfer management and services, there still exist some institutional and mechanistic factors that constrain development.
The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee proposed encouraging the transfer of contracted management rights on the open market, developing moderate-scale operations in multiple forms, cultivating new types of agricultural production and operation entities, and building a new agricultural operation system that combines intensification, specialization, organization, and socialization. To implement the spirit of the central government, relevant departments, on the basis of carrying out pilot projects for standardized management and services of land management rights transfer, conducted in-depth grassroots research, summarized local experience, and fully listened to the opinions of grassroots cadres and farmers.
The "Opinions" focus mainly on three aspects: First, advancing the development of modern agriculture. Under the premise of adhering to collective ownership of land, realize the separation of ownership, contracting rights, and management rights into three separate rights, form a pattern of land management rights transfer, vigorously cultivate and support diversified new types of agricultural operation entities, and develop moderate-scale agricultural operations. Second, safeguard farmers' legitimate rights and interests. Third, adhere to proceeding from all aspects of the national conditions and rural realities.
2 "Separation of Three Rights"
Encourage innovation in land transfer forms
How should one accurately understand the "separation of three rights" of rural collective land ownership, contracting rights, and management rights?
Han Changfu: Realizing the separation of collective land ownership, contracting rights, and management rights into three separate rights is an important foundation for guiding orderly land transfer.
The "Opinions" clearly propose adhering to rural collective ownership of land, separating ownership, contracting rights, and management rights into three separate rights, and guiding the orderly transfer of land management rights. First, rural collective land ownership must be well maintained. The "Opinions" emphasize that, on the one hand, new collective management methods should be explored; on the other hand, the rural collective's management and supervisory authority over land transfer and contracted operations should be properly exercised. Second, land contracting rights must be safeguarded. The "Opinions" point out that the work of confirming, registering, and issuing certificates for contracted land must be carried out promptly and solidly, properly resolving issues such as inaccurate area measurements and unclear boundaries of farmers' contracted plots; contract documents must be improved, registration books must be perfected, ownership certificates must be issued, and the real right protection of land contracted management rights must be strengthened. At the same time, management rights must be liberalized. The "Opinions" emphasize encouraging innovation in land transfer forms, developing moderate-scale operations in multiple forms; strengthening the construction of the land transfer service system to provide services to both parties in the transfer. In short, the separation of three rights is a practical exploration of deepening rural land system reform and reflects theoretical innovation in rural land system reform with Chinese characteristics.
3 Who Will Farm the Land
Establish a new-type professional farmer system
In recent years, society has been paying great attention to the question of who will farm the land in the future. What response measures does the "Opinions" propose?
Han Changfu: The "Opinions" propose measures in three aspects: First, establish a new-type professional farmer system and cultivate new farmers. This includes implementing a new-type professional farmer cultivation project, actively training new-type professional farmers such as specialized large-scale farmers, family farm operators, leaders of farmers' cooperatives, managers of agricultural enterprises, agricultural socialization service personnel, and returning migrant workers, and striving to build a system for the cultivation, certification, and support of new-type professional farmers and rural practical talents.
Second, guide land resources to flow to new types of agricultural production and operation entities, so that those willing to farm can obtain more land management rights. Encourage various localities to integrate agriculture-related funds to build contiguous high-standard farmland, and give priority to family farms and other large-scale operation households; where conditions permit, land management rights can be contributed as shares to form cooperative organizations, developing large-scale agricultural operations through self-operation or entrusted operation; allow farmers to contribute contracted management rights as shares to develop agricultural industrialization operations; industrial and commercial enterprises may appropriately lease land to develop modern planting and breeding industries such as quality seed and seedling breeding, high-standard facility agriculture, large-scale farming, and development of rural "four wastelands" resources.
Third, increase support and improve services to provide a better external environment for the development of new types of agricultural operation entities. The "Opinions" mainly propose a series of targeted support policies in areas such as finance, banking, land use, and taxation. For example, support qualified new types of agricultural operation entities in taking priority in undertaking agriculture-related projects, tilt newly added agricultural subsidies toward new types of agricultural operation entities, guide financial institutions to establish and improve credit and insurance support mechanisms for new types of agricultural operation entities, and require various localities to earmark a certain proportion of annual construction land use quotas specifically for new types of agricultural operation entities to build supporting auxiliary facilities.
It should be pointed out that while developing new types of agricultural operation entities, the role of ordinary farmers must not be overlooked. Various new types of operation entities have their own advantages in different areas and different links of agriculture, and they should develop in a diversified and integrated manner.