Pig Farms Must Not Be Shut Down: Ministry of Land and Resources and Ministry of Agriculture Back the Breeding Industry

In recent years, localities have successively introduced policies banning or restricting pig breeding, setting off a nationwide wave of pig farm demolitions, and in some areas there have even been voices threatening to file cases for investigation and punishment if targets are not completed. However, the "one-size-fits-all" demolitions that have occurred in the course of regulation are unfair to most breeders. The production and operating autonomy of land contractors should be fully respected; as long as the cultivated layer of the farmland is not destroyed and the farming conditions are not damaged, land contractors may decide on their own to use farmland for the breeding industry.

In recent years, localities have successively introduced policies banning or restricting pig breeding, setting off a nationwide wave of pig farm demolitions, and in some areas there have even been voices threatening to file cases for investigation and punishment if targets are not completed. Of course, it must first be acknowledged that the expansion of breeding scale has indeed caused a certain degree of pollution and impact on the environment, and regulation is warranted; if regulation fails to meet standards, shutdown is also understandable.

However, the "one-size-fits-all" demolitions that have occurred in the course of regulation are unfair to most breeders. According to the "National Land Classification" and the "Request for Instructions on How to Handle Land for Breeding" formulated by the Ministry of Land and Resources: land for breeding is agricultural land, and building breeding houses on it does not constitute a change in land use; occupying farmland other than basic farmland for the breeding industry no longer requires approval as construction land or temporary land. The production and operating autonomy of land contractors should be fully respected; as long as the cultivated layer of the farmland is not destroyed and the farming conditions are not damaged, land contractors may decide on their own to use farmland for the breeding industry.

As early as 2007, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the "Notice on Land Use Policies for Promoting Large-Scale Livestock and Poultry Breeding," which firmly backed the pig farming industry, requiring localities to fully consider the needs of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding in land consolidation and new rural construction, reserve land space, and provide land conditions. It also conveyed one key message: no place may prohibit or restrict large-scale livestock and poultry breeding on the grounds of new rural construction or environmental improvement.

Let us review the specific contents of that document once more:

To the Land and Resources Departments (Land and Environmental Resources Departments, Land and Resources Bureaus, Land and Resources and Housing Administration Bureaus, Housing and Land Administration Bureaus) of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and the **Production and Construction Corps, and the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (Agriculture, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Agriculture and Forestry) Departments (Bureaus, Offices, Commissions): With the development of China's animal husbandry, feeding methods and structures have undergone great changes, and large-scale breeding has put forward new requirements for land use. In order to implement the spirit of the "Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Development of Pig Production and Stabilizing Market Supply" and the "Urgent Notice of the State Council on Effectively Implementing Policies to Ensure Market Supply and Maintain the Stability of Non-Staple Food Prices," and to promote the development of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, the relevant issues concerning land use are hereby notified as follows:

I. Coordinate planning and reasonably arrange land for breeding

(1) County-level animal husbandry authorities shall, in accordance with higher-level animal husbandry development plans and local animal husbandry production foundations, agricultural resource conditions, etc., properly compile county-level animal husbandry development plans, clarify development goals and directions, and put forward requirements for the quantity, layout and scale of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding and its land use.

(2) At a time when the current overall land use plan has not yet been revised, county-level land and resources management departments shall handle large-scale livestock and poultry breeding land on a case-by-case basis, and in accordance with the current land use plan, do a good job in land use demonstration and other work, and provide land guarantees. In the next round of revision of the overall land use plan, overall arrangements shall be made to incorporate large-scale livestock and poultry breeding land into the plan, implement breeding land, and meet land use needs.

(3) The planning, layout and site selection of land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding shall adhere to the principle of encouraging the use of unused land such as abandoned land and barren hills and slopes, and occupying as little farmland as possible or none at all, and shall prohibit the occupation of basic farmland. In land consolidation and new rural construction, localities may fully consider the needs of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, reserve land space, and provide land conditions. No place may prohibit or restrict large-scale livestock and poultry breeding on the grounds of new rural construction or environmental improvement. Standardized large-scale breeding shall be actively promoted, land use standards reasonably determined, and land used economically and intensively.

(4) Once land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding is determined, it may not be arbitrarily changed to non-agricultural construction purposes, so as to prevent the use of large-scale breeding as an opportunity to enclose land for other non-agricultural construction.

II. Differentiate among different situations and adopt different support policies

(1) Where the rural collective economic organization, farmers and animal husbandry cooperative economic organizations establish large-scale livestock and poultry breeding in accordance with the township (town) overall land use plan, the required land shall be managed as agricultural land, as land for agricultural production structure adjustment, and no approval formalities for the conversion of agricultural land shall be required.

(2) Where other enterprises and individuals establish, or jointly establish with rural collective economic organizations, farmers and animal husbandry cooperative economic organizations, large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, the required land shall be subject to classified management. Land for production facilities such as livestock and poultry sheds and green isolation belts shall be managed as agricultural land, and no approval formalities for the conversion of agricultural land shall be required; ancillary facilities such as management and residential buildings, disease prevention and control facilities, feed storage buildings and hardened roads are permanent structures (buildings), and their land shall be managed by reference to rural collective construction land, and approval formalities for the conversion of agricultural land shall be required in accordance with the law.

(3) The land use plan indicators required for handling the approval formalities for the conversion of agricultural land shall this year be resolved by adjusting the already issued plan indicators, and shall thereafter be arranged in the annual plan; where farmland is occupied, in principle the breeding enterprise or individual shall be responsible for supplementing it, and where conditions permit, it may also be supported by investment projects implemented by the county-level people's government.

III. Simplify procedures and provide land promptly

(1) Enterprises or individuals applying for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, whether rural collective economic organizations, farmers and animal husbandry cooperative economic organizations, or other enterprises or individuals, shall obtain the consent of the township (town) people's government, submit an application for a large-scale breeding project to the county-level animal husbandry authority, and undergo review and filing.

(2) Where the rural collective economic organization, farmers and animal husbandry cooperative economic organizations apply for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, after review and approval by the county-level animal husbandry authority, the township (town) land office shall actively help coordinate the site selection for land use, and handle land filing formalities at the county-level land and resources management department. Where farmland is occupied, a farmland restoration guarantee shall be signed, and in principle no security deposit or bond shall be collected; where the original site cannot be restored to farmland, additional farmland shall be supplemented in accordance with the law.

(3) Where other enterprises or individuals apply for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, after review and approval by the county-level animal husbandry authority, the county (city) and township (town) land and resources management departments shall actively help coordinate the site selection for land use, and handle land filing formalities at the county-level land and resources management department. Among these, where land for production facilities and green isolation belts occupies farmland, a farmland restoration guarantee shall be signed, and where the original site cannot be restored to farmland, additional farmland shall be supplemented in accordance with the law; where land for ancillary facilities involves the occupation of agricultural land, approval formalities for the conversion of agricultural land shall be handled in accordance with the prescribed approval authority and requirements.

(4) Land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding shall, in accordance with the "Rural Land Contracting Law," the "Land Administration Law" and other laws, regulations and relevant provisions, be obtained through lawful means such as leasing and subcontracting, and the lawful rights and interests of land owners and original users shall be effectively safeguarded. After the relevant formalities for land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding are complete, the county-level land and resources management department shall promptly complete land change investigation and registration work. Where construction truly requires the occupation of land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, new breeding land shall be correspondingly re-implemented in accordance with the planning layout and the requirements of the breeding enterprise or individual, and the lawful rights and interests of breeding enterprises and individuals shall be protected in accordance with the law.

IV. Work together to jointly ensure the implementation of land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding

(1) Localities shall, in accordance with laws and regulations and the relevant provisions of this Notice, and in light of local actual conditions, conduct careful investigation and research, further improve relevant policies, refine relevant provisions, and actively provide good services for land for large-scale livestock and poultry breeding.

(2) Land and resources management departments and animal husbandry authorities at all levels shall, under the organization and leadership of local governments, perform their respective duties, strengthen communication and cooperation, promptly study new situations and new problems emerging in large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, and continuously improve corresponding policies and measures to promote the healthy development of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding.

(3) Problems encountered by localities in implementing this Notice shall be promptly reported to the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture.