Yilan Neicheng Pushes Farmland Readjustment: Patchwork Fields Can't Compete with the Money Appeal of Farmhouses, Small Farmers Left Uneasy
Deep in Yuanshan Township, Yilan, beneath the foothills of the Xueshan Range, lies the Neicheng settlement, rich in gushing springs. Because the farmland has never undergone readjustment, the plots are irregular and linked by winding paths, which locals jokingly call "patchwork fields." These seemingly unfavorable conditions have incidentally preserved one of the few landscapes in Yilan without a proliferation of farmhouses, along with its natural spatial texture, attracting many young people from elsewhere to practice friendly farming here. The Neicheng community has even developed the "Iron Ox Power Akha" convoy (Note 1), taking tourists to enjoy the authentic Yilan settlement.
Now the county government is about to launch farmland readjustment, dropping a bombshell on the quiet countryside. Local opinion is already split between support and opposition. Supporters believe readjustment will facilitate mechanized farming and land division; opponents argue it will not only affect the landscape but also the groundwater veins. Meanwhile, land in Neicheng Village is seeing "prices on the rise," with farmland reaching about three million or more per fen (300 ping). Regardless of whether the readjustment plan passes, land transactions are already brisk, and small farmers who rent land to cultivate are on pins and needles.
Neicheng: A Place of Friendly Agriculture and Small Farmers' Cultivation
Neicheng Village, having never undergone readjustment, is unfavorable for farmhouse construction and has limited room for land speculation, so residents are more willing to rent land to outside small farmers for cultivation. After Shengou Village, Neicheng Village has become a village that attracts many outside volunteer small farmers to cultivate.
Over the past thirty or forty years, local figures have repeatedly advocated for farmland readjustment, but their efforts came to nothing because landowners' opinions could not be consolidated. On the morning of the 4th of this month (October), a planning consulting firm commissioned by the county government suddenly convened a "Local Briefing on the Feasibility Assessment of Farmland Readjustment in Neicheng and Shangde," dropping a bombshell on the quiet countryside.
Small farmer Li Cha, who practices friendly farming, believes Neicheng has the century-old Neicheng Canal, which draws excellent water from the Xueshan Range for irrigation, and that the historically significant settlement landscape is also an important asset for rural development. Once readjustment occurs, it will facilitate farmhouse construction and trigger a wave of land speculation in Neicheng, destroying its unique and precious natural landscape. Another small farmer, Zeng Fanyi, believes that after readjustment, the field plots will bring cemented field ridges, destroying the existing ecosystem, and that consolidation will cause Neicheng Village to lose its natural appearance.
Neicheng local farmer Xu Yuanfei believes that Yuanshan is the mother of water sources in Yilan County, and once development and readjustment occur, both domestic water and irrigation water will be affected. "I once saw an animal that looked like a cat while walking my dog, and it almost walked into a convenience store. Up close, I realized it was a pangolin!" Xu Yuanfei recalls that seven or eight years ago there were not many small farmers in Neicheng, but now more than half the area is farmed with friendly agriculture. Development would amount to erasing the farmers' years of effort to protect the environment!
Video provided by / Friendly
Land Administration Office Readjustment Section: Even if farmland readjustment facilitates farmhouse construction, it is a lawful right
Zeng Ziqing, head of the Land Administration Office Readjustment Section, stated that the land in question covers Neicheng and Shangde villages, with an area of about 668 hectares of farmland. It has never undergone readjustment, over 60% of the farmland has no road access, and the plots are fragmented, lacking overall irrigation and drainage planning, which is unfavorable for farming. It meets the criteria for a priority readjustment area.
After the county government completes the commissioned feasibility assessment, it will submit it to the county magistrate for approval. Next, the Yuanshan Township Office will hold briefing sessions to survey landowners' intentions. Under the current "Farmland Readjustment Act," implementation can proceed as long as more than half the landowners holding more than half the land in the area agree.
However, according to the small farmers' views, the farmland readjustment plan only surveys landowners' intentions. Are the wishes and cultivation rights of current small farmers who rent land to cultivate completely unprotected?
In response, the county government's Readjustment Section replied that there are many small farmers practicing friendly farming within the readjustment area. Since the readjustment project will take about two years, it will affect small farmers' cultivation rights. Therefore, during the feasibility assessment process, the county government specifically commissioned the consulting firm to include small farmers in the scope of opinion collection, and to balance small farmers' rights it will shorten the project time as much as possible.
However, in the actual readjustment intention survey, since small farmers do not own land, under current regulations the readjustment intention survey can only target landowners who hold land ownership.
Does readjustment, by providing conditions for farmhouse construction, create opportunities for land speculation?
Readjustment Section head Zeng Ziqing frankly admits that after readjustment, the land, having been consolidated and enlarged and made square, with road access and irrigation and drainage facilities, can indeed increase the added value of farmland for farmhouse construction and raise willingness to trade land. "The problem of farmland speculation is unavoidable nationwide!" Zeng Ziqing says. Current regulations are increasingly strict in recognizing qualifications for farmhouse construction, but once qualifications are met, building a farmhouse is also a lawful right.
To reduce the possible wave of farmland speculation, the offset land allocated to the county government (Note 2) will not include any single plot of farmland of more than two and a half fen, but farmland bought, sold, divided or consolidated beyond this threshold cannot be avoided.
Regarding public doubts that specific development forces are operating this readjustment plan and pushing the county government to speed up handling, Section head Zeng says the county government has not received instructions or pressure. Rather, the readjustment plan must be submitted to the central Ministry of the Interior before the end of the year, so local procedural work must be completed as soon as possible.
Community Association Chairman Jian Yuhong: Preserving the pace of rural life is the real asset for developing a leisure and tourism village
Jian Yuhong, chairman of the Neicheng Community Development Association, which promotes community building, believes that because Neicheng Village has not undergone readjustment, it has preserved its original rural landscape and has not seen so many farmhouses built. If in the future most residents advocate support for readjustment, he also suggests that the landscape and terrain must be maintained and plots and roads must not be cut in a checkerboard pattern, so as to preserve Neicheng's original slow pace.
Jian Yuhong points out that most elderly farmers now farm little, while many friendly small farmers have come to Neicheng to cultivate over sixty hectares of farmland, maintaining Neicheng's farming and ecological balance. If readjustment instead squeezes out small farmers' living space and causes Neicheng Village to lose its agricultural function, it would actually be a minus for Neicheng's long-term promotion of a leisure and tourism village.
Jian Yuhong believes the sustainable value of rural areas is gradually being recognized by the general public, that short-term benefits are limited, and that preserving the rural environment and natural ecology is the real wealth. He also observes that considering the opinions within the farmland readjustment plan, including those of King Car Company, the Shengou Water Purification Plant, and the major landowner Banqiao Lin Family, whether the readjustment plan can pass smoothly remains uncertain.
Related Articles
- How to prevent and control rabies in dogs? Timely vaccination of puppies ensures safety
- How to Explore Keelung's Fishing Port Docks? Practical Tips for Picking Fresh Seafood
- The Slow Food movement advocates that how you eat matters more than what you eat, helping you eat your way to health
- How to Identify Inferior Cooking Oil? Key Points for Quality Control from Cultivation to Purchase
- Which agricultural activities require tax payment? The ranch court case clarifies the boundary of tax exemption
- Ractopamine, a lean meat agent, is banned; scientific pig farming to increase lean meat percentage is the right path
- Horizontal Windbreak Nets for Welsh Onion Cultivation in Winter Reduce Losses
- Top Ten Fungicides Ranking Released, a Useful Reference for Farmers Choosing Products