After the National Land Planning Act is passed, is it likely that farmland will be used for farming?
At the end of 2015 (the 104th year of the Republic of China), the Spatial Planning Act, which had been stalled for more than twenty years, finally passed its third reading, and it officially came into force in May last year. Taiwan, China is expected to be divided into four major zones: national land conservation areas, marine resource areas, urban and rural development areas, and agricultural development areas. Within six years, subsidiary laws are expected to be enacted to set out the implementation details. However, before those subsidiary laws are announced, how "agricultural land for agricultural use" is to be achieved is no longer just a campaign slogan, and all sectors are watching closely.
Yang Chung-hsin: Agricultural land should factor in the compensation principle to reduce land speculation
On the current price of agricultural land, Yang Chung-hsin, a retired research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, stressed that agricultural land at NT$10,000 per ping and industrial land at more than NT$100,000 per ping create a huge price gap that easily leads to illegal use. Since the passage of the Spatial Planning Act is meant to address injustice, and since current agricultural land cannot be properly controlled, the government should think about how to make land of equal value. He pointed out that in the future, when the central and local governments designate agricultural land, they must take the "compensation principle" into account.
Yang Chung-hsin suggested that this part could refer to the American approach of "easements." For example, after a parcel of land is designated as agricultural land, its land value will drop. If at that point the landowner can receive compensation, and enterprises can also acquire the "easement" on that parcel, in exchange for the right to develop elsewhere, then agricultural land can be made equal in value to industrial land, and land speculation can also be smoothly resolved.
In addition, Yang Chung-hsin also stressed that both agricultural land and urban and rural land are divided into four grades: first, second, third, and fourth, each representing land of different quality. But when actual designation takes place in the future, the government should take future population development into account in advance. With the overall population declining, there is actually no need for so much urban and rural land. In order to meet the food self-sufficiency rate, the planning of agricultural land should be carefully considered, and whether existing contaminated agricultural land should be remediated and still designated for agricultural use, so as to raise the proportion of agricultural land. The government should conduct a comprehensive survey and planning.
Rural planning or urban planning? Yen Ai-ching: The urban-rural dualism should be abandoned
Beyond the existing designation of agricultural land, Yen Ai-ching, a professor in the Department of Land Economics at National Chengchi University, stressed that agriculture is an industry that integrates "production, livelihood, and ecology" as a trinity, and must take into account agricultural production, peaceful and suitable living, and ecological protection. This means that within the rural environment, land of appropriate location and quantity must also be planned for public construction use, so that agricultural development and agricultural land for agricultural use can be fully implemented together.
"But the existing Spatial Planning Act lumps the development of 'urban' and 'rural' areas together in discussion," Yen Ai-ching pointed out. Even though urban and rural development areas are established under the broader framework, they are designated only on the basis of "degree of urbanization and development needs," which means rural areas are merely "reserve land for urban development." Whether urban and rural areas can seamlessly connect, and whether the link between rural areas and agriculture can be established, are both highly doubtful.
In this context, Yen Ai-ching stressed that Taiwan, China might refer to the German experience: in terms of spatial planning, Germany has levels including the national (federal), state, regional, and local (metropolitan area) levels, while sectoral spatial planning includes agricultural plans, landscape plans, and so on. What is emphasized is a "complementary partnership" between urban and rural areas. Simply put, it is divided into two parts: first, focusing on the "local," with more than a single department responsible; second, focusing on "investment," which is not merely a matter of subsidies, but takes strategically improving the competitiveness of rural areas as its main goal.
In addition, she also stressed that some countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have established new rural models. Since Taiwan, China has the "Rural Regeneration Program," she suggested that the government could think in terms of six dimensions: "enhancing the competitiveness of rural areas, maintaining the value of local assets, using underutilized resources as goals, strengthening investment in 'various' industrial sectors in the rural economy, fully integrating all levels and departments of government, and actively promoting public-private partnerships," so as to fully promote rural development.
As the first step in implementing the Spatial Planning Act, the Council of Agriculture: nationwide agricultural land inventory to be made public by the end of March
As for what the public sector's responsibility is after the Spatial Planning Act takes effect, Chen Chi-chung, deputy minister of the Council of Agriculture, stressed that the first step the Council of Agriculture can take now is a comprehensive inventory of the current state of agricultural land, including what exactly is growing on agricultural land across Taiwan, China. Are they farmhouses, factories, or temples? For this part, after overlaying the cadastral maps provided by the Ministry of the Interior, aerial photos, and the Agricultural and Food Agency's surveys, the inventory results will be published online by the end of March this year. By then, all sectors will be able to check the current state of agricultural land meter by meter, making information thoroughly transparent.
In addition, Chen Chi-chung also pointed out that the survey of agricultural land is the foundation of everything. Whether it is to meet the food self-sufficiency rate, crack down on violations involving farmhouses, or even determine whether farmhouses are used for agriculture, only after there are comprehensive survey results to rely on can the planning and execution of subsequent detailed policies be considered step by step.