BEIJING (Reuters) - China's southern province of Guangdong has mapped out a compensation standard for farmers who lose their land, the People's Daily reported on Monday.

With China's rapid development of rural areas and no national standards for land compensation, protests over unfair land compensation have been on the rise.

About 15 million farmers are expected to lose their land in the next five years due to increased urbanization. Local officials have often been accused of illegally confiscating farmland in return for payments and bribes.

The aim of the new standard is "to better protect farmers' legal rights, and perfect the construction of the land market mechanism", the People's Daily said.

According to the regulation, farmers in Guangdong can receive compensation ranging from 234,000 yuan ($29,330) to 1.03 million yuan ($129,100) for one hectare of land, based on different types of land.

Compensation cannot fall below the standard, it said, adding without explanation that the regulation excludes land in Shenzhen.

The State Council, China's cabinet, recently announced a new hierarchy of inspectors to enforce the country's land regulations.