Lawmakers highlight rural reform, agricultural modernization

The government is currently reviewing its records on agriculture land-use contracts, as record keeping at the village level has been sporadic and many rural families have left the area, he said.

This will be an arduous process, due to the large rural population and amount of farm land, but it had to be done as the transfer of land use rights must be smooth and efficient in the future, he said.

According to the State Council's report, the process will be finished in the next five years.

Another NPC Standing Committee member, Li Lu, suggested that the government should encourage private companies to invest in agricultural business domestically and abroad.

Many industrial companies have showed an interest in agriculture and some already invest in the sector abroad, he said.

According to the State Council, although China's grain output increased for the 11th-consecutive year, reaching 67.1 billion kilograms in 2014, agriculture struggles with the effects of pollution, low efficiency, increasing labor costs and thin profits. resulting in rural communities missing out on public service reform measures.

Lawmakers also asked the government to pay more attention to water conservation and rural education.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, attended the penal discussion Saturday morning. After that, he and the vice chairs held a meeting to review several bills.