Consolidation promotes development of farming sector

Between 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, and 1952, the landlord system was abolished and farmers were given full ownership of their land: they could buy, sell, operate it freely or lease it to other people.

However, in 1953, China started its socialist transformation, which promoted collective land ownership by rural cooperatives and related groups. Farmers worked together in units and did not have the right to lease land to others or transfer ownership.

In 1978, farmers were allowed to sign contracts with villagers' committees for use of an agreed area of land operated by local cooperatives.

In the years that followed, more efficient production methods resulted in higher yields and led to the founding and promotion of family-based individual farms on contracted land nationwide.

That transformation prompted the nation's farmers to raise their work rates, which resulted in better yields and ensured food shortages and hunger quickly became history.

However, although farmers had the right to work the land they contracted they were not allowed to transfer or lease it, so it was generally not in circulation - that is, leased out - in rural areas.

To provide a greater sense of security among farmers, in 1997 and 2017, the central government pledged that land contracts would automatically be extended for 30 years when they expired.

Since the 1980s, a number of laws have been made or amended to officially recognize farmers' rights to use or circulate the land they have contracted.

A law adopted in 2003 provided clear guidelines on the use of contracted farmland, including subcontracting, leasing, exchange or transfer.

In recent years, the government has called for deepening reform of the land system in rural areas to give farmers more rights - in particular, the right to make greater use of land they have contracted.

In 2014, for example, provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities began issuing certificates to farmers.

The certificates provide information about land they have contracted, such as dimensions and boundaries, along with identification details to facilitate subcontracting. Almost everyone who contracted farmland was expected to have received a certificate by the end of last year.

As a result, more farmers have leased their land to others, or used it as security for loans, bringing more profits.

Meanwhile, greater circulation of land has promoted consolidation of small plots into sizeable blocks, and facilitated the development of modern agriculture in many regions.

(China Daily 01/09/2019 page5)