Rural contracted land will be extended by another 30 years after the second expiration.

Securities Times reporter He Jueyuan

Handling the relationship between farmers and land well is the main line for deepening rural reform in China. On March 18, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Doing a Pilot Program to Extend the Expiration of the Second Round of Rural Land Contracting by Another 30 Years (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), making specific arrangements for the pilot program to extend the second round of rural land contracting by another 30 years after the contracts expire (hereinafter referred to as the “extension pilot”), and clarifying that, where the contracts for the second round of rural land contracting are set to expire, extension work should, in principle, be completed within 1 year after the expiration.

To actively and steadily do a good job of the extension pilot, since 2020 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Central Rural Work Leading Group Office, together with relevant departments, have guided provinces to gradually expand the pilot scope, starting from villages and village groups. Following the arrangements of the Party Central Committee, this year China will carry out province-wide pilots in 29 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities).

The Opinions propose that, while adhering to the principle that collective ownership remains unchanged, it is strictly forbidden to break the boundaries of original collective land ownership to conduct average contracting across the entire village. Farmers’ collective rights and powers regarding the granting, adjustment, supervision, and withdrawal of contracted land should be fully protected, and effective forms for realizing the rural land collective ownership system should be explored and enriched. Adhere to the farmers’ principal position, fully leverage farmers’ initiative and creativity, and encourage farmers’ collectives, within the scope of laws and policies, to explore practical paths and methods for the extension in light of local conditions.

The Opinions emphasize that the extension pilot should be carried out in a steady and orderly manner. Based on the results of the confirmation registration and certificate-issuing of contracted rural land rights, the contracting period should be extended by another 30 years starting from the expiration of contracts for the second round of rural land contracting. Conduct the extension on a household basis to ensure that the vast majority of farmers’ original contracted land continues to remain stable, and that there is no starting from scratch or disrupting and re-dividing. It is not allowed to use the opportunity to make illegal adjustments or withdraw farmers’ contracted land. Adhere to the principle of “big stability and small adjustments”—for village groups where a minority of contracted land has been damaged by natural disasters or other special circumstances and where the public generally demands land readjustments, under the premise of “big stability,” appropriate small-scale adjustments should be made among individual farmers within the rural collective economic organizations.

With the development of rural economic and social conditions, contradictions involving contracted rural land exist in some places to varying degrees. The Opinions clearly state that the lawful rights and interests of landless farmers who give up contracting during the second round of rural land contracting period should be protected according to law, and reasonable demands of farmers who face difficulties in their lives due to lack of land should be handled properly. Encouragement is given to resolve prominent contradictions through means other than land, such as the distribution of collective income, providing employment services, and placement in public welfare positions, in accordance with relevant provisions. For issues such as temporarily postponing the confirmation registration and certificate issuance of contracted land rights, they should be properly handled in combination with the extension pilot.

To protect land contracting rights and interests of members of rural collective economic organizations, the Opinions specify that family members of contracted farmers who have the identity of members of this collective economic organization shall enjoy land contracting rights and interests according to law, and non-members of the collective economic organization do not participate in the extension. Protect, according to law, the lawful rights and interests of farmers who move into cities to settle down regarding land contracting. Explore ways to establish that farmers voluntarily and with compensation withdraw from land contracting and management rights.

Developing appropriate-scale operations is an important direction for agricultural modernization. To ensure stable operations when land is transferred, the Opinions require that the lawful rights and interests of both parties to the transfer be protected according to law, that the role of rural collective economic organizations be brought into play, and that, on the premise of respecting farmers’ wishes, the contracting party and the transferee be guided to fully consult with each other to clarify matters regarding the continued leasing of land after contract extension through methods such as specifying in contracts, thereby stabilizing the expectations of the operating entities. Strengthen supervision over the operating rights in transferred land, and do not encourage large-scale and long-duration transfer of rural land. Firmly curb the “non-agriculturalization” of transferred land, and effectively prevent the “non-grainization.”

(Editor: Wang Zhiqiang HF013)

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