Source: Xinhua Net
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-12/12/c_118533263.htm
Yao Yang, an economist who has been studying the land system for a long time, believes that Chinese farmers will gain more land rights from the undertaking land reform, but it does not mean that they can dispose of the land at will, especially agricultural land.
The 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee announced its decision concerning land reform and it goes like the following: In line with the planning and use control, the transfer, lease and shareholding of rural collective construction land is permitted, and the entry into the market, the property rights and the price should be the same as state-owned land; On upholding and improving the most stringent farmland protection system, farmers are granted the rights to occupy, use, benefit from, and transfer the contracted land as well as to mortgage and hypothecate the contract management rights; Select several pilots and carefully and steadily push forward the mortgage, hypothecation, and transfer of farmers’ housing property.
Yao Yang, the Dean of National School of Development at Peking University, recently told journalists at Xinhua News Agency that it was “completely wrong” to regard the above mentioned decision as an equivalent for farmers’ right to use and develop the land at will.
"Property rights and use must be separated. Even if farmers have the property right of the land, they can’t convert agricultural land into non-agricultural as they wish." Yao Yang said.
He pointed out that there is no country that does not make regulations concerning land use. For example, the United States has land-use planning. Thus, one needs to apply for official permission before changing the use of a piece of land despite of the fact that he/she claims ownership.
“The regulations are aimed at protecting the farm land. Without emphasizing it, it would be difficult to define land zoned for construction and farmers may develop buildings on the contracted land that would be converted into construction land only after a few years and become available on the market. And this will definitely bring problems." Yao Yang said.
He viewed the direct entry of rural collective construction land into the market as the real highlight of the land reform revealed by the Decision. The agricultural land, as he stressed, couldn’t be put on the market directly except for national requisition.
In Yao Yang’s opinion, the land reform not only grants farmers rights to increase the land value, but also is very necessary to make the efficient use of land. People living in rural areas account for less than half of China's population, but the amount of rural construction land is larger than that in metropolitan areas. Thus, there is a great need to revitalize the land and put it on the market. Meanwhile, restructuring the villages and making farmers live together are also required.
Having farmers living together, Yao Yang argues, will allow them enjoy tap water, gas, sanitary facilities and other modern conveniences. It is true that there still remain several problems, such as how to bring the farmers together, how to compensate them and how to make them fully engaged in the discussion with local government, but these are the inevitable costs of farmers living a modern life.
As for the mode of agricultural land transfer, Yao Yang believed that it would be best if farmers could sign transfer contracts between themselves or village committees, put the idle land of some farmers together and enter into contracts with other farmers. However, he disagreed to have the trust company involved in the agricultural land transfer and warned of the threat to food security, for the trust company would aim to maximize profits instead of increasing production.
"The increased profit does not necessarily mean the increase of production. It can be achieved by monopoly price, planting crops that sell easily and reducing the use of labor, because it is more expensive." Yao Yang explained, "Trust companies are completely operating capital and are subject to the influence of the entire economy. Once the economy slows down and the capital chain breaks, the trust company will withdraw their investment immediately and the food production will decrease dramatically. Moreover, the recovery won’t be achieved in a short time.”
Urbanization has been exerting profound impacts on the rural landscape, but Yao Yang was fairly optimistic about the development of agriculture and rural areas in the future. He believed that agriculture would not play as important role in the Chinese economy as it used to, for agricultural production has been increasing steadily and it is no longer the bottleneck of economic growth. He also estimated that the rural population in China may drop to 30% by 2030, and they probably will not leave the countryside.
"Although the income level in rural areas is much lower than that in the city, the scenery is quite beautiful. Thus, those who choose to stay may not think about leaving ever after." Yao Yang said, "In the future, it is possible that people will yearn to live in the rural areas."
