The Ministry of Agriculture announced this week that it will launch a pilot project to “regulate” the transfer of rural property rights
Posted Date – 11:59 PM, Sat – 4/22/23
Photo: IANS
New Delhi: New rules on land transfers in rural China have raised concerns that the ruling Communist Party may be preparing to confiscate and redistribute farmland on a large scale in the name of “stabilizing food supplies,” according to a media report.
The Ministry of Agriculture announced this week that it would launch a pilot program to “regulate” the transfer of rural property rights and “strengthen supervision and management” of the use of rural land in China, which is often leased to farmers under a 30-year agreement, Radio Free Asia reported. Ownership of the “family responsibility” contract remains with the government.
The move comes after Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s government made it easier in 2016 to buy farmers out of household responsibility leases to encourage farmers to relocate to urban areas to reduce rural poverty.
According to Radio Free Asia, under the new land rules, officials will “exert the full leadership of the government” through controversial agricultural management law enforcement officials who critics fear will return the country to Mao Zedong-era collective farming and opposition to The micromanagement of people’s daily lives.
Analysts and farmers said the main purpose of the additional controls is to strengthen the state’s control over food supplies and facilitate the transfer of rural land from farmers when needed, Radio Free Asia reported.
The move comes amid the government’s ongoing “stabilize food supply” campaign and other moves to ensure food security, including revamping abandoned Mao-era grain cooperatives and ordering the construction of state-run canteens.
Analysts said the rules insist on “regulating transactions,” including monitoring contract signing and “certification,” and could pave the way for future large-scale redistribution of farmland, Radio Free Asia reported.
Cai Shenkun, a financial commentator, said that the scope of the pilot program is unprecedented.
“Given the involvement of agricultural management officials who are now empowered to enforce the law, I think this is related to the next step, which is to confiscate and redistribute the land,” he said, Radio Free Asia reported.
A July 2021 directive authorized many local officials, including agricultural management officials, to enforce laws and regulations without police involvement.
According to Radio Free Asia, there are growing signs of unease about the new type of rural “enforcer”.
