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 is the main line of deepening rural reform in our country. On March 18, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions on the Pilot Work of Extending the Second Round of Land Contracting for Another 30 Years After Expiration” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), which makes specific arrangements for the pilot work of extending the second round of land contracting for another 30 years (hereinafter referred to as the “Extension Pilot”), clarifying that when the second round of land contracting contracts expire, the extension work should be completed within one year after expiration in principle.

To actively and steadily carry out the extension pilot work, since 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Central Agricultural Office have guided various provinces to gradually expand the pilot scope starting from village groups. According to the deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, this year our country will comprehensively carry out provincial-level pilots in 29 provinces (regions and municipalities).

The “Opinions” propose to adhere to the unwavering collective ownership system, strictly prohibiting the breaking of the boundaries of original collective land ownership to carry out average contracting across the entire village, fully safeguarding farmers’ collective rights to contract land, adjust, supervise, and reclaim it, and explore and enrich effective forms of realizing rural collective ownership. It insists on the principal status of farmers, fully leveraging farmers’ initiative and creativity, and encouraging farmers’ collectives to explore specific paths and methods for extension according to local conditions within the legal and policy framework.

The “Opinions” emphasize the need to conduct the extension pilot in a prudent and orderly manner. Based on the results of the confirmation and registration of rural contracted land, extend the contracting period for another 30 years starting from the expiration of the second round of land contracting contracts. The extension should be carried out on a household basis, ensuring that the vast majority of farmers’ original contracted land remains stable, without starting over or disturbing the redistribution, and without taking the opportunity to illegally adjust or reclaim farmers’ contracted land. Adhere to the principle of “big stability, small adjustments”—for a small number of villages where contracted land has been damaged due to natural disasters and there is a general demand for land adjustments, small-scale adjustments can be made among individual farmers in rural collective economic organizations under the premise of “big stability.”

With the development of the rural economy and society, conflicts related to contracted land exist to varying degrees in some places. The “Opinions” clarify that the legal rights and interests of landless farmers who voluntarily give up contracting during the second round of land contracting should be protected, and reasonable demands from farmers facing difficulties due to lack of land should be properly addressed. Encouragement is given to resolve prominent conflicts through collective profit distribution, providing employment services, and arranging public welfare positions outside of land according to relevant regulations. Issues related to the temporary suspension of confirmation and registration of contracted land should be properly handled in conjunction with the extension pilot.

To safeguard the land contracting rights of members of rural collective economic organizations, the “Opinions” specify that family members of contracted farmers who have membership in the collective economic organization legally enjoy land contracting rights, and non-members do not participate in the extension. The legal land contracting rights of farmers who have settled in cities should be safeguarded. Explore the establishment of methods for farmers to voluntarily and compensatively exit land contracting rights.

Developing moderately scaled operations is an important direction for agricultural modernization. To ensure stable operation of transferred land, the “Opinions” require that the legal rights and interests of both parties involved in the transfer be protected according to the law, and the role of rural collective economic organizations should be leveraged. Under the premise of respecting farmers’ wishes, guide contractors and transferees to fully negotiate and clarify matters related to the renewal of land leases after the extension through contractual agreements, stabilizing the expectations of operating entities. Strengthen the supervision of the management rights of transferred land, discourage large-scale long-term transfers of rural land, and firmly curb the “non-agriculturalization” of transferred land, effectively preventing “non-grainization.”

(Edited by Wang Zhiqiang HF013)

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