Explain in detail the train of thought of agricultural land transfer

After the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the idea of "three rural areas" focusing on reform and development has been clear. The construction of a new agricultural management system is a reform matter that attaches equal importance to the reform of collective property rights and concerns the future fate of agriculture and rural areas. Especially in recent years, as pointed out by the Central Rural Work Conference held not long ago, with the changes in environmental conditions at home and abroad and the gradual emergence of deep-seated contradictions accumulated by long-term extensive management, the sustainable and stable development of agriculture faces unprecedented challenges. It is urgent to release dividends through reform and innovation and promote the transformation of agricultural production methods.

In 2013, the "No.1 Document" of the Central Committee for the first time focused on "who will plant the land" and "how to plant the land", systematically proposing to promote moderate scale management of land, cultivate new business entities, and build a new agricultural management system, thus clarifying a road for China's agricultural modernization. Among them, the construction and circulation of farmland property rights is undoubtedly the key link.

After more than two years of exploration and summary, marked by the Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Guiding the Orderly Circulation of Rural Land Management Rights and Developing Moderate Agricultural Scale Management issued in November 2014, the central government's thinking on this issue tends to mature and basically forms a complete framework system.

Zhang Hongyu, director of the Rural Economic System and Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, began to study rural land problems in the 1990s. He once conducted in-depth analysis on the ownership relationship related to farmland ownership, contract right and management right, and clearly put forward the proposal of "separation of three rights", which was adopted by the decision-making level. In 2014, he led the team to do a lot of research on land circulation scale, industrial and commercial capital farming, land equity, circulation standardization and other issues, and the research results formed provided important support for decision-making.

On the eve of the introduction of Document No.1 in 2015, Caixin reporter interviewed Zhang Hongyu. He explained the problem of farmland circulation in detail and shared his thoughts.

Caixin reporter: In 2013, the Central Committee's "No.1 Document" proposed to promote land circulation and cultivate new business entities. It has been two years since then. How do you evaluate the current situation of land circulation and policy progress?

Zhang Hongyu: It should be said that land circulation is generally standardized and orderly. By the end of June 2014, the circulation rate of contracted farmland in rural areas nationwide was 28.8%, 7.3 percentage points higher than that at the end of 2012. By the end of November, there were 877,000 family farms with an average planting scale of 200 mu, 3.17 million large farmers with an average planting scale of 50 mu, 1.267 million farmers 'cooperatives and more than 120,000 leading enterprises. These diversified new business entities play an important role in promoting the development of modern agriculture, making up for the space left by the large transfer of rural labor force, and solving the problem of "who will farm".

A key arrangement of farmland system reform is the separation of farmland ownership, contract right and management right. We should grasp the three stability, namely collective ownership, family management foundation status and existing land contracting relationship unchanged for a long time. On this basis, the central government emphasizes the need to revitalize management rights and improve the efficiency of land resource allocation. The property right arrangement of separation of three rights solves the relationship between "stability" and "vitality" well.

Under the guidance of this principle, in November 2014, 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 Guiding the Orderly Circulation of Rural Land Management Rights to Develop Moderate Scale Management of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which is a programmatic document focusing on deepening the reform of rural land system and promoting the development of modern agriculture. The central government's thinking on farmland circulation is increasingly clear.

However, there are some problems that need attention, such as avoiding partial coercive orders, blind command and the Great Leap Forward. Some places unilaterally emphasize that the faster the speed of land circulation, the better the scale formed, and the higher the proportion of circulation, the better. This phenomenon needs high attention. In addition, we should also strengthen standardization and supervision over non-grain, non-agricultural, destruction of agricultural production capacity, production environment and other issues.

Next, I think we should mainly start from four aspects: firstly, according to the Opinions and the requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping, further clarify the theoretical essence of the separation of three powers and perfect the construction of property rights; secondly, make efforts on orderly standardization; thirdly, the scale of land circulation must be moderate; and fourth, strengthen the supervision on land lease of industrial and commercial capital.

Caixin reporter: You mentioned that the circulation scale must be moderate. Many scholars have pointed out that in terms of land productivity, it is not the larger the scale, the better. Beyond a certain scale, there will be diminishing marginal efficiency. The Opinion emphasizes appropriate scale and whether there is any consideration in this regard.

Zhang Hongyu: Yes. At present, promoting land scale management in China is of great significance to solve the problem of "who will grow grain", ensure the supply of agricultural products, connect modern agricultural production factors and increase the income of agricultural producers. However, the basic national conditions and agricultural conditions of more people and less land determine that China's scale management should grasp the problem of "moderation".

Moderate scale management of land has both quantitative problems and qualitative improvement. Therefore, the goal of scale management in China should not only pursue labor productivity, but also pursue to improve land output rate, and the national policy orientation should emphasize and encourage to improve land output rate.

Moreover, there are still 266 million peasant households in China. The moderate scale of agricultural management and development must adapt to the process of rural labor force transfer and citizenization, and to the perfection of rural social protection system, and must not exceed or lag behind the development stage. In addition, the scale of agricultural operation must also adapt to the progress of agricultural science and technology and the improvement of production means, and adapt to the improvement of agricultural socialization service level. Therefore, the appropriate scale of land management is not a simple "return pile", the larger the scale of operation is not the better.