14 cities will take the lead in delineating permanent basic farmland in the suburbs. Urban construction needs a detour.

A few days ago, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the Circular on Further Improving the Demarcation of Permanent Basic Farmland (hereinafter referred to as the Circular), requiring that on the basis of the existing work of demarcating permanent basic farmland, the existing high-quality cultivated land that is easy to be occupied around cities and towns and along the transportation line shall be prioritized as permanent basic farmland, so as to guarantee the comprehensive grain production capacity to the maximum extent and ensure the basic stability of the existing cultivated land area and national food security.

According to the arrangement, the demarcation of permanent basic farmland around 14 cities including Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Guiyang and Xi'an will be carried out first, and the demarcation and achievement improvement of permanent basic farmland nationwide will be fully completed by the end of 2016.

At present, some urban planning construction land and high-quality cultivated land overlap relatively high, there are still many high-quality cultivated land around large and medium-sized cities not classified as permanent basic farmland, urban development occupation of high-quality cultivated land phenomenon is still relatively prominent; at the same time, the two departments found in the verification, some places still exist far away from the close, bad not excellent phenomenon. To this end, the Circular emphasizes that it is necessary to fully understand the importance and urgency of doing a good job in the demarcation of permanent basic farmland in the new period. Doing this work well is the basic requirement for implementing the basic national policy of "cherishing and rationally utilizing land and effectively protecting cultivated land" and the national food security strategy, an important measure for implementing the national new urbanization strategy and ecological civilization strategy, and an important task for protecting cultivated land resources with due diligence.

The Notice puts forward four general requirements for the demarcation work: first, clear requirements and protection priorities. The demarcation work should implement the latest requirements of the central government, follow the principle of giving priority to cultivated land protection and paying equal attention to quantity and quality, and strictly delimit the red line of permanent basic farmland protection according to the requirements of basically stable layout, no reduction in quantity and improvement in quality. Second, it should be carried out in an orderly manner according to laws and regulations. The demarcation work shall be carried out in coordination with the demarcation of urban development boundary and ecological protection red line, and shall be connected with the integration of economic and social development planning, overall land use planning, urban and rural planning, etc.; in the process of demarcation, if the quantity or layout of basic farmland is changed and the overall land use planning needs to be adjusted accordingly, it shall be adjusted and improved in accordance with laws and regulations, in a standardized and orderly manner. Third, overall planning and steady progress. All provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), starting from megacities with a population of more than 5 million, provincial capitals and cities separately listed in the state plan, shall carry out the demarcation work steadily and orderly in the order of large to small cities and towns, far to near space, cultivated land quality and land fertility grade from high to low. Fourth, ministerial and provincial linkage and departmental coordination. The local people's governments at or above the county level shall bear the main responsibility for the demarcation work, and the competent departments of land and resources shall be responsible for organizing the implementation together with the competent agricultural departments at the same level. The two ministries shall be responsible for macro guidance, supervision and inspection.

The Circular also puts forward specific requirements from three aspects: strengthening organizational guarantee, strengthening guidance and supervision, and strengthening propaganda and guidance. All localities are required to strengthen government organization and leadership, carefully plan and carefully deploy, so as to ensure that personnel are in place and funds are in place, so as to ensure the timely, quality and quantity completion of various tasks; to establish a regular reporting and notification system, timely supervision and inspection; for those who do not demarcate permanent basic farmland according to regulations, relevant units and individuals shall be investigated for responsibility according to laws and regulations.