The "separation of rights" of agricultural land should be conducive to modernization

In order to improve the separation of powers, both practical exploration and theoretical innovation, we should go in one direction: promote the rational use of land resources, develop various forms of moderate scale operation, and promote the development of modern agriculture.

Correctly handling the relationship between farmers and land was, and still is, the main line of rural reform. Recently, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the opinions on improving the separation of contractual rights of rural land ownership and management rights, in response to the realistic changes in China's rural and agricultural development.

For more than 30 years since the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, the "separation of the two rights" between the collective ownership of rural land and the contracted management right of farmers has given farmers a long-term and guaranteed right of contracted management of land, and aroused their enthusiasm. It also provides an institutional guarantee for the considerable progress of agriculture in our country. With the deepening of industrialization and urbanization, a large number of farmers turn to non-agricultural industries, the phenomenon of rural land circulation is becoming more and more common, and profound changes have taken place in the mode of agricultural management. By the end of 2015, 33.3% of the cultivated land contracted by households across the country had been transferred, and 66 million of the 230 million contracted households had transferred land to a greater or lesser extent. Now, this trend continues, so the question comes: people who have the right to contracted management of land no longer cultivate land, and those who cultivate land have no corresponding rights, so what kind of institutional arrangements should be used to regulate and regulate this objective phenomenon?

On the basis of "separation of two rights", the right of contracted management of land is further divided into contract right and management right, and the separation of ownership, contract right and management right is a kind of institutional arrangement that adapts to the development of productive forces and the current reality. It should be noted that the phenomenon of rural land transfer has long appeared, and the practice of the separation of contract rights and management rights is extremely rich. What needs to be clarified at the policy level is to further improve the specific methods of "separation of rights" and clearly define the collective ownership of farmers, the contracting rights of farmers, and the management rights of operators, so that contractors can rest assured that they can transfer land and operators can rest assured to invest in land.

The "separation of powers" of rural land is driven by two realistic factors, one is urbanization, the other is agricultural modernization. Judging from the historical process, the push of urbanization is greater, and rural areas have been hollowed out in many places before agricultural modernization has been realized. However, the mobility of people needs the support of all aspects of the social system, and the current roadblocks in household registration, education, and medical care are being opened, but the foundation is not solid enough, so the adjustment of rural land rights and interests needs to leave an exit for farmers in a long historical period. It is a correct and rational choice to stabilize the existing land contract relationship and keep it unchanged for a long time, and allow farmers to settle in cities without having to return the contracted land.

From a longer-term perspective, agricultural modernization will be the most important force to promote the adjustment of rural land rights and interests. On the issue of "separation of powers", one point must be very clear: land transfer is not the goal, but the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. This process is difficult to achieve overnight. To guide the rational circulation of land management rights and promote the appropriate scale operation of land is an important starting point to improve the method of "separation of rights", because in reality, many operators who develop modern agriculture through the transfer of farmers' land complain that the term of the transfer contract is very short, while the return period of agricultural infrastructure investment is long, and they do not dare to make long-term investment; a large amount of capital is needed, and the land cannot be used for mortgage financing. However, it is still necessary to consider the cost of the current land transaction system in the whole historical process of agricultural modernization. In the right direction, the problem will not be too big if you slow down; if you are too impatient, you may run the risk of going astray.

It is complex and sensitive to deal with the rights boundary and mutual right relationship between farmers' collectives and contractors about contracted land, contracted farmers and operators in land transfer, and there is still a long way to go. Whether it is practical exploration or theoretical innovation, we should go in one direction: promote the rational use of land resources, develop various forms of appropriate scale operation, and promote the development of modern agriculture.