Farmers whose land is compulsorily acquired are to receive better compensation from the Chinese government. The new system drawn up by the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) will be strictly enforced, said a senior official with the organization on Sunday.

The new method of examination to assess the levels of compensation due for the loss of farmland came into affect on August 1.

Average per capita farmland has fallen to 1.4 mu but the government plans to retain at least 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) by the end of 2010. They've been maintaining productivity by compensating those whose land has been acquired for construction.

The system requires those utilizing farmland for construction to pay a compensation fee, a farmland reclamation fee, land use charge or other recompense. 

Enterprises or institutions responsible for such payments should clarify their compensation plans through a specific project. The project, when completed, should satisfy the designed requirements.

According to the MLR, farmers reclaimed roughly the same amount of farmland as was acquired from them last year but much of it was of poor quality compared to what they'd lost. 

For example 67 percent of farmland taken away for construction last year was equipped with irrigation systems but only 35 percent of reclaimed land has such facilities.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2006)