More than three million farmers who lost their land to
industrial development or urbanization have been covered under
social security systems in China.
An official with the Ministry of Land and Resources said at a
symposium on building a harmonious socialist society that local
governments have raised their compensation standards for land
requisition since 2004 in line with their local economic
development status.
So far more than ten provinces, including Jiangsu and Zhejiang,
have established social security system for the farmers who lost
their farmland.
Experts predicted that more farmers whose land were
requisitioned will obtain social security in future.
Some local governments have made regulations to crack down on
those who infringed upon farmer's benefits during the process of
land requisition, and have taken new measures for the resettlement
of the farmers, such as providing employment training and small
loans with favorable interest rates.
"The proper settlement of the land-requisitioned farmers is
important for building a harmonious socialist society," the
official said.
Official figures show that more than 40 million farmers had
their farmlands partially or wholly used for other purposes.
Recently, China is introducing the "most stringent" farmland
management policies, strictly prohibited farmlands to be occupied
for urbanization. Therefore there should be less farmers losing
land in future.
(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2006)