China urgently needs a new rural land ownership mechanism to
guarantee farmers' legal rights and security, according to a
UN-China project inked in Beijing on December 20.
Jointly launched by the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) and the Chinese government, the four-year project aims to
revitalize rural China by addressing problems of property rights,
local governance and the provision of public services.
With initial funding of US$5 million covering a rural population
of 400 million in eight pilot provinces, the project promotes
clear, equitable and efficient land acquisition mechanisms,
improved local governance, the provision of public goods and
services in rural areas and the protection of farmers' rights and
interests.
"Securing rural land rights, giving farmers more bargaining
power and ensuring they get sufficient compensation for their land
are critical to rural reform in China. Stories abound of farmers
being forced off their land with little compensation and no means
of recourse," said Khalid Malik, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP
Resident Representative in China at the signing ceremony.
China has put rural reform at the top of its agenda, said Huang
Zongli, director of the Department of International Cooperation and
Science of the Ministry of Land Resources. "The core of the reform
is to protect the rights of farmers to exploit or transfer their
land in a sound legal environment."
The project is a joint effort between UNDP, the Ministry of Land
Resources (MLR), the China Institute of Reform and Development
(CIRD), and the China International Center for Economic and
Technical Exchanges (CICETE) under the Ministry of Commerce.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)
