If farmers are better compensated for forfeiting their land to the cause of development, many disputes over inadequate monetary relief can be resolved amicably.

The Ministry of Land and Resources early this month issued regulations stipulating that such compensation must meet farmers' cost of building new homes and that local governments must not withhold funds on some flimsy pretext, an accusation often leveled against townships or village committees.

Moreover, the compensation is always calculated based on farmers' actual land yields. And the money disbursed for building new homes is quite often meager. This leads to unrest and conflict between villagers and local governments.

The ministry initiative is of course good news for farmers, but only if county or village-level governments abide strictly by its stipulations.

There is little guarantee that these local bodies would pay the compensation amount in full. They may in fact choose to disregard central directives.

Villagers do have the right to take such errant authorities to court or complain to superior offices.

Still, if the central government takes specific measures to enforce its rules stringently and direct local governments to implement the regulations in toto, villagers will be spared the effort of fighting with local officials for what they are legally entitled to.