1.Policy background and main content
2016's central No. 1 document specifically raised: "Play the leading role of multiple-form agricultural moderate scale operation. Adhere to the basis of household management, support new-type agricultural management subjects and new-type agricultural service subjects to become the backbone in modern agriculture construction, and fully play the leading function of multiple-form agricultural moderate scale operation in aspects including agricultural machinery and science technology achievement application, green development and market expanding." On October 2016，General Office of the CPC Central Committee and General Office of the State Council issued Opinions on Improving the Separation Method of Rural Land Ownership, Contracting Rights and Management Rights, specified the powers and functions connotation and interrelation of the “three rights”，and explained clearly the implementation path of "separation of three rights", which is another major system innovation in rural reform following household contract responsibility system under new historical conditions. In order to promote law-based orderly transfer of rural land management rights, enhance the work guidance for transfer and trading markets of rural land management rights, the MoA issued Rural Land Management Rights Transfer and Trading Market Operation Specification (Trial), various new-type subjects flourished, and agricultural socialized service level was obviously enhanced.
1)Gradually formed the pattern of "separation of three rights". Improved methods for "separation of three rights，constantly explored effective realization form for rural land collective ownership system, implemented collective ownership, stabilized farmers，contracting rights, loosened regulations on land management rights, fully played the respective functions and overall effectiveness of "three rights" , and formed a pattern of clear level-division, reasonable structure and equal protection. Rural land collective ownership is the premise of land contracting rights, farmers enjoying contracting and managing rights is the specific realization form of collective ownership, and in land transfer, land management right is derived from farmers’ contracting and management right. Via practical exploration and theoretical innovation, conducted in-depth research on issues such as the exercise style and rights relations of “three rights，and provided powerful support for implementing “three rights”.
2)Set up and improved rural land transfer market, and guided the orderly transfer of land management rights. Rural land management right transfer and trading market is a platform based on market rules, and provides service for both trading parties. According to General Office of the State Council's Opinion on Guiding the Healthy Development of Rural Property Rights Transfer and Trading Market ([2014] No. 71 document issued by the General Office of the State Council), the MoA issued Rural Land Management Rights Transfer and Trading Market Operation Specification (trial), mainly followed the order of “put forward aplication - exchange in market — sign a contract - provide supporting service”，and specified the trading rules of land management rights transfer market. Via further improving related work rules, guided the open, fair and rule-based transfer and trading of land management rights.
3)Encouraged and guided farmers to voluntarily exchange contracted land in order to realize continuous planting. Realizing continuity of previously scattered land through land management right transfer is an important approach in realizing agricultural moderate scale operation. In 2016, the MoA and Ministry of Finance, along with other departments, issued Notice on Further Well Conducting Related Work on Confirmation, Registration, and Certification of Rural Contracted Land's Management Rights, and specifically raised: “On the premise of fully respecting farmers' personal will, via exchanging and merging land, realizing continuous planting for each household, solve the fragmentation issue of land, and promote the development of moderate scale operation.” When guiding land resources to moderately concentrate, via multiple forms such as cooperation and alliance among farmers and carrying out socialized service, lifted the level of agricultural scale operation. Supported various new-type agricultural service subjects to launch specialized scale services such as replacing planting, joint planting and land trusteeship.
2.Policy implementation situation and effect evaluation
1)Rural land "separation of three rights" system framework was being established. Currently, Jiangsu, Gansu, Chongqing, Shanxi, and Hebei released implementation opinions in the name of the provincial (municipal) general office of party committee and general office of provincial government, other provinces are in the process of enacting specific implementation rules, and provided system support for carrying out multiple-form moderate scale operation.
2)Management and service level for rural land transfer constantly improved. Guided each region to set up and improve rural management rights transfer and trading process, and promoted the orderly transfer of land management rights and the healthy development of moderate scale operation. Over 30 provinces nationwide rolled out implementation opinions for the No. 61 document by General Office of CPC Central Committee, 20 provinces set up supervision and risk prevention system for farmland leasing with industrial and commercial capital, each region set up nearly 20 000 land transfer service centers, and provinces such as Jiangsu and Hunan rolled out detailed implementation rules for land transfer market operation specification. Some areas actively explored multiple approaches such as household-based continuous planting and “one household one field” to solve the problem of fragmented contracted land, and achieved good effects.
3)Family farms with moderate scale operation flourished. Currently, already 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under central government) nationwide made clear the identification standard and procedure for family farms, and set up a national agri-cultural family farm directory. Family farms included in agricultural departments’ directory management above county-level reached 414 000, with an average operation area of some 10 hectares. At the end of 2016, family farms registered in industrial and commercial departments reached 460 000. A total of 18 provinces (autonomous reg-ions and municipalities directly under cen-tral government) nationwide carried out demonstration family farms establishment activities, and identified more than 60 000 demonstration family farms above county-level.
4)Focused on promoting socialized service such as agricultural production trusteeship. Put forth efforts on promoting agricultural production trustee service, and actively promoted Ministry of Finance to regard providing service for concentrated scale operation as the supporting focus of central finance. In practice, many households contracted farmland work to outer parties via production trustee, among other methods, which not only satisfied their part-time production desire, but also effectively lifted the level of agricultural scale operation. According to preliminary statistics, about three fourths of the provinces nationwide launched agricultural production trustee service, among which the trustee service area of Shandong, Anhui and Hubei provinces already surpassed 666 700 hectares.
In general, the current agricultural moderate scale operation took on a healthy and orderly development trend. As of now, over 3.5 million households nationwide have an operation scale of over 3.33 hectares, and the proportion of moderate scale operation with multiple forms such as land transfer and production trustee exceeded 30 percent.
