Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200807/20080715/article_366864.htm
Farmers can now manage forests
Created: 2008-7-15 1:26:02
FARMERS will be given the right to manage collectively owned forestry tracts through 70-year contracts, China's State Council, or Cabinet, announced yesterday.
The reforms, to take effect immediately, will boost farmers' income, get farmers more involved in the planting and growing of trees, lift production and promote conservation culture, the council said.
The reforms have been recognized as another milestone in the country's transformation of rural production after it adopted the system for collective farmland more than two decades ago.
The forestry reforms will not change the nature of collective ownership, the State Council said.
It called for ensuring equal access to operating rights among farmers and guaranteeing their rights to know information about the tracts and to take part in the decision-making process about the uses of land.
The government said yesterday that it planned to complete the reforms within five years and form a sound development mechanism for collective forests based on the reforms.
Win-win
The system has already been implemented in Fujian, Jiangxi, Liaoning and Zhejiang provinces since 2003, where 58.5 million hectares of collective forestry land have been contracted out to farmers for management.
The trial has turned into a win-win situation - farmers were getting richer and the forests received better protection, said the State Council.
The practice of the household contract system for collective farmland was initiated by a group of farmers in a small village in the central Anhui Province in 1978.
The system was adopted nationwide later and helped boost the country's agricultural production.
The government said it expected the system to work again for the collective forestry land, promote the development of the forestry industry and improve living standards for farmers, according to the statement.
China has about 1.7 billion hectares of forest land under collective ownership, accounting for 60 percent of the country's total.
More than half of the country's population live in these forested areas.
The reforms, to take effect immediately, will boost farmers' income, get farmers more involved in the planting and growing of trees, lift production and promote conservation culture, the council said.
The reforms have been recognized as another milestone in the country's transformation of rural production after it adopted the system for collective farmland more than two decades ago.
The forestry reforms will not change the nature of collective ownership, the State Council said.
It called for ensuring equal access to operating rights among farmers and guaranteeing their rights to know information about the tracts and to take part in the decision-making process about the uses of land.
The government said yesterday that it planned to complete the reforms within five years and form a sound development mechanism for collective forests based on the reforms.
Win-win
The system has already been implemented in Fujian, Jiangxi, Liaoning and Zhejiang provinces since 2003, where 58.5 million hectares of collective forestry land have been contracted out to farmers for management.
The trial has turned into a win-win situation - farmers were getting richer and the forests received better protection, said the State Council.
The practice of the household contract system for collective farmland was initiated by a group of farmers in a small village in the central Anhui Province in 1978.
The system was adopted nationwide later and helped boost the country's agricultural production.
The government said it expected the system to work again for the collective forestry land, promote the development of the forestry industry and improve living standards for farmers, according to the statement.
China has about 1.7 billion hectares of forest land under collective ownership, accounting for 60 percent of the country's total.
More than half of the country's population live in these forested areas.
Xinhua
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