Importance and Countermeasures of Curbing the Conversion of Agricultural Land to Non-agricultural Land under the Background of the Rural Revitalization Strategy

Mingqian JIN, Zisheng YANG

Institute of Land & Resources and Sustainable Development, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming 650221, China

Abstract Farmland is the most basic element for farmers’ survival and development, and has a social security function. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has gradually become the primary factor in the reduction of agricultural land in various regions of China, seriously endangering China’s food security. Under the background of the rural revitalization strategy, the emergence of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land and the inevitability of its development were analyzed from both the acceleration of urbanization and the increase in land demand by using the literature research method. The importance of curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land to achieve the grand goal of strong agriculture, beautiful rural areas, and rich farmers was clarified, and then countermeasures and suggestions to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land were put forward, which is of great significance to promoting the effective implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy.

Key words Rural revitalization strategy, Conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, Countermeasures

1 Introduction

In the No. 1 document issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2021, it is emphasized that the Chinese nation must be rejuvenated， and the countryside must be rejuvenated at this stage. According to the current situation, it is required that China’s rural construction should shift from the "three rural" issues to the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization. In accordance with the general requirements of "prosperous industry, livable ecology, civilized rural style, effective governance, and affluent life", it is necessary to adhere to the principle of giving priority to the development of agriculture and rural areas, accelerate the modernization of the rural governance system and governance capability, accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, and establish and improve urban-rural integration development institutional mechanism and policy system, take the road of socialist rural revitalization with Chinese characteristics, make farmers an attractive profession, make agriculture a promising industry, and make rural areas a beautiful home to live and work in peace and contentment. Local people’s governments at all levels must follow the decisions and deployments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, take effective measures to strengthen supervision and management, implement the most stringent farmland protection system, resolutely stop various "non-agriculturalization" behaviors of farmland, and resolutely maintain the red line of farmland. Farmland is land directly or indirectly used for agricultural production, and is the most important carrier of industrial prosperity and affluent life. China’s urbanization has strongly supported the rapid growth and rapid transformation of economy, and successfully avoided large-scale urban poverty, unemployment and slums, but the pressure has also begun to appear. In recent years, facing the dual promotion of urbanization and industrialization, the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has also increased, leading to the emergence of problems such as the reduction of agricultural land, the destruction of agricultural land quality and irreversibility, and the sharp drop in food production. To implement the strategy of rural revitalization, it is needed to attach great importance to the fact that the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land in China is developing at a high speed in the process of promoting the development of rural modernization. The development of non-agriculturalization will have an important impact on rural society, farmers’ lives, and agricultural development. Therefore, in the context of the rural revitalization strategy, in order to achieve industrial prosperity and life prosperity, and comprehensively promote and realize the rural revitalization strategy, the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is realistic and urgent, and it is more urgent and important to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land.

2 Inevitability of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land

Up to now, the urbanization rate of China’s permanent population has exceeded 60% for the first time. Faced with the dual promotion of industrialization and urbanization, China has entered a period of accelerated urbanization. Under this background, the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has become a common phenomenon in the process of economic development and urbanization and industrialization, and its essence is the redistribution of land resources between agricultural use and construction use. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has led to more and more prominent social and ecological problems. If these problems are not properly handled, they will seriously affect China’s food security, rational use of agricultural land, and sustainable development.

2.1 Urbanization and rapid economic development accelerate the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land

The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is an inevitable phenomenon that has emerged with the acceleration of China’s social and economic development and urbanization. Faced with the rapid development of the social economy, people’s personal income is also increasing, and their requirements for the quality of life are increasing. They need to enjoy better transportation, medical care, and education services, and higher requirements are placed on the corresponding supporting infrastructure. Because of this, the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land in China is now gradually accelerating. As there is still a large population in rural areas of China, and with the development of society and the advancement of science and technology, and the continuous improvement of agricultural mechanization and scale, there will be more large-scale non-agricultural production. In addition, agricultural water conservancy facilities and field roads will occupy agricultural land, and the land occupation for transportation road construction or the development of related national projects will also gradually reduce agricultural land. Multilateral economic development will continue to cause the emergence and spread of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, and the rapid development of secondary and tertiary industries and rapid changes in industrial structure are also one of driving factors that lead to the transformation of land use patterns or the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land.

2.2 The continous increase of land demand accelerates the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land

China is a developing country where the relationship between man and land is highly tense. Relevant data displayed by the National Bureau of Statistics of China show that by the end of 2020, the urbanization rate of China’s permanent population has exceeded 60% for the first time. This value reflects that China’s urbanization is accelerating, and the rapid economic development and subsequent technological advancement have all contributed to the acceleration of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, the continuous expansion of urban scale, and the continuous increase of urbanization rate. In the process of land acquisition, it is very easy to include many non-public interest land into the scope of land acquisition. Although the complete legal system for land protection policies has been completed, the local government’s interpretation of the cultivated land protection policy is still based on the loss of cultivated land in exchange for the continued growth of local economy. Along with these reasons, more and more agricultural land has been converted into construction land. Therefore, the problem of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has become increasingly prominent, and the level of conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has risen sharply. The accelerated development of urbanization and industrialization requires more construction land to meet their development. At this stage, the main source of construction land is agricultural land. It can be seen that one of the main factors that cause changes in land use patterns and the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is the increase of demand for construction land.

3 Importance of curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land under the background of rural revitalization strategy

China’s "three rural" issues are essentially a rural area system sustainable development issue. Implementing rural revitalization strategy is a realistic choice to fundamentally solve the "three rural" issues. The key step in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy is to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land. The rural revitalization strategy defines new ideas for rural development, breaks through the past agricultural policies formulated around the needs of cities, and creates a new system and background for actively solving the "three rural" issues. In view of the emergence and development of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, it is needed to further understand and understand the importance of curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land. Population, land and industry are the three core elements that affect the regional development of rural man-land relations, and their connotations are enriched with the transformation of urban-rural relations. It is necessary to adopt effective policy measures to make rural areas develop in an all-round way in terms of economy, people’s livelihood, ecology, and culture, so as to achieve the grand goal of strong agriculture, beautiful rural areas, and rich farmers.

3.1 Curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is the key to strong agriculture

The rural revitalization strategy is an inevitable choice for resolving the main contradictions between urban and rural areas in the new era, balancing urban and rural development, breaking the urban-rural duality pattern, and comprehensively building a modern and powerful socialist country. The promulgation of the rural revitalization strategy has determined the strategic requirements for the future development of China’s rural areas. The institutional background created by the rural revitalization strategy can better solve the "three rural" issues. Agriculture is a key factor restricting the national economy, and the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is a key factor restricting agricultural development, thereby directly or indirectly affecting the development of the national economy. Agricultural land is the land directly or indirectly used for agricultural production, including farmland, garden land, woodland, pasture, breeding water surface, pond water surface, farmland water conservancy facility land, and land occupied by field roads and all other agricultural production buildings. However, with the continuous development of the economy, the pressure on resources and the environment has become more and more prominent, and the demand for scientific, rational and sustainable use of land resources has become increasingly stronger. It can be seen that agricultural land is the most basic and primary element of rural agricultural development. The protection of agricultural land is the top priority in the process of promoting the integration of urban and rural land markets in the future. In respects of land use control, the division of basic farmland and non-basic farmland must be treated according to the principles of strict classification and careful use. The land for urbanization should be strictly controlled above the land of non-basic farmland.

3.2 Curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is the guarantee of beautiful countryside

The rural revitalization strategy states that "respecting for nature, conforming to nature, protecting nature, and realizing the unity of rich farmers and beautiful countryside" is the only way to achieve the goal of rural ecological revitalization and ecological livability; only by establishing and implementing the development concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" can we uniquely transform various rural element resources into industrial advantages. Improving rural living environment and building beautiful and livable villages is an important task in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has a particularly prominent negative impact on the society and the ecological environment. If the problem of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is not properly handled, it will seriously affect China’s food safety and sustainable development, and will be extremelydestroy the rural ecological environment to a large extent. In recent years, individual companies across China have leased agricultural land, occupied land under various names, changed land use without authorization, and carried out non-agricultural construction in violation of laws and regulations, which severely impacted the three "red lines" of land space. It can be seen that if such phenomena are not curbed, they will go against the requirements and strategic deployment of the rural revitalization strategy, violate the land use control system, affect the protection of cultivated land, and infringe the interests of farmers. This will lead to the further expansion and raging of the phenomenon of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land.

3.3 Curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is the foundation for farmers to become rich

Agricultural land is the endogenous driving force of "rural revitalization". Agricultural land is not only the starting point of the rural revitalization strategy, but also the end of the rural revitalization strategy. the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land has gradually become the main reason for the reduction of agricultural land in various regions of China. The "rich life" is one of the general requirements of rural revitalization, and farmers are the final income main body of rural revitalization. As the most basic and important element of rural economic development, agricultural land is not only the main source of income for farmers, but also the guarantee of farmers’ basic life. Only when agricultural land is fully activated can it provide a steady stream of micro-development power for the development of rural agriculture and the rural revitalization strategy. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land will cause environmental damage, reduction of arable land, a sharp drop in food production, and irreversible damage to soil quality. These shortcomings will eventually directly affect the income of farmers, and go against the general requirements of the rural revitalization strategy. In order to meet the requirements of "absolutely safe rations and basic self-sufficiency of grains", it is particularly important to curb the the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land. To realize the prosperity of farmers, it should be known that the countryside is a promising world, and agricultural land is the foundation of rural development. New ideas can be to promote the high-quality development of agricultural industry and bring more considerable income.

4 Countermeasures to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land

4.1 Respecting the wishes of farmers who are in a dominant position

Farmers should be in a dominant position in curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, because the basic subject of agricultural land is farmers. In the process of curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, it is necessary to attach importance to the participation of the masses, establish a public participation mechanism, and give relevant stakeholders the opportunity to make suggestions, and not only issue notices to farmers before implementing measures to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, but also announce the progress of the implementation process in detail to ensure farmers’ right to know and make suggestions in curbing the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land. It is not possible to ignore the self-interest of relevant interest groups, arbitrarily expand the scope of land requisition and occupy farmland arbitrarily because of the mandatory in the government’s administrative power process. It is necessary to fully listen to and accept the correct opinions of farmers, and combine their suggestions and opinions to further formulate measures to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, and effectively play the role of the public in supervising the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land.

4.2 Establishing the transfer of land development rights to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land

Although the relevant legal system of land protection policy has been completed, the interpretation of the agricultural land protection policy by the local government is still at the cost of the loss of agricultural land in exchange for the sustained growth of the local economy. On the basis of ensuring the sustainable development of the economy, it is not advisable to rely excessively on the consumption of land resources in exchange for economic growth. It is needed to improve the green development and sustainable development concepts of related project construction, and put an end to the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land caused by the unlimited expansion of cities. The transfer of land development rights can well solve the contradiction between the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land and economic growth, and the economic benefits brought by urbanization and industrialization can also be applied to farmers. The land development right transfer system can provide the central government with tools to more effectively manage and control land and agricultural land protection, reducing or eliminating part of the illegal occupation of agricultural land driven by economic interests.

4.3 Building a government incentive and restraint mechanism to increase the cost of government punishment

In the process of paid use of land, due to the restriction and higher difficulty of the paid use of urban stock land, the government turned its attention to the expropriation of rural land. From the perspective of self-interest, in order to make money from the land, the key to avoiding the distortion of local government behavior is to further clarify the powers and responsibilities of the central and local governments, and form a strong system and budget constraints on local governments. Establishing an incentive system or a restraint system can enable the government to fully weigh the benefits and costs that accompany the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land in social development when using land, and convert them into the government’s performance evaluation, so as to increase the efficiency of the government to curb the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land. In addition, the government needs to increase investment in "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers", as well as agricultural land protection funds and policy compensation, and narrow the regional urban-rural income gap to increase farmers’ enthusiasm for protecting agricultural land.

4.4 Setting up land development rights and increasing the cost of farmland acquisition constraints

Local governments’ interest goals are driven by the completion of development goals, the need to demonstrate political performance, obtaining fiscal revenue, and the need for urban levels, and it is easy make land bacome a tool for the above goals. On this basis, the establishment of land development rights and increase in the cost of agricultural land acquisition can reduce the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land to a certain extent. Reasonable conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is in line with social and economic development, so the government and related agencies need to fully understand this and study reasonable conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land to ensure the maximization and optimization of availability of land resources in the social and economic development, promote the synchronization of agricultural land conversion with social and economic development, and even make reasonable agricultural land conversion to promote social and economic development.

4.5 Attaching importance to the ecological functions of agricultural land, and puting the protection of agricultural land in the first place

The ecological function of agricultural land mainly means agricultural land provides not only the ecological environment on the ground, but also the ecological environment of the entire underground space, such as groundwater, landscape, air, and surface rivers. The ecological function of agricultural land is closely related to the economic development of society and the development of agricultural land. Ecological issues are also major social issues related to people’s livelihood. The sacrifice of the ecological environment cannot be exchanged for temporary economic development. Agricultural land is a non-renewable resource. Once damaged, it will be difficult to recover. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the ecological function of agricultural land, and agricultural land should be protected effectively to greatly reduce the damage to the ecological function of agricultural land. The ecological function of agricultural land also affects the issue of food security. Food security is directly related to basic human rights. Therefore, only by protecting agricultural land can we basically guarantee human food security.

5 Conclusions

There are many factors contributing to the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, which are closely related to social economic development and social land demand. Among them, the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land brought about by urban expansion and the agglomeration of industrial land is the most obvious. The general requirements and goals of the the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land and the rural revitalization strategy run counter to each other. Agricultural land is not only the basic guarantee for farmers and the foundation of rural development, but also vital to the ecological environment. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land may also cause a large number of rural laborers to move to cities to engage in non-agricultural work, and the transfer of rural labor from agricultural sectors to non-agricultural sectors, ultimately leading to the non-agriculturalization of livelihoods. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land is directly related to the development of the national economy and the implementation progress of the rural revitalization strategy. Therefore, the protection of agricultural land must be placed in the first place of the rural revitalization strategy, and the phenomenon of the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land must be resolutely curbed. If the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land cannot be curbed actively and in time, it may lead to functional variation of agricultural land, ecological and food security problems, and extensive development methods, which will result in a series of negative effects.