Mao Again Turns in Grave: Farmers Can Sell Land

China has given farmers control over their land. On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party Central Committee [pictured] voted to allow farmers to "lease their contracted farmland or transfer their land use right" (government retains nominal title over all Chinese land, but lease guarantees have successfully fueled urban China’s development). The party worries about the growing urban-rural income gap, and hopes land consolidation will boost the scale of farm production, while sales will provide rural residents funds for new businesses. The party’s goal: double rural area per-capita disposable income to $1200 annually by 2020.

China has held back on individual farmland ownership because it fears landlords once again dominating landless peasants. Leaders are also concerned about China’s rapidly disappearing arable farmland. Central government policy is to hold the line at 120 million hectares of farmland, but China’s already down to 121.7 million hectares, as Beijing pleads with local governments to control “strictly” land sales for urban development.