China ploughs on with land reform

LU Jiaqing, a sturdy farmer of 51, is all smiles when talking about how his life has changed since he was allowed to lease his land. He said: "I now earn 10 times more than when I was looking after the land myself, and I have more free time."

His neighbours have likewise improved their livelihoods. When the law was changed 10 years ago to allow leasing, Mr Lu leased his plot to a neighbour. The frequent floods in his corner of Baiyi village in Anhui province in central China had damaged the land, and he could not afford to drain it, so he handed it over to someone who could. "I was earning close to nothing. It made no sense to continue," he said.

Anhui is where China has been trying agricultural reform. It was there in 2004 that farmers were allowed to transfer rights of their land use and also where the government first cancelled tax on agricultural production. It is in Anhui as well, that the government is seeking to push through its major land reform announced during the Communist Party plenum last November; this round of changes includes generalising land transfers and setting up a national cadastre, an official register of the quantity, value and ownership of real estate.