Research report on rural hollow villages
Part 1: Research report on rural hollow villages
Abstract: This article mainly studies It is about the phenomenon of rural hollowing. The research object is Dongxiang Village, Shifo Town. Through the changes in the village in recent decades, a systematic report is made on the current situation, causes, transformation difficulties and transformation suggestions of the village.
Keywords: Hollowing, homestead, land waste
Hollow village, as the name suggests, is a rural village with few farmers living in it, occupying a lot of land, and a large area is wasted and vacant status.
Homestead, homestead is the land on which farmers can build houses. Legally speaking, residential land should be planned by government departments, but in fact, residential land in rural China is not planned. Rather, it has been owned by farmers themselves throughout history, and whoever owns it owns it. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, or earlier, the village model has gradually formed in China's rural areas, occupying about 400 million acres of land, and the per capita residential area of ??Chinese farmers is 0.5 acres. These 400 million acres of village land are called homesteads in legal terms, but the actual situation is that due to lack of planning and management, it has been wasted and idle more than used. With the continuous development of the economy and society, the country's land resources are becoming increasingly tight. The situation of these wasted and idle lands existing in the name of rural homesteads needs to be improved.
Central villages, most rural areas in China, are composed of about ten village groups. Around these nearly ten village groups, there are some villages with convenient transportation, or convenient industrial and commercial outlets. place. For the sake of transportation or business convenience, most farmers spontaneously built many houses nearby, naturally forming a central village. Some central villages are planned by the government, and some are formed naturally.
Land value: According to relevant laws in China, land cannot be bought or sold. Only the government has the power to expropriate it. Expropriation is the actual sale and purchase. This phenomenon, in which only the government has the power to buy and sell land, is a monopoly. The monopoly on land sales has caused the market price of land to be much higher than the actual price of land. Some landless farmers said that if they lose their land, what will future generations eat? According to this point of view, all those who do not farm in China will only starve to death. The value of land is that it will produce food in perpetuity, just like a hen will hatch chicks in perpetuity. Producing food permanently on land requires constant investment and labor, and hens need to be constantly fed to hatch chicks. How much a hen can be sold for depends on its meat quality and egg-laying function; how much an acre of land can be sold for depends on its annual output and geographical location. If we only look at the food production function of the land, the price of all land in China is less than 100,000 yuan per mu. Because the income from China's land grain output is at most less than 1,000 yuan per year, and the annual regular bank interest of 100,000 yuan is higher than this 1,000 yuan, this kind of bank interest income can also avoid land investment and The hard work. The value of relatively remote and poor-quality land is only about 10,000 yuan per mu, because the rental income per acre is only 100 yuan, which is equivalent to 10,000 yuan in bank time deposit interest.
1. Research content
1. Current situation of Hollow Village
In Dongxiang Village, Shifo Town, Baoding City, Hebei Province, the village group has 180 people and 40 households. The entire village group occupies a homestead area of ??100 acres of land. The average homestead land per household is 2.5 acres, and the per capita homestead land is 0.5 acres. There is no planning for the old houses in the village group. The planning for some newly built houses in the past ten years or so is: the area of ??a homestead is 0.36 acres. Because farmers use their old homesteads to build houses, the size of the old homestead will determine the area occupied by the new house and yard according to the plan. Homesteads seriously exceed their area, and the phenomenon of multiple houses per household is very prominent.
On this 100-acre homestead, about 30 acres are built with houses or yards. The size of the yard is based on your old homestead, and you can build it as big as you can; on 40 acres On the left and right abandoned house sites, the villagers planted some trees according to who has occupied the land historically. There is another 25 acres of land, which is always covered with grass or some abandoned pools. There are also about 5 acres of land, Because there were no houses or tree roots around, we turned it into cultivated land. The utilization ratio of this 100 acres of land is basically: 30% is for houses and yards; 40% is for planting trees; 25% is idle and wasted; 5% is for Farmers developed their own farmland.
In addition, there is a small reservoir that has been idle all year round and is covered with water plants all year round. It occupies an area of ??more than ten acres of land. These more than ten acres of land also belong to other village groups. The area of ??these more than ten acres of reservoir is not within the 100 acres of homestead land I measured.
2. Reasons for the formation of hollow villages
Some people analyze that the reason for the formation of hollow villages is that many farmers have left the countryside and developed in cities, resulting in idleness and waste of land in rural villages. In fact, this reason exists, but it accounts for very little.
(1) The first main reason for the formation of hollow villages
is that since the founding of New China or earlier, farmers have lived in rural areas and engaged in agricultural production. Because we are in the era of manual agriculture, many agricultural operations require a large amount of land. For example, every household once needed a wheat (rice) field for threshing wheat or drying rice. Each wheat (rice) field occupied nearly an acre of land. With the advent of agricultural mechanization and the use of combine harvesters, those wheat (rice) fields in rural areas have become useless. Of the 100 acres of homestead land in the village, these former wheat (rice) farms account for about 30 acres.
(2) The second main reason for the formation of hollow villages
is the nature of collective ownership of rural land. Because the land is collectively owned, the collective lacks management and planning. The principle of farmers is to occupy whatever land they can, even if the land they occupy remains idle all year round. If a new household wants to build a house, they can only build it on their old homestead. Farmers who do not have enough old homestead land can only build their house on their own farmland. This is also a very strange phenomenon in rural China. Many houses have been illegally built on farmland, and there are many idle old homesteads in villages.
The collective ownership land system restricts the development, transfer and utilization of rural homestead land. According to the law, rural homestead land can only be transferred within the collective. This is completely empty talk. The transfer of homestead land requires payment of transfer fees. But the homestead is collective land, allowing farmers within the collective to use the collective's own idle homestead and pay fees to those farmers who have occupied the collective homestead for a long time. Farmers who were unwilling to build houses had no choice but to build houses on their own farmland. If farmers who own a large number of old homesteads are asked to hand over their old homesteads to the collective for free, these farmers are unwilling, because almost 80% of the farmers occupy a large number of old homesteads. Why should the collective allow me to be a farmer? Hand over idle homesteads, instead of all farmers handing over their own idle homesteads. This is the drawback of collective land ownership. Collective land would rather be left idle than let other farmers use it.
(3) The third main reason for the formation of hollow villages
is the inaction or random behavior of grassroots governments. From a legal perspective, collective economic organizations can, in accordance with the law, uniformly recycle idle residential land that is not used by farmers, and either build houses for the newly added population, or process it into cultivated land and distribute it to villagers for farming. Due to the inaction of grassroots governments and the lack of homestead planning, farmers have built one house in the east and one in the west in the past two decades, and there is indeed a lot of open space in the middle. These small areas of open space between houses do not make much sense when collectively recycled. It is difficult to process them into cultivated land, and it is inconvenient to use them as cultivated land.
4. The Dilemma of the Renovation of Hollow Villages
The transformation of hollow villages is being practiced in many places across the country. However, they are basically carried out under the model of government financial support. Because the government's financial resources are limited, only some hollow villages have the opportunity to improve or improve successfully. However, most hollow villages have no chance of improvement at all, or the improvement progress is very slow and the effect is not ideal. Currently, most of the successful cases of hollow village renovation that can be searched online are demonstration sites set up by the government to fund the renovation of hollow villages.
This is also the first dilemma in the improvement of hollow villages, lack or insufficient funds. When hollow villages are renovated, farmers need to relocate, and relocation requires new houses. Although many farmers currently have the financial strength to build new houses and relocate, there are still some farmers who cannot afford to build and relocate.
The second dilemma in the transformation of hollow villages. The government does not have policy support, but has policy constraints, and lacks the attention of high-level government land management departments. At present, the renovation of hollow villages in demonstration sites is mostly the transformation behavior of local governments, rather than the result of the attention of the national land resources department.
Taking Dongxiang Village as an example, the government does not have any guidance or support for the renovation of hollow villages. On the contrary, it restricts the establishment of central villages. The formation of central villages can greatly reduce the cost of transforming hollow villages. This kind of central village formed spontaneously is currently difficult to make progress due to government restrictions. The reason for the government's restrictions is very simple: the need to protect cultivated land. For the reason of protecting cultivated land, it charges high construction fees to farmers who build houses. Many farmers are deterred from building houses.
The third dilemma in the transformation of hollow villages is the inaction of grassroots governments. Faced with the increasing shortage of national land and the urgent need of farmers to build houses, the land in Hollow Village is seriously wasted. Grassroots cadres do not make plans for central villages and repeatedly push back the requirements of farmers to build houses. They turn a blind eye to the fact that most farmers in hollow villages have multiple houses and the area of ??homesteads is seriously exceeded.
When village-level cadres do not act, when private forces expect to invest in the renovation of hollow villages, because the renovation of hollow villages affects the interests of village cadres who charge high fees to farmers who build houses on the grounds of protecting cultivated land, the private sector's efforts to renovate hollow villages The village's plans were met with resistance and indifference.
The fourth dilemma in the renovation of hollow villages is the conflict between law and reality. In rural areas, the law is like a piece of waste paper. Many laws emphasize that one household is not allowed to have more than one house, and the area of ??the house site exceeds the standard. In the rural areas of Hollow Village, basically every household violates these laws. Should we take back these homesteads in accordance with the law, or should we respect reality and recognize farmers' rights to these homesteads? This conflict requires finding a solution.
2. Renovation Suggestions for Hollow Villages
There are many options for renovating hollow villages, but few are pragmatic and realistic. If the government takes the lead and uses financial support to renovate hollow villages, it is possible to renovate some hollow villages that serve as demonstration sites, but the number is very limited because the government's finances are limited.
If the government uses the law as a basis to forcibly reclaim wasteful and idle rural homesteads, it is also a way, but it will be resisted and protested by farmers, which will affect social stability. This is also unfeasible in an era where stability is increasingly valued.
If the government respects reality and recognizes farmers’ rights to the current large areas of homestead land. Then the relevant laws must be revised, not only to legally recognize the rights of farmers, but also to legally protect farmers’ rights to transfer these homesteads. Only when these homesteads have the opportunity to be transferred, will private funds intervene and use the market economy The power to integrate these lands. This kind of policy support can be carried out without affecting the 1.8 billion acres of cultivated land. Policy support for hollow village reconstruction can be limited to idle land for integrated development beyond 1.8 billion acres of cultivated land.
If it is difficult to seek policy support from the law, it can be done based on the two principles of implementing the law and respecting reality: that is, appropriate subsidies and recycling of idle homestead land in accordance with legal provisions. This subsidy can be government investment or private investment. Because of the market value of idle land in Hollow Village, it has certain investment potential. From an operational perspective, private investment is more feasible. Because the inaction and behavior of grassroots government cadres will restrict the transformation of this model. Taking Chenyan Village, Pengqiao Town, Dengzhou City, Henan Province as an example, the private sector was once willing to invest in the renovation of hollow villages, but village cadres said that the state would subsidize 500 yuan per mu for land reclamation in hollow villages. This 500 yuan is far less than the financial support provided by the state for land reclamation.
There is another way of transformation that can be regarded as inaction, that is, the country liberalizes grain prices, and many rural areas have idle land. Farmers themselves will process it into cultivated land, because the income from growing grain has a certain value, and farmers will reclaim it. Developing land will have meaning and value. This model is just a reminder that the liberalization of grain prices can stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for farming and encourage farmers to pay attention to idle and wasteful land. However, if the current chaotic situation of rural homesteads is left unchecked, many social conflicts will arise in the countryside, affecting social harmony.
Summary:
Apply the legal and regulatory system to increase government support and protection. Under my country's current specific socio-political and economic environment, if we want to achieve the goal of market-oriented agricultural land resource allocation as soon as possible, we must obtain legal protection, especially strong support and protection from the government. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen land supervision and inspection and standardize land transfer.
Part 2: Investigation and reflection on the problem of hollow villages
1. Basic situation
At the beginning of 20xx, the Central Committee and the State Council issued the "Regulations on Promoting the Construction of a New Socialist Rural Area" Since the promulgation and implementation of "Several Opinions", under the strong leadership of the county party committee and county government, our county has solidly promoted the construction of the "4441" project as the overall focus, vigorously promoted the construction of new rural areas, and the production and living environment of the farmers have been significantly improved. improve. However, the living conditions of farmers have not been fundamentally improved and improved. The construction of village houses is uneven and disorderly. In particular, there is a serious "hollow" problem in villages. How to manage and transform "hollow villages" has become a problem in our currently economically underdeveloped areas. One of the important issues to speed up the construction of new rural areas. In response to this problem, we recently conducted a survey on the situation of "hollow villages" in 12 townships and county industrial parks in the county, and got a general understanding of the land occupation situation of 470 administrative villages and 1,249 natural villages in the county. The county's total rural population is 559,729 people and 150,165 households. The total village area is 414,114.8 acres, with an average per capita of 0.74 acres and an average household of 2.76 acres, which greatly exceeds the current standard of 0.3-0.5 acres per household. Idle land and vacant houses are very common. First, it has caused a serious waste of resources and severely restricted the development and growth of the already weak rural economy. On the one hand, a lot of land cannot be cultivated, and the land cannot be used to its fullest potential to produce due economic benefits; on the other hand, some farmers with many people and few homesteads have housing difficulties, leading them to build houses in farmland, resulting in illegal occupation of farmland. , exacerbating the shortage of cultivated land. Second, it hinders the governance and development of villages and seriously delays the pace of new rural construction. Villagers still have a relatively strong concept of private property in homesteads, and the village collective strength is relatively weak. They are unable to pay the compensation funds required for house demolition and land consolidation, which has brought great difficulties to the unified planning and management of the village and the construction of new rural areas. The huge difficulties have seriously affected the orderly construction and healthy development of the village. Third, it caused homestead disputes and affected rural harmony and stability. Nowadays, homestead land is still private property in the minds of most farmers. At the same time, due to uneven occupation of homestead land, it can easily lead to conflicts and disputes among people competing for homestead land, affecting neighborhood harmony and rural stability. The fourth is the cleanliness that affects the appearance of the village. At present, many "hollow villages" are dilapidated, dilapidated, disorderly, and mixed with people and animals, which not only affects the production and life of the villagers, but also affects the appearance of the village and the cleanliness of the environment, which is in line with the construction of new rural areas. goals and requirements are incompatible.
2. Causes of the "hollow village" problem and difficulties in solving it
First, village planning is seriously lagging behind and most even have no plan at all. Since the abolition of collectivized production in rural areas and the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, village collective strength has been weak, and there is a lack of effective unified planning for the adjustment of village homestead arrangements and housing construction. The phenomenon of haphazard construction has become more prominent, and rural construction is basically in a state of disorder. . Second, villagers "build new and leave old" leading to the expansion of the village. Starting a new "stove" to build new houses, but still retaining ownership of the old houses, old houses, and real estate, gradually "spreading the pie" from the inside out, and the village area continues to expand. Third, some villagers moved out, resulting in idle properties. With the development of the market economy, some villagers have gone out to work and do business, and their economic conditions have gradually improved, and they have purchased properties in the city to live in for a long time; some children of farmers have entered school and become urban residents. After these people's living conditions improve, they often bring the elderly at home to live in the city, leaving the houses in the village idle for a long time.
Although most people yearn for the beautiful production and life in the new socialist countryside, and are not satisfied with the current backwardness of the villages, when it comes to actually implementing it on themselves, a considerable number of people show relatively negative attitudes. mood. Analyzing the reasons, there are two main points: First, the villagers' awareness problem. Although villagers now agree with the concept of collective ownership of contracted farmland, the concept of private ownership of homestead land is still very deep. Thousands of years of traditional concepts and social psychology are difficult to change in a short period of time. It is believed that the homestead is the property left by the ancestors, outsiders have no right to interfere, and the village collective has no right to take it back. Many people also believe that the homestead is a geomantic treasure carefully selected by the ancestors and cannot be changed easily, otherwise it will affect the prosperity of the family business and the reproduction of children. The second is the problem of shortage of funds. First, it is difficult to compensate for demolition and land occupation. The collective economy of the village is weak, and it is impossible for the national, county, and township governments to have huge funds to compensate villagers for demolition at present, and the resistance to demolition is relatively high. Secondly, farmers cannot afford the financial burden of building new houses. The construction standards of new villages are higher than the current living standards of most villagers. This is a heavy burden for villagers with poor economic conditions. However, farmers with relatively good economic conditions will hardly be interested in rebuilding new houses after they originally built them. and ability. For the relocated farmers, rural houses are just temporary "hotels" for them during holidays. Although they have more funds than ordinary villagers, they generally do not live in the village for a long time and have no interest in returning to the village to participate in the construction of new villages. From the above analysis, it can be seen that the current difficulties in transforming "hollow villages" and the lag in the construction of new rural areas are due to low levels of understanding and economic shortages of funds, but the main reason is still the shortage of funds. Therefore, how to resolve the funding problem is the key to the current "hollow village" transformation and new rural construction work.
3. Countermeasures and Suggestions
(1) High-point positioning and detailed village planning. First of all, scientific planning is the foundation and prerequisite for transforming “hollow villages” and solidly promoting the construction of new rural areas. It must be positioned at a high point and be compatible with future agricultural industrialization, rural urbanization, and farmer citizenization; it must be scientifically planned and harmonious with the natural ecology and historical and cultural environment; it must be adapted to local conditions, within its capabilities, and combined with the actual situation of each village. Be unconventional, be greedy for big things and seek foreign ideas, be short-term and fast, and be one-size-fits-all. Secondly, the planning should be led by the government and funded by the government. Relevant units should be instructed to complete the research and design of new rural planning from the perspective of urban and rural integration; relevant functional departments should be instructed to strictly supervise to ensure the quality of planning and design. Thirdly, once the plan is established, it has legal effect and must be strictly followed. This requires the land, urban and rural construction and other departments to increase law enforcement, strictly prohibit random construction, and act in accordance with the law to the letter, so that the people can strengthen their confidence in building new rural areas and give up the idea of ??illegal construction. This is very important, otherwise, the plan will become a piece of paper.
(2) Carry out in-depth publicity and do a good job in ideological work among the masses. First of all, let the farmers truly realize that transforming "hollow villages" and building new rural areas is a project that provides convenience for their production and life, and is a project that benefits the people. It is necessary to make use of advanced models inside and outside the county and let them speak out from their own experience. Starting from the details of daily necessities such as medicine, water, electricity, electricity, etc. that the people are most concerned about, we should publicize to them in detail the many benefits of the "hollow village" transformation, so that they understand the importance of doing this work to promote play an important role in rural economic and social development. Secondly, let farmers learn and understand relevant policies and laws. Let them clarify the general policy orientation of the party and the country to continuously increase all-round support for "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" and strengthen their confidence and determination in building a new countryside. Explain the relevant national land laws and regulations to them, so that they can truly realize that homestead land is collective, and individuals only have the right to use it, but not ownership. It is the party and the country's responsibility to carry out the transformation of "hollow villages" and the construction of new rural areas according to the plan in the new era. The legal behavior of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" work is a work that benefits farmers and serves the people. No one should and must not interfere or obstruct it.
(3) Use policies to win national financial support. The No. 1 Central Document of 20xx clearly stated that we should effectively increase investment in "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" in accordance with the requirements of coordinating urban and rural development. We must insist on ensuring that the annual growth rate of total agricultural investment at all levels above the county level is higher than the growth rate of its regular fiscal revenue, and insist on shifting the focus of national infrastructure construction and social development to rural areas. Attention should be paid to solving the housing safety problem of rural people in need.
Increase investment in poverty alleviation and development, gradually improve poverty alleviation standards, and increase support for rural poor people and impoverished areas. Especially recently, in order to stimulate domestic demand, the state has focused on increasing investment in "agriculture, rural areas and industry". County and township finance, agriculture and other departments should actively study these policies and use these policies to do everything possible to obtain policy funds for the transformation of "hollow villages" and alleviate the pressure of insufficient construction funds.
(4) Flexibly raise funds for renovation according to local conditions. The first is mutual assistance and cooperation in the renovation and construction of "hollow villages". That is, each farmer household voluntarily unites and arranges the construction time sequence. First, it borrows money to support one household to build a house, and then supports other households to build houses in the agreed order, so as to complete the renovation and construction tasks year by year. This method is more suitable for villagers whose families have a relatively fixed income and can quickly repay their house building debts, such as farmers who earn higher wages as migrant workers or have a prosperous business. The disadvantage is that currently such villagers do not account for the majority, so it is difficult to use it as the main method of reconstruction and construction. The second is joint-stock cooperation to carry out the renovation and construction of "hollow villages". That is, villagers use homestead shares as shares, and real estate developers use funds as shares to build houses together. In addition to free relocation, villagers can also share the proceeds from the sale of excess properties with the developers. This method is suitable for rural areas with better location advantages and higher commercial value in the suburbs of cities, such as the transformation of villages around our counties or towns. The disadvantage is that the villages with this advantage do not account for the majority, and it is difficult to use it as the main reconstruction and construction method for most villages. Currently, Jiahe, Laocheng Street, and Nanyu Neighborhood Committees in Chengwu Town and Qinzhuang Administrative Village in the County Industrial Park are undergoing "hollow village" reconstruction or preparation work in this way. The third is to borrow funds from financial institutions for the renovation and construction of "hollow villages". This means that villagers use the consolidated excess land or cultivated land as collateral to borrow money from financial institutions in exchange for reconstruction and construction funds. While the villagers repay the loan, the financial institution that disbursed the loan can operate on the land mortgaged by the villagers to obtain land income until it is paid off. until the loan. This method can reduce the pressure on villagers to repay loans and is suitable for most rural areas with poor economic conditions. The disadvantage is that the country has not yet put forward clear and specific policies in this regard, and financial institutions are not very enthusiastic about lending. It is recommended that the country promptly introduce relevant detailed policies and regulations. The fourth is the "hollow village" reconstruction and construction method in which land management rights are exchanged for housing relocation rights. That is, the villagers will hand over the integrated homestead or part of the farmland to the developer for a few years, and all the operating profits will belong to the developer, and the farmers will have the right to move back to their houses for free. This method is also suitable for the reconstruction and construction of "hollow villages" in most rural areas with poor economic conditions. The disadvantage is that due to the current low level of agricultural industrialization, underdeveloped rural economy, low commercial value of land, and low enthusiasm of developers to participate in development. At present, Panlou Village in Jiunv Town, our county is actively piloting this "hollow village" reconstruction and construction method.
(5) Actively carry out pilot projects and advance steadily and steadily. The transformation of "hollow villages" is a social system project related to the vital interests of farmers, carried out under the conditions of low agricultural industrialization level and backward rural economic and social development level. It involves all aspects of society and will encounter various difficulties. and challenges. All towns (districts) must adopt a positive and prudent attitude, a scientific spirit, a pragmatic style, and active guidance in response to the four financing methods for the renovation and construction of "hollow villages" mentioned above, and choose one or two respectively. Each village conducts pilot explorations, continuously accumulates experience, sums up lessons, strives to be prudent, and promotes the smooth development of this work in a down-to-earth manner.
(6) Rely on the masses and give play to the main role of the masses. Farmers are the main body of all rural work. The transformation and construction of "hollow villages" must fully trust the people, rely on the people, follow the mass line, and play their main role. The financing methods mentioned above are all experiences they have gained in practice. Therefore, in actual work, we must first respect the practice and creation of the masses and encourage them to create more experiences and practices for the construction of new rural areas; secondly, It is necessary to operate in a sunny manner, fully promote democracy, encourage them to actively participate, and let them build their own homes. I believe that as long as our publicity work is in place and the people feel the benefits of this work, they will fully support and actively participate in this project.
The transformation of "hollow villages" is only the first step in the process of urban-rural integration in my country. With the continuous improvement of the country's economic strength, the acceleration of agricultural industrialization, and the rapid growth of the rural economy, my country's new Rural construction will also enter the second step: communityization of rural areas, and then gradually realize the third step: urbanization or urbanization of communities, and finally bid farewell to the identity of an agricultural country where the majority of the agricultural population has been agricultural for thousands of years, and completely realize the integration of urban and rural areas. to achieve the grand goal of modernization and truly realize the modernization of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Now, the most critical thing is to do a good job in the transformation of "hollow villages" and lay a solid foundation for achieving the goals of the second and third steps.
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