Lawmakers urge efforts to improve farmland

Chinese lawmakers on Wednesday suggested more efforts were needed on improving and protecting the quality of the country's arable land.

Members of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress made the suggestion at a panel discussion on a State Council report about land administration, which was submitted to the top legislature for deliberation.

Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, suggested the government invest more money to upgrade medium or lower-yield farmland, which accounts for about 70 percent of the country's arable land.

Efforts should be made to improve soil and irrigation and restore polluted soil in order to boost both agricultural production and ecological benefits, he said.

China applies the principle of "reclaiming the same area of land as is used."

Users shall be responsible for reclaiming the same area and quality of cultivated land they use for construction of non-agricultural projects, the Land Administration Law stipulates.

Wang Yunkun, an NPC Standing Committee member, voiced his doubts on the quality of compensated land and suggested the NPC and relevant departments of the State Council, or Cabinet, conduct comprehensive checks nationwide.

"Farmland is not easy to cultivate. It usually takes dozens or hundreds of years," he said.